The Queen just celebrated her birthday with a socially distanced ceremony

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The Queen turned 94-years-old this year, with this Saturday marking the second of the monarch’s two birthdays.

On 21 April (her actual birthday), Queen Elizabeth celebrates privately with her loved ones, but her June birthday is a public celebration, usually marked with Trooping of the Colour, an annual birthday parade held on Horse Guards Parade in London.

This year, there was doubt that Trooping of the Colour would take place, with the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictions that it has imposed on socialising, forcing the cancellation of events and celebrations, from Princess Beatrice’s wedding to Prince Philip’s birthday gun salute.

The royal family surprised the world over the weekend however, when the 94-year-old monarch emerged from her Windsor Castle home where she is socially distancing to take part in a small socially distanced ceremony.

‘Typically, the Sovereign’s Official Birthday is marked with a Parade called Trooping of the Colour,’ read a tribute to the Queen’s official birthday on the Royal Family’s Instagram account. ‘This year, for the first time since 1955, Trooping of the Colour didn’t take place in its traditional form. Instead, the @welshguards performed a pared back ceremony for The Queen, with music from the Band of the @householddivision.

‘Her Majesty, the Battalion’s Colonel-in-Chief, took the Royal Salute at the ceremony and watched a series of military drills.’

Alongside the caption, the Royal Family had included not only photographs from the celebratory morning, but also a time-lapse video of the event.

Happy Birthday HRH!