Birthday lurve goes out to Queen Elizabeth II this weekend as she celebrated her 84th birthday yesterday at the lavish annual Trooping of the Colour parade in London, England. The Queen was surrounded by her loyal subjects and, more intimately, her Royal family to enjoy the festivities in honor of her 84th … here are a few photos:
The Queen has marked her 84th official birthday at the Trooping the Colour parade in central London. More than 1,400 soldiers took part in the annual display of military pomp and pageantry on London’s Horse Guards Parade. She was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, her grandson Prince William and other members of the royal family. The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards were parading their flag colour this year. Many of the battalion’s soldiers returned from Afghanistan two months ago. After the Queen took the salute on Horse Guards, the royal family headed back to Buckingham Palace where they watched a 30-aircraft strong RAF flypast.
Royal salutes had also been simultaneously fired at Edinburgh and Stirling castles. The flypast was led by The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – one of the events staged to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the battle. A Hurricane and Spitfire were the first aircraft to fly over the members of the Royal Family as they gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony. They were followed by Typhoons, Tornadoes, a Nimrod R1 and the Red Arrows – the RAF’s aerobatic display team … The parade was commanded by Commanding Officer Lt Col Roly Walker while the Colour was escorted by a guard from Queen’s Company. Second Lt James Brown was the Ensign tasked with carrying the Colour. Soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Household Cavalry, Royal Horse Artillery and the Foot Guards were joined by more than 200 horses at the event. Four hundred musicians from 10 bands and corps of drums also took part, with drum horse Spartacus, of The Blues and Royals, appearing for the 12th time. The Queen’s actual birthday was on 21 April. The tradition of two birthdays dates back to the time when, if monarchs were born in winter, the weather was deemed unsuitable for outdoor events. Traditionally before battle, colours – or flags – were carried, or “trooped”, along the rank of soldiers so they could be seen and recognised. In 1748, it was decided the trooping would also be used to honour the sovereign’s birthday. The Queen first took the royal salute in 1951 when she deputised for her father King George VI when he was sick. She has attended every ceremony bar one in 1955 when there was a national rail strike.
We yanks on this side of the pond don’t usually get to see this sort of pomp and circumstance on such a huge scale so I, for one, look forward to the annual event that celebrates the Queen’s birthday. I’m always amazed at how youthful and lively she looks year after year … I’m of the mind that Queen Elizabeth will rule the United Kingdom for a very long time to come. Here’s to many Happy Birthdays and many happy returns!
[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]
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