Queen Elizabeth's 96th birthday marked with gun salutes
Send a link to a friend
[April 21, 2022]
LONDON (Reuters) -Queen Elizabeth
celebrated her 96th birthday at her Sandringham estate on Thursday as
gun salutes rang out across London and Windsor and military bands played
"Happy Birthday".
Britain's longest serving monarch, who celebrates a historic platinum
jubilee this year, was pictured with two white ponies in a photo
released for the occasion.
Government ministers joined members of the royal family in sending their
best wishes to the queen, who has stepped back from most public duties
this year over concerns about her health.
She has travelled from Windsor Castle, west of London, to spend her
birthday at her estate in Sandringham, Norfolk.
"An inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the
world, it's particularly special to be celebrating in this Platinum
Jubilee year," her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate said on
Twitter.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is visiting India, wished the queen a
happy birthday and paid a "heartfelt tribute" to her "70 years of
dedicated and faultless service to our country and the Commonwealth" in
a video message.
Toymaker Mattel launched a commemorative Barbie doll of the queen
dressed in an ivory gown with a blue sash and wearing her wedding tiara
to mark the jubilee.
Elizabeth became the queen of Britain and more than a dozen other realms
including Canada, Australia and New Zealand on the death of her father
King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya on an
international tour.
[to top of second column]
|
British Queen Elizabeth II holds her Fell ponies, Bybeck Nightingale
(right) and Bybeck Katie in this handout picture released April 20,
2022 by The Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark the occasion of her
96th birthday. henrydallalphotography.com/PA Wire/Handout via
REUTERS
The news was broken to her by her
husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99 after more than
seven decades by her side.
When she ascended the throne, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry
Truman were running the Soviet Union, China and the United States,
respectively, while Winston Churchill was British prime minister.
Elizabeth has largely avoided the public spotlight after spending a
night in hospital in October for an unspecified ailment and being
ordered to rest. She tested positive for COVID-19 in February and
has said she was left very tired.
She has missed events including the Remembrance Sunday gathering and
Easter service, but she joined other members of her family and
dignitaries at a memorial service for her husband at London's
Westminster abbey last month.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle; Editing by Jane Merriman
and Alex Richardson)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |