See the Royal Family's Tribute to Queen Elizabeth as They Celebrate Her 95th Birthday
Despite this being a unique birthday for Queen Elizabeth as it follows the death of Prince Philip, her family is not letting the day slip by without the necessary celebrations.
Queen Elizabeth has successfully made her 95th trip around the sun, and the royal family was sure to post a lovely photo of the monarch on their official Instagram page to mark her special day.
The royal family shared a picture of Queen Elizabeth dressed in a maroon outfit paired with a matching hat as she looked past the camera smiling. They revealed details surrounding her genealogy and how she is celebrating the day in the caption.
Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Day Service 2020 at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020 | Getty Images
CELEBRATIONS ARE IN ORDER
The royal family needs an occasion to celebrate as they are still navigating the aftermath of 99-year-old Prince Philip's death. While still respecting the mourning period that follows the Prince's funeral, the Windsor family celebrates the Queen.
With 95 years behind her and still plenty of life in her, the royal family shared some information about Queen Elizabeth's background on their social media page as tribute. It reads:
"The Queen was born at 2.40 am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York."
BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES
The Instagram post also revealed where the Queen is spending her big birthday, saying that she is still at Windsor Castle, where she is in the midst of a mourning period which will stretch to Friday, two weeks after Prince Philip's death.
A new birthday portrait of the royal will also not be seen by the public this year, another tradition affected.
The grief of losing her husband of 73 years is not the only hindering factor for the reigning royal's birthday celebrations, as COVID-19 protocols also need to be kept in mind when organizing a celebratory gathering.
SKIPPING TRADITIONS
Queen Elizabeth's birthday is usually met with a string of traditions to honor the monarch on her special day, but this will be the second year that most of the significant ceremonies have been canceled.
April 21 always sees the traditional 41-gun and 21-gun salutes at Hyde Park and the Tower of London, but due to the restrictions in place because of the pandemic, they will not occur this year.
ONLY CLOSE FAMILY
It is expected that various close members of her family will visit Queen Elizabeth, although her oldest son will not be seeing her today. Prince Charles has traveled up to his Welsh home, Llwynywermod after his father was laid to rest.
It is not clear whether Prince Harry will see his grandmother to wish her a happy birthday before he makes his way back to his pregnant wife and son in California.
A new birthday portrait of the royal will also not be seen by the public this year, another tradition affected by the extenuating circumstances this year as the Duke of Edinburgh's death and COVID-19 collide.
The Trooping of Colour, an annual event held to mark Queen Elizabeth's birthday in the summer on the second Saturday of June, may still take place depending on how the pandemic looks in a couple of months.