FILE PHOTO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II talks with MI5 officers during a visit to the headquarters of MI5, which is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, at Thames House in London, Britain February 25, 2020. (Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)
Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 94th birthday on April 21. It has been a usual practice for Her Majesty and the whole United Kingdom to have two celebrations -- on her exact birthday and official celebration in June or also known as Trooping the Colour. Although the event is already canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, it remains to be a big question for some as to why do Her Royal Highness celebrates twice a year in two different dates.
Every summer, the Mall outside Buckingham Palace is filled with colorful flags, along with people gathered outside to see the royal family waving to the crowds on the balcony for the Queen's birthday. This event is called Trooping the Colour, the official celebration of the Queen's birthday -- two months after her real birthday.
According to the Telegraph, in April, Queen Elizabeth usually celebrates her birthday with the royal family in private, while the fanfare will be held in June. Anyhow, to mark Her Royal Highness' special day, there will always be several gun salutes in London at midday on her exact birthday.
Trooping the Colour is held initially for military purposes under King Charles II's reign in the 1600s. The parade became an official event for the monarchy and is being held until today.
All British monarchs have the right to choose their official birthday. When Queen Elizabeth got the crown, she held her first official birthday on the second Thursday of June, the same day her father, King George VI, picked to celebrate his official birthday. However, in 1959, she decided to move her official birthday two days later, which became every second Saturday of June, and it has been like that since then.
Sadly, with the coronavirus outbreak in the U.K., the country's lockdown, and the government's order to avoid big gatherings, Trooping the Colour gets canceled. "In line with government advice, it has been agreed that the queen's birthday parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead in its traditional form," Buckingham Palace announced in a statement, per Vanity Fair.
However, several options are being considered to continue the event, in line with the government's protocol. Queen Elizabeth's official celebration may push through, but in a different way. Although the royal family is following the government's advice to self-isolate, they are still busy working from home through phone and video calls. So, royal fans have to wait for Buckingham Palace's announcement about how this celebration will possibly continue.
