Saturday, June 17, 2006

Happy Official Birthday Your Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II attended Saturday the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony, this year to mark her official 80th birthday.

More than 1,100 soldiers took part in the annual procession for the monarch's birthday, which was actually on April 21, with an estimated 10,000 or more well wishers turning out to line the streets as the queen and members of her family rode past.

At 12.00 p.m. (GMT), the queen surrounded by the royal family appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace and watched a fly past of 49 World War II and modern military aircraft, an event labelled the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The action was followed by a 'Feu de Joie' (Fire of Joy), a celebratory volley of blank rounds fired by the guard and other soldiers in the palace's forecourt, the first time the ceremony has been performed during the Queen's reign.

The trooping of the colours ceremony originates from traditional preparations for war, but in 1748 it became an official mark of the sovereign's birthday.

Thousands of people, including tourists, waited in London for a parade to congratulate the monarch.

Most of the royal family attended the celebrations, including Prince Harry, Prince Charles, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Kent. Prince William, who is at Sandhurst, was not present and neither was the Duchess of Cornwall, who is in mourning for her father who died this week.

2 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

the old gal looks pretty sharp for her age...but what the fuck is on those two women's heads...? one on left looks like a chamber pot..the other looks like a bush is growning out of her head...

dom said...

The Duke of Edinburgh was 85 this week too, They look great for their ages.

The hats were a chamber pot and a bush