Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 96th birthday

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II personally celebrated her 96th birthday on Thursday and retreated to Sandringham Park in eastern England, which gives the king and his wife, Prince Philip, protection from national affairs.

Elizabeth will stay in Wood Farm Cottage, a private sanctuary where she will spend her first Christmas after Philip’s death in April 2021. Philip said in February that he liked the cottage, in part because of its proximity to the sea. .. While hosting a rare public event at Sandlingham.

“I think the approach to the Queen’s birthday will calm and cool her down,” said Emilinash, HELLO’s royal editor. magazine. “He doesn’t want to be noisy.”

This birthday is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, celebrating 70 years on the throne. Thursday is less important, but there will be public celebrations from June 2 to 5, with a four-day celebration scheduled to coincide with the King’s official birthday.

Today marks another milestone in a terrifying time for the king to try to fortify the future of the monarchy in the face of family age and controversy. After recovering from COVID-19 earlier this year, the Queen’s public appearances have been limited by unspecified “mobility issues”. The multi-million pound settlement between Prince Andrew and a woman who accused him of sexual exploitation also caused headlines that the royal family disliked.

However, the prince received a birthday present last week when Prince Harry and Meghan’s granddaughter, Princess Sussex, left frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020 for the first time together. Harry added in an interview with NBC that his grandfather said his daughter was “very nice” but he wanted to be “protected” and a “right person around”. ..

Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, has been waiting for two years at Windsor Castle in west London. So he was evacuated during the pandemic.

It had been more than a year since his wife, Philip, who had been around for more than 70 years, died.

The Queen bids farewell during the funeral in the Chapel of St. Mary. George at Windsor Castle. Corona virus restrictions at the time limited services to 30 people, forcing the king to cry and sit alone. It’s a reminder of how he spent the rest of the year.

Last month, as my fears eased and was banned, the Queen turned down new health concerns to attend Thanksgiving to Philip at Westminster Abbey and entered the convent in the arms of her second son, Andrew.

The choice of his consort is seen as a vote of support for Andrew after the law is finalized.

But the in-person appearance was rare. The Queen increasingly needs Prince Charles’ involvement to carry out public service in the twilight years of her reign, most recently handing out alms to senior citizens in the Kingdom Maundy service at St. George’s Chapel.

Charles took on the traditional task of handing out special coins to retirees known for serving the church and community.

“This year, there were 96 men and women receiving coins, one for each year of the queen’s life.”