Queen Celebrates First of 2 Birthdays
Royals do it better. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her real birthday Tuesday, but as the monarch, she has another set for June.
Per CNN, British monarchs began celebrating two birthdays in the 18th century, one “official” one on their actual birth date, and a second dedicated to public festivities, associated with the military parade Trooping the Colour. The tradition reportedly started with party-animal King George II in 1748.
The Queen turned 94 on April 21st, but both of her birthday parties have been downgraded due to the pandemic. Normally, her actual birthday would be celebrated in private and with a traditional royal gun salute. On the ceremonial birthday, 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians take part in an extravagant ceremony for the Queen.
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