Queen’s official birthday celebration to be televised by BBC despite Covid-19 changes
THE TROOPING THE COLOUR, an annual event to mark the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, will be scaled back this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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The event will not be in London as tradition dictates, but instead a military salute will take place at Windsor Castle, where the Queen is self-isolating with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The event will be televised live on BBC One at 10.30am on June 13. Veteran BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards will present the programme.
Philip turns 99 on Wednesday, but it is unclear whether he will attend the military salute.
The eldest child of the Queen and Philp, Charles, Prince of Wales previously tested positive for coronavirus.
Though he later recovered, he is continuing to isolate with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are currently with their children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk.
The Queen was born on April 21, but the Trooping the Colour marks her official birthday.
It takes place by tradition on the second Saturday of June.
King Edward VII moved the ceremony to the summer.
Edward was born on November 9, but moved the ceremony in hope of better weather.
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In the event, the Queen travels down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade.
The Queen then returns to Buckingham Palace to watch a march-past.
Then there is a 41-gun salute and the Queen leads other members of the royal family in watching an RAF flypast.
Whilst the Queen has been self-isolating at Windsor Castle, she has made interventions in the midst of the pandemic.
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She made a rare televised address to the nation, her first such intervention with the exception of Christmas messages and state openings of Parliament, since 2002 following the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
Her Majesty also made an Easter address to the nation.
In the first address, she said: “I want to thank everyone on the NHS frontline, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all.
“I am sure the nation will join me in assuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.
“I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones.”
In the Easter address, she added: “Many religions have festivals which celebrate light overcoming darkness. Such occasions are often accompanied by the lighting of candles. They seem to speak to every culture, and appeal to people of all faiths, and of none. They are lit on birthday cakes and to mark family anniversaries, when we gather happily around a source of light. It unites us.
“As darkness falls on the Saturday before Easter Day, many Christians would normally light candles together. In church, one light would pass to another, spreading slowly and then more rapidly as more candles are lit. It’s a way of showing how the good news of Christ’s resurrection has been passed on from the first Easter by every generation until now.
“This year, Easter will be different for many of us, but by keeping apart we keep others safe. But Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever. The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this. We know that Coronavirus will not overcome us. As dark as death can be — particularly for those suffering with grief — light and life are greater. May the living flame of the Easter hope be a steady guide as we face the future.”
Several royals have made charity contributions in the midst of the pandemic with Sophie, the Countess of Wessex volunteering to help cook meals for NHS staff and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle delivering meals in Los Angeles to those who are too sick to cook for themselves or buy meals.