For the First Time in Her Reign, Queen Elizabeth Will Not Have a Gun Salute on Her Birthday
Every year to mark the Queen’s birthday, gun salutes are fired in London and across the UK. But, for what is believed to be the first time in her 68-year reign, there won’t be any ceremonial guns fired when she turns 94 on Tuesday, as Britain continues its coronavirus lockdown.
Palace aides have let it be known that the Queen was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances. There will also be no requirement for Government Buildings to fly the Union Jack on her birthday as they usually would, with the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport advising: “In the current circumstances we are not expecting everyone to be able to follow this advice and you should continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines as set out by the Government.”
The decision follows an announcement on Thursday that the UK will continue its lockdown measures for at least another three weeks.
The Queen will be spending her birthday at Windsor Castle where she and Prince Philip are staying for the duration of the lockdown. Any information about her communication with other family members via phone or video will be kept private; however, Buckingham Palace is expected to post on social media to mark the day.
Her official birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, which is held in June, has also been canceled and there are currently no plans for an alternative celebration. The sovereign’s birthday has been officially marked with a military parade in June since the reign of King George II.
The Queen usually spends her real birthday privately, except on occasional milestone years when she has appeared in public and in 2019 when her real birthday happened to fall on Easter Sunday, and she attended church.
On her real birthday, gun salutes are traditionally fired from Hyde Park or Green Park and the Tower of London as well as at Edinburgh Castle and locations in Wales and Northern Ireland. If her birthday falls on a Sunday the gun salutes are fired the following day as there are no gun salutes on a Sunday.
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