Queen Elizabeth II Celebrates Trooping The Colour Without Royal Family Members

Jun 14, 2021 by apost team

It’s customary for the royal family to celebrate and commemorate events throughout the year and when it comes to their birthdays, sometimes it’s twice a year. Queen Elizabeth II has two birthdays recognized — the day she was born on April 21, 1926, and her “official” birthday in June. This day is commemorated by the annual Trooping the Colour event.

Normally, the ceremony features over 1,400 parading soldiers, 400 musicians, 200 horses, and many onlookers, according to The Royal Household’s official website. The parade, which usually starts from Buckingham Palace, even closes with a patriotic showing from the Royal Air Force.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, BBC News reported that this event had been scaled down by a lot in 2020 and 2021. The last two years' Trooping the Colour was also different because the reduced parade took place on the grounds of Windsor Castle, rather than in central London, led by the Scots Guards.

The tradition didn't actually begin with Queen Elizabeth II, but rather King George II, all the way back in 1748. The reason is actually due to the weather — King George II's birthday was in November, which is a terrible month for weather in Britain. In order to best celebrate outdoors, it was decided that a big outdoor celebration would take place in June to make use of the better summer weather. Ever since, the Trooping the Colour event has taken place in June, regardless of when the ruling monarch's actual birthday is.

Sadly, this year, just shy of her 95th birthday on April 21, the Queen lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who passed away on April 9. She celebrated this year's Trooping The Colour alone. 

With only 275 people in the parade, the queen's celebration was much smaller than usual due to COVID-19. Still, the parade was much bigger than the 2020 Trooping the Colour parade, which only had 85 soldiers.

Elizabeth was seen sitting without the other senior members of the royal family. Express UK reported that Elizabeth arrived at the Quadrangle in Windsor Castle at 11 am to watch the Trooping of the Colour in her honor.

For the event, Elizabeth opted to wear an elegant grey coat dress and matching hat. The queen is rarely ever seen not wearing a brooch for most royal events, and this special occasion was no exception. She wore the gorgeous Aquamarine Art Deco brooch, which is an aquamarine gem at its center and surrounded with diamonds. The news outlet reported that this is a rare piece of jewelry in the queen’s varied collection. 

According to the Court Jeweller, the brooch has a unique shape and design, which suggests that it may be able to be separated and worn as a pair of clips. The brooch originally belonged to the Queen Mother and was passed down to Elizabeth in 2002.

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Elizabeth was escorted to the event by her cousin, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. While she was not all alone for the event, it was certainly a poignant event due to Prince Philip's death on April 9, 2021. This is the first time that the queen is celebrating her official birthday without her faithful husband by her side in over seven decades. The couple was well-loved and even their seven-decade-long marriage held the title of the longest marriage in the British monarchy.

Pictured here are the members of the public that have gathered to see the parade as The Household Cavalry rides along the pathway. This year, the 70 horses and gunfire salute had returned after being removed for the 2020 parade.

BBC News reported that Lt Col Guy Stone said about the event, "Last year we had 85 on parade, this year we've got 274, plus 70 horses, so we're really excited about the event having grown and getting us back to normal for next year we hope."

Usually, for the ceremony, the Household Division marches with a regimental flag, known as a "colour." The F Company Scots Guards, the Household Cavalry, and Us Magazine reported that they trooped the color of the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards through the parade. The Royal Air Force also put on an aerial display for all to enjoy. 

Senior members of the royal family usually gather on a balcony at Buckingham Palace in order to greet the crowd that has gathered below for this event, but this is the second year in a row that this has not taken place. 

Lt Col Guy Stone added, "It's been very challenging, but we like a challenge. Covid has got a lot to answer for in so many ways, it's made this difficult but what we want to do more than anything is give the Queen a memorable and uplifting day."

What do you think of the photos for this year's Trooping The Colour parade? Tell us your thoughts, and be sure to let others know about the queen's dignified presence at this event.