Queen Elizabeth Celebrates Official Birthday
Queen Elizabeth celebrated her official birthday on Saturday by attending the annual Trooping the Colour Parade. She watched a spectacular military parade and gave out awards, according to cnn.
While the actual birthday of Queen Elizabeth is on April 21, her official birthday falls on a Saturday in June. It is in line with tradition, so that her birthday is celebrated on a summer weekend when the weather is likely to perk up for the parade, and is known as Trooping the Colour. The date thus changes every year, according to abs-cbnnews. This year, she turned 89 years on April 21.
It was the 63rd time she went for a birthday parade, setting quite a record for a monarch. The first time she attended the parade during her birthday was in 1953, just after her coronation.
Members of the family with her included Prince Philip, her husband; Prince George, with his father, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Charles.
After the parade, the queen went with other members of the royal family to the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a flypast by the Royal Air Force.
Prince George, just short of his second birthday, stole the show as he made his first balcony appearance in the arms of his father, Prince William. His mother, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, earlier came into the public eye on May 2, after the birth of Princess Charlotte, riding in a carriage with Prince Harry and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince George was the most popular person in the royal assemblage. Being third in line to the throne, he smiled and waved to the crowd.
The Queen also gave out awards for actors, sportsmen and sportswomen, business leaders and community workers. This year's recipients included US actor and director Kevin Spacey, who has contributed for a decade as artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London. Others included actor and charity fundraiser Lenny Henry and Northern Irish musician Van Morrison.
Journalist Caroline Criado-Perez, who in 2013 petitioned to have women displayed on British banknotes, triggering a flurry of Twitter abuse, was also included.
