The Queen won’t have a big birthday celebration again this year.
Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that Queen Elizabeth’s Trooping the Colour parade will not happen in its traditional form for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Following consultation with Government and other relevant parties it has been agreed that The Queen’s Official Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead this year in its traditional form in central London,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Friday.
Adding, “Options for an alternative Parade, in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, are being considered. The annual Garter service, usually held in June, will not take place this year.”
According to the official Royal website, the ceremony typically includes “over 1400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians” who “come together each June in a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to mark The Queen’s official birthday.”
Earlier this year, before their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, it was speculated that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may return to the UK for the annual ceremony. However, it seems we now won’t find out if that was the plan.
Last year, The Queen marked her 94th birthday with a scaled-back Trooping the Colour ceremony in June, instead of the larger traditional parade seen in years past.
Buckingham Palace confirmed to Access Hollywood in a statement in 2020 that instead of the larger gathering, quote, “There will be a small, brief, military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark the Queen’s official birthday.”