APRIL 21, 2019
The Queen is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – Getty Images
The Queen is celebrating her 93rd birthday, which this year coincides with Easter Sunday.
Elizabeth II, who is head of the Church of England and has a strong faith, usually celebrates Easter at Windsor Castle by joining members of her family at a service in St George’s Chapel.
The Queen at the Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in 2018 (Tolga Akmen/PA)
At Buckingham Palace, the Band of the Irish Guards will perform a rendition of Happy Birthday in her honour on the forecourt as part of the Changing the Guard ceremony.
April 21 is the day the Queen was actually born – but she has a second birthday, her official one, which she marks on the second Saturday in June.
Her June birthday is commemorated with the Trooping the Colour parade.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will perform their gun salutes the day after the Queen’s birthday (Nick Ansell/PA)
Gun salutes are also fired as a mark of respect to the Queen on her special day – but never on a Sunday, so this year they will be delayed by one day.
On Monday, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will ride their horses and gun carriages past Buckingham Palace en route to Hyde Park to stage a 41 Gun Royal Salute at noon.
A 62-gun salute will also be performed by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London at 1pm the same day.
The Queen and the royal family during the Trooping the Colour celebrations last year (Yui Mok/PA)
The Queen traditionally spends a month-long residence at Windsor Castle, known as Easter Court, each year.
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 2.40am on April 21 1926, the first child of the then Duke and Duchess of York, at 17 Bruton Street, the Mayfair home of her mother’s parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.
The Queen and Philip on her 90th birthday – GettyImages
She was never expected to be Queen when she was born, but the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII in 1936 put her father George VI on the throne, and changed her destiny.
Elizabeth II, who has been monarch for more than 67 years, is Head of State, the Armed Forces and the Commonwealth, and has been married to the Duke of Edinburgh for more than 71 years.
The Queen still enjoys horse racing as she visited Newbury Racecourse last week – Getty Images
She became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria’s record, in September 2015.
With the death of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 2016, the Queen now holds the record for the world’s longest reigning living monarch.
Courtesy/Source: Sky News
