LONDON (CU)_Queen Elizabeth II turns 95 on Wednesday (21 April), just days after she bade farewell to her husband of seven decades, which means there will be no public celebrations of the occasion.
The death of the Duke of Edinburgh has robbed Her Royal Highness of her “strength and stay”. The Duke died on 9 April, at the age of 99, at Windsor Castle.
The Royal Family paid their final respects to His Royal Highness at a sombre funeral services on Saturday. The event was attended by a small congregation of 30 guests owing to COVID-19 restrictions in England. The regulations required all guests who are not members of the same household to sit around 2 meters apart. Therefore, the Queen was seen sitting alone during what was an emotional yet muted affair at St. George’s Chapel.
While the Queen’s birthday traditionally takes place with little to no ceremony, this year, the occasion will pass off with even less public show as the royals mark two weeks of mourning following the Duke’s passing.
However, Her Majesty has an official birthday celebration on the second Saturday of June every year, which is usually celebrated with majestic grandeur.
Queen Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, was born on 21 April, 1926, in Bruton Street, Central London. She was only made the heir to the throne after her father, George VI, took the crown after his elder brother Edward VIII abdicated in 1936. She married Prince Philip in 1947, who was her most trusted confidante throughout her record-breaking reign of 69 years.
Her Royal Highness ascended to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25, and in 2015, she became Britain’s longest reigning monarch, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Queen Elizabeth is the Head of the Commonwealth and the queen of 15 former British colonies, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
