Queen Elizabeth received such a beautiful surprise during a recent virtual conference with the winners of the Commonwealth Points of Light award. In the middle of their conversation, the Queen watched a special performance from young music students in Cyprus.
According to People, 45 children serenaded the Queen as their gift for her 73rd wedding anniversary to Prince Philip. The students sang and played an original composition with the help of their teacher Nikoletta Polydoro, who was one of the awardees of the Points of Light.
Polydoro works for the Sistema Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, which delivers free musical education for children who are in at-risk communities. After their virtual musical performance, Queen Elizabeth thanked the children for their "very nice" rendition. Clips of the virtual conference, including the serenade, was uploaded on the Royal Family Facebook page.
Prince Philip, however, missed out on the performance as he was not part of the virtual conference. However, the Queen and her husband did celebrate their wedding anniversary together, while isolating in Windsor Castle, last Nov. 20. The royal couple received precious handmade gifts from their great-grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Meanwhile, the Queen also talked to turtle conversationalist Len Peters from Trinidad and Tobago. He was the first to receive the Points of Light award for his 30 years of work in preserving a turtle sanctuary. The monarch also talked to Ruy Santos from Mozambique. He presented Her Majesty with a handmade Mokobo face mask sample, which was distributed at various hospitals, charities, and communities in his home country.
Queen Elizabeth commended the three winners for their "wonderful" voluntary effort for the Commonwealth countries. The monarch said that she was delighted to hear their stories and learn about the progress of their work.
In line with other anniversary celebrations, plans are reportedly underway for a tree-planting activity in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary as the British monarch. In a statement to the public, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the "Plant a Tree for the Jubilee" scheme as part of The Queen's Green Canopy project.
The project hopes to drive councils, homeowners, landowners, schools, and other communities to plant native trees to improve green spaces around the U.K. in time for 2022, when Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Platinum Jubilee as the monarch.
Earlier, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden hinted that he is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a green initiative as one of the many activities planned for this event. But the rest of the landmark celebration will actually take place in June 2022 as a four-day weekend.
