Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 95th birthday today (21st April), although celebrations are said to be toned down and the usual gun salute has been cancelled.
Born on 21st April, 1926, the Queen reaches a significant milestone this week, turning 95.
It is the first day in seven decades that she has spent without her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9th aged 99.
Falling within the two-week period of royal mourning, which is being observed until Friday, no photograph to mark the milestone is expected to be released.
How will the Queen mark her birthday?
According to multiple reports, the Queen will have a private and low-key 95th birthday on Wednesday 21st April.
With the Royal Family still in an official two-week period of mourning following the death Prince Phillip, birthday celebrations are to be toned down this year.
She will still likely be joined by a small group of family members, with The Mirror reporting that her daughter Princess Anne and daughter-in-law Sophie Wessex are expected to make the visit.
Her son Prince Andrew, granddaughter Princess Eugenie and her newborn son August, as well as The Duchess of Cornwall, are also expected to visit the Queen over the coming days.
Why will there be no gun salute for the Queen’s birthday this year?
It’s expected that the Royal family’s social media channels will be the only way The Firm will commemorate the Queen’s 95th birthday.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson also confirmed that the traditional gun salutes, which usually take place at Hyde Park and the Tower of London, will not take place.
It’s the second year in a row that the annual tradition has been cancelled, having been halted last year due to the the start of the UK’s first national lockdown.
At the time, Her Royal Highness was adamant that there ‘would be no special measures which would go against government coronavirus restrictions’.
It has also been announced that the customary Trooping the Colour celebrations, marking the monarch’s ‘official birthday’ in June, will not take place for the second year running.
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