On the eve of her 96th birthday, Queen Elizabeth was spotted departing Windsor Castle in the backseat of a car, glasses on, her hair in its signature white coif. Her destination? Sandringham in Norfolk, around 100 miles away.
The Royal Family has led tributes to the Queen on her 96th birthday as the occasion was toasted with 41 and 62-gun salutes and a new photograph of the monarch was released.
Two salutes were fired, the first, at noon, of 41 guns by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, in Hyde Park, close to Buckingham Palace.
An hour later, the Honourable Artillery Company, the City of London’s Reserve Army Regiment, fired 62 guns from Tower Wharf, close to Tower Bridge.
Earlier, a tweet from the Royal Family account shared a black and white picture of the monarch aged two, taken in 1928.
Back then, the message reads, “it was never expected she would be Queen, and this year Her Majesty is celebrating her #PlatinumJubilee – a first in British history”.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also tweeted two pictures, one of the couple, with Her Majesty at the Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago and another of the Queen and Prince Philip surrounded by their great-grandchildren.
Calling the Queen “an inspiration”, they wrote: “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a very happy 96th birthday today!”
The Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwell, also posted on Twitter to wish the monarch “a particularly special 96th birthday” alongside various pictures including one of Charles kissing his mother’s hand.
The Changing of the Guard went ahead as usual at 11.00am, but it took place at Windsor Castle rather than Buckingham Palace to mark the day.
Large crowds, enjoying glorious spring sunshine, gathered to watch as the Band of the Coldstream Guards played Happy Birthday.
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The Queen did not stay in the grand Jacobean main house, but rather, at a smaller dwelling on the grounds called Wood Farm Home.
The five-bedroom cottage was Prince Philip’s preferred residence during the last years of his life. After retiring from his role as senior royal, he spent much of his time at Wood Farm carriage driving, painting, and enjoying a country lifestyle. The queen has mentioned in the past that her husband “loved” Norfolk, as the “sea was so close.” So, her choice to spend her 96th birthday—only her second after Phillip’s passing–at his favourite place is indeed a poignant one.
Then there was her symbolic choice in outfit. For her 96th birthday portrait, the monarch stood between two of her white fell ponies, named Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale, wearing a dark green coat bearing a resemblance to “Edinburgh Green,” or the official colour of Prince Philip’s livery.
Throughout the day, members of the royal family wished their matriarch a happy birthday, sharing photographs of the queen throughout her life. Included in many of them? Prince Philip, her constant companion for 73 years of marriage.
