The Queen is set to make a long-awaited return to her home in London, Buckingham Palace, this year after she has been staying at Windsor Castle since the coronavirus pandemic began (excepting short visits to Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House). According to The Sunday Times, the monarch and her husband Prince Philip plan to move back to Buckingham Palace ahead of Trooping the Colour on 12 June in honour of the Queen's 95th birthday.
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Last year, a scaled-down version of the annual parade took place at Windsor Castle, with Her Majesty being the only royal in attendance, so it makes sense that she and the Duke of Edinburgh hope for usual practice to resume with the event taking place at its typical spot this year.
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The Queen's home, Buckingham Palace
A senior royal aide told The Sunday Times: "The current plan is for the Queen's birthday parade to go ahead in London as normal, with the acceptance that it may need to be adapted or scaled back depending on what guidelines are in force at the time. But the aspiration and the ultimate desire is to make it happen."
The Queen's second home, Windsor Castle
Besides Trooping the Colour, the couple are undoubtedly looking forward to spending time at Buckingham Palace on a day-to-day basis. It is entirely out of the ordinary for them to have stayed at Windsor Castle for as long as they did in 2020 – they tend to take up official residence there for just one month over Easter and a week during June – and Buckingham Palace is, of course, their main base. In fact, it is believed to be her longest absence from the property since she began her 68-year reign.
The property spans a mammoth 829,000 square feet with a total of 775 rooms inside, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 92 offices, 78 bathrooms and 188 bedrooms for the household staff.
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