Yesterday we saw a few photos of the annual Trooping of the Colour celebration which took place in London, England in honor of Queen Elizabeth II‘s 84th birthday and today we get to see photos from a different Royal celebratory event in honor of The Most Noble Order of the Garter. As I understand it, The Most Noble Order of the Garter is a pretty big deal in the United Kingdom, as is evident by the fancy dress worn by Queen Elizabeth and her grandson Prince William:

I have absolutely no idea what is going on but I believe this event goes all the way back to the 1300s. Fancy schmancy. But you may have noticed that young Prince Harry is not featured in these photos or the photos we saw yesterday … that’s because he is on an official visit to Botswana right now. Still, Harry found the time to do a little celebrating of his Queen grandmother’s official birthday. After the jump, check out photos of Harry in Botswana …

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]

Congratulations are in order for the now Sir Patrick Stewart — star of stage, television and film (who, most notably, played the iconic character Captain Jean Luc Picard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and film franchise) — because he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in an award ceremony in the UK yesterday. Here is a photo of Stewart‘s knighting ceremony and some deets from the event:

Actor Sir Patrick Stewart paid tribute to a former teacher as he was knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The 69-year-old said he owed “literally everything” to the English teacher who first encouraged him to perform. “Although many people in my life have had great influence on me, without this man none of it would have happened,” he said following Wednesday’s investiture. The classically trained actor is best known for his roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men films. He was recently seen on the London stage appearing alongside fellow actor knight Sir Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot. Sir Patrick said his knighthood – announced in the New Year Honours List – had been “an unlooked-for honour”. “But as I grew up as a child, falling in love with the theatre and Shakespeare, my heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier [and] Sir John Gielgud,” he continued. “The knights of the theatre represented to me not only the pinnacle of the profession but the esteem in which the profession was held. To find myself, to my astonishment, in that company is the grandest thing that has professionally happened to me.” The Yorkshire-born star said he would be celebrating his knighthood with Cecil Dormand, the teacher who first encouraged him to consider acting as a profession. “He was the one that put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand [and] said, ‘Now get up on your feet and perform’.” Earlier this week it was announced that Sir Patrick would chair a jury and deliver a talk at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. The actor was recently seen at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester playing William Shakespeare in the Edward Bond play Bingo.

I must admit, we don’t get much news of all the knighting that goes on in the UK here in the US but as far as I’m concerned, Sir Patrick Stewart is just the kind of man that I would expect to be honored as a knight. His career has been a stellar one and I have loved every single project that he has been involved in. As Capt. Picard, Sir Patrick Stewart won the eternal love of Trekkies the world over … for that reason alone, the man deserves to be a knight. After the jump, check out a couple more photos of Sir Patrick Stewart at yesterday’s knighting ceremony …

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated her official birthday in the UK yesterday and, as is custom, partook of the pageantry known as Trooping the Colour with her Royal family … including her husband Prince Philip and her grandsons Princes William and Harry. Here are a few pics from yesterday’s festivities and some deets of what went down:

Pomp and pageantry was on full show Saturday as Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her official birthday with the traditional Trooping the Colour parade in London. Wearing a blue coat and matching hat, Queen Elizabeth, 83, took the salute during the military spectacle, as senior royals and thousands of well-wishers looked on. Later, the royal family watched from the balcony of Buckingham Palace as 29 aircraft, from vintage planes to modern fighters, took part in the traditional flypast, with the Red Arrows air acrobatics jets trailing red, white and blue smoke. Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip travelled to the Horse Guards parade ground in Queen Victoria’s 1842 ivory-mounted phaeton carriage. Her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, followed on horseback. Charles’s wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, plus his sons Princes William and Harry — who both wore military uniform — watched from a building that was once military hero the Duke of Wellington’s office. The queen has taken the salute every year bar one since her accession to the throne in 1952. The Colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year was the flag of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. The pomp and ceremony of Trooping the Colour — a hangover from preparations for battle when colours or flags were “trooped” down the rank so soldiers could recognise them — marks the queen’s official birthday. Her actual birthday is on April 21 but historically the monarch has another in the summer months, because the weather is supposed to be better for open-air celebrations.

Birthday lurve goes out to Her Majesty this weekend as she officially celebrates her 83rd. It’s so good to see her lookin’ so spry and lively. Queen Elizabeth II looks like she’s got the fortitude to reign for a very long time to come. As an American, I find it very neat and interesting to see the regalness of Royal celebrations like this. We, too, have our pomp and circumstance here in the US but there seems to be something special about Royal ceremonies. So nice to see the Royals all celebrating together.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

The Royal Family — including Queen Elizabeth II, Princes Charles, William, Harry and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall — were on hand to attend Xmas day services at Sandringham Church in the UK yesterday after Her Majesty delivered her annual Xmas Day address to the United Kingdom earlier in the day. Calling this Xmas a “somber” one, Queen Elizabeth talked at length about the year that was and the challenges to come in 2009. Here are a few pics of the Royals as they arrived for church services yesterday and a portion of her Xmas Day address delivered via radio, TV and Interweb:

Worries about the global economy and violence across the world have turned the celebration of Christmas into a more somber affair this year, Queen Elizabeth said on Thursday. Britain, like many other developed nations, is facing the risk of a prolonged recession. Unemployment is rising fast, household high street firms are collapsing and several big banks are only able to stay in business with government help. There has also been an increase in the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan in recent weeks, just as troops in Iraq prepare to come home next year. “Christmas is a time for celebration, but this year it is a more somber occasion for many,” the Queen said. “People are touched by events which have their roots far across the world. Whether it is the global economy or violence in a distant land, the effects can be keenly felt at home.” But, in her annual Christmas broadcast which dates back to 1957 and is watched by millions across Britain and the Commonwealth, the 82-year-old said those with courage would work hard to survive and improve their lot. “When life seems hard the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future,” she said, standing by a piano adorned with pictures of her family. This year has been eventful for the royal family, with Prince Harry — third in line to the throne — fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan for 10 weeks, an inquest into the death of Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ 60th birthday. The Queen paid tribute to Britain’s armed forces but also singled out for praise her eldest son and heir, Charles, accompanied by previously unseen footage of the prince playing with his mother as a small child. “We feel great pride in seeing our family make their own unique contributions to society,” she said. “Through his charities, the Prince of Wales has worked to support young people and other causes for the benefit of the wider community.”

While it may not want to be the message that folks want to hear on an occasion like Xmas, I think it was prudent for the Queen to address the issues of the day in the manner in which she did. The prospects are gloomy for everyone in the world, none of us are untouched by the degrading state of the economy, and violence still threatens us at almost every turn. Queen Elizabeth has a way of delivering this sort of serious message with a resoluteness that instills confidence in people. After the jump, watch her Xmas Address in full for yourselves …