Royal Monarch

DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR ROYAL MONARCH

by Caroline-Artemis Laspas

The Queen was born on 21st April 1926 in Mayfair, London. However, her official birthday is celebrated on the 2nd Saturday of June with a traditional parade called the ‘Trooping the Colour’. It sees all the Queen’s horses and military regiments march before her in her honour. This is followed by a low-flying ariel display by the RAF (Royal Air Force) over Buckingham Palace, with HM on the balcony with other members of her family.

So, why does The Queen have two birthdays?

This tradition, like so many in British traditions dates back a long way. It was during the reign of King George II in 1748, where the King’s actual birthday fell during late autumn, when the weather was not ideal for parades or big public celebrations.

He decided to wait for the public celebration of his birthday to be in the Summer when the weather was better. It was therefore decided to coincide it with the Trooping the Colour parade, which had been mainly a military affair before that.

It is a spectacular parade full of pomp and ceremony with over 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians involved. The Trooping the Colour parade has marked the official birthday of the British monarch for over 260 years.

The Queen’s father, King George VI used to mark his official birthday on the 2nd Thursday of June and HM The Queen did the same until it was changed in 1959.

HM The Queen’s actual birthday is marked across London with a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21-gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

Lots of members of the public waving flags and wearing Union Jacks normally fill the Mall outside Buckingham Palace to watch the Trooping the Colour parade.

On the day, a big parade starts at the Queen's official residence - Buckingham Palace before moving along the Mall to Horse Guards Parade at Whitehall, near to Downing Street, and then back again.

Then it's traditional for the royal family to travel down the Mall as part of the ceremony, and gather on Buckingham Palace's balcony to greet well-wishers and watch the flypast by the RAF.