LONDON – Days after her 73-year-old husband’s funeral, Queen Elizabeth II turned 95 on Wednesday, a milestone birthday with Prince Philip by her side.
While there may have been plans in a normal year for a private, low-key event to celebrate the occasion, the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9 and his funeral on Saturday, along with the ongoing restrictions of the coronavirus, have resulted in there is no public plan to celebrate her birthday this year.
In a statement from Buckingham Palace, the Queen said: ‘While we are in a period of great sadness as a family, it has been a comfort to all of us to see and hear the tribute to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the rest of the world.
“My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us over the past few days.
The Queen will spend the day at Windsor Castle during a period of royal mourning after Philip’s death, said the palace.
“Her birthday will now be all about that grief every year,” said Victoria Howard, editor of The Crown Chronicles, a royal news blog.
“So many people have had to lock birthdays and funerals that it is strangely almost reassuring that the royals are going through it too.”
The Queen usually spends her April birthday in private without much public celebration and this is her second birthday in a row taking place under coronavirus restrictions. There were no festive salutes last year, which the Queen said would be inappropriate in the midst of the pandemic.
There are still strict limits on public gatherings in the UK due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19. Groups of only six people or less are allowed to congregate outdoors, only 15 people are allowed at weddings, and 30 people can attend funerals.
The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year, the actual birthday in April and an official birthday in June, when the traditional Trooping the Color parade takes place with soldiers in ceremonial uniforms, a tradition dating back to the 18th century. This year’s parade was canceled in March due to Covid-19.
The Queen celebrated her last big birthday, her 90th, at the official birthday in June 2016, with a big street party near Buckingham Palace for guests of the charities she patronizes. That birthday also happened to coincide with Philip’s birthday.
This year’s milestone anniversary falls as her long reign enters a new era. Next year, the Queen will celebrate 70 years on the throne, known in Britain as the “Platinum Jubilee”. She is Britain’s longest-serving monarch and also the oldest, a quirky twist on the story of a princess who grew up not expecting to become a queen. Her father, George VI, did not become king until his older brother Edward VIII resigned in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
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Planning has already begun for a four-day celebration in June 2022, including an additional national holiday, events across the Commonwealth and “events that combine the best of British ceremonial splendor with cutting-edge artistic and technological displays.”
Although the Queen has had a busy schedule so far, in recent years she has transferred more of her roles and responsibilities to her son, Prince Charles, and his son, Prince William. Philip retired in 2017.
“There has been a change in the way the Royal Family operates since the Queen stopped traveling,” said royal pundit Tim Ewart, the former royal editor of ITV, a British broadcaster.
The Queen hasn’t stopped her age from those events she can. There is no evidence that it is canceled, but events are becoming more and more modest. “
At the age of 72, Charles has now reached an age when many people are retiring. Until last year, it was believed that Harry would share royal responsibilities with his brother, but the Palace announced in February that he and wife Meghan will not be returning to their roles as senior royals. The couple moved to the US last year.
As the Queen grows older, the way the Royal Family continues its work is likely to continue to evolve.
“As Charles comes up and helps dictate how things will be conducted, more potentially than the Queen, will this be a change of direction, are they going to do things differently?” Howard said. “It’s a bit of a crossroads.”