FILE PHOTO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, along with other members of the British royal family, watch as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team Red Arrows performs a flypast during Trooping the Colour parade in London, Britain June 8, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo)
Queen Elizabeth is going to come out of isolation to watch the upcoming Trooping the Colour mini-parade in her honor. It will be happening at the grounds of Windsor Castle, instead of London, but crowds have been told to stay away since there will be nothing much to see.
Buckingham Palace released an operational note confirming that the Queen will be watching the scaled-down military ceremony for her official birthday, which is taking place on Saturday, June 13. Queen Elizabeth is expected to arrive at the Quadrangle, where there will be military drills and music from the military band.
The ceremony will be short and concise compared to the annual parade held at Buckingham Palace. The event will be a private affair, as opposed to the usual public spectacle that attracts thousands of spectators every year.
The palace said that crowds are not encouraged to come and watch the ceremony at Windsor Castle since it will be hard to view what's going on from the grounds. While the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex live nearby, no other members of the royal family are expected to attend as well as they are still following the guidelines from the government. However, the mini-Trooping the Colour will be televised at a later time.
Trooping the Colour marks Queen Elizabeth's official birthday as British sovereigns usually have two birthdays. The Queen was actually born on April 21 but the Trooping the Colour is the public celebration.
The event is done every summer because of the fine weather for parades. The Queen and the royal family also join the ceremonies, riding their horses or carriages in the streets of London.
This year, however, Buckingham Palace announced as early as April that the royal family will not be holding the usual celebrations because of the coronavirus pandemic. Gathering of large crowds will be risky for everyone since the virus might spread and they have to protect the Queen from contracting the virus.
The mini-Trooping the will be led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Llewelyn-Usher. Welsh Guards and regimental flags will be marching along with Bands of the Household Division to give the monarch a royal salute.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their son Archie were supposed to return to London for the Trooping the Colour. Due to the travel restrictions and the risk of virus spread, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have canceled their trip back home and will remain in Los Angeles.
