The Queen's birthday parade is the latest royal event to have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic this summer. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "In line with Government advice, it has been agreed that The Queen’s Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead in its traditional form. A number of other options are being considered, in line with relevant guidance."
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Trooping the Colour was scheduled to take place on Saturday 13 June this year and the Queen - who is set to turn 94 - is usually joined by extended members of her family to watch the festivities from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's youngest child, Prince Louis, delighted fans when he made his debut at the event last year and was seen waving enthusiastically at the fly-past.
While the Queen's actual birthday is on 21 April, official celebrations to mark the sovereign's birthday have often been held on another day, particularly when the date has not been in the summer.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesThe royals on the balcony last year
Her Majesty's great grandfather King Edward VII, for example, was born on 9 November 1841, but his official birthday was always marked in May or June when there was a greater likelihood of good weather for the Trooping the Colour parade. The tradition is believed to date back to 1748, during King George II's reign.
The Buckingham Palace royal garden parties, the Maundy Service at St George's Chapel in Windsor and the Japanese state visit have already been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The weekly Changing of the Guard at the royal palaces is also not taking place for the foreseeable future, while Princess Beatrice has been forced to cancel her wedding reception at Buckingham Palace gardens. She and fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are set to marry on 29 May at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace, London, but the couple are considering whether to make it a small affair with close friends and family only.
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