TORONTO -- This week marks two significant royal birthdays. The first, for the oldest living male in the Royal Family and longest serving Consort - and the second the official celebration for the longest-serving Queen in history. In any other time, there would be a family gathering to mark these extraordinary milestones, but the current pandemic necessitates more muted and private celebrations behind Castle walls for these two royals.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, marks 99 years on June 10. He has not been seen in public since leaving hospital on Christmas Eve, and is currently quarantined at Windsor Castle with the Queen. He withdrew from public life in August 2017 at age 96 and has avoided public duties and engagements since then. We have only seen him on a few family occasions and in photographs. He has been splitting his time between the Sandringham Estate in the east of England and Balmoral Castle in Scotland most days apart from the Queen as she continues her duties in London and elsewhere.
It is unlikely that there would have been a public celebration for Prince Philip in any case. He has always been loath to draw attention to himself and to submit to public celebrations of his birthdays. But 99 is certainly a milestone worth noting given his 65-year commitment to public life. The Queen has said that he has been her strength and stay throughout the years and his fingerprints are on the messages that the Queen has released since the start of this crisis.
Normally, there would have been gun salutes in Hyde Park, at the Tower of London and various other places in the U.K. to salute The Duke, and these would have been enjoyed by many. But the public health crisis has meant that these salutes will not take place this year either so there will be a little if any public celebration, aside from the flying of flags and peal of bells at Westminster Abbey. However, a photograph of the Queen and Duke was released for the occasion showing them both in good form.
Also this week, Saturday marks the Official Birthday of the Queen in the U.K. Usually to celebrate the occasion, the colourful military ceremony known as Trooping the Colour takes place on Horse Guards Parade. This has been the case for close to 250 years, but not this year. Until 1986, the Queen rode a horse given to her by the RCMP, Burmese, on this occasion. The ceremony was cancelled only once, in 1955, owing to a strike by transport workers. Rain or shine, the ceremony is a highlight for visitors and residents of London alike. The celebration always concludes with a balcony appearance by the entire family and a flypast by the RAF. These are colourful occasions when the passing of time is marked as royal children and spouses are added to the balcony as time goes on.
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A small scaled-down Trooping the Colour will be staged for the Queen at Windsor Castle and broadcast on television. It may be one of the only occasions in which the Queen is seen undertaking a royal duty of any kind for the rest of 2020, given the risk in gatherings in public.
Trooping normally marks the beginning of a week of events centred on Windsor Castle, including the Order of the Garter service and Royal Ascot. Many Canadians make the trip specially to see these events as they have special access as part of the Commonwealth. The Queen will be sorry that these fixtures on her calendar are unable to take place and that so many will be disappointed.
This will also be the first official birthday in anyone's memory on which there will be no honours list. Normally, up to 1,200 people are recognized by the Crown for their services to the country, to community groups or to their profession on the Queen's official birthday or at New Year's. In 2020, the June list was postponed given the difficulties of processing these kinds of nominations in view of the challenges during COVID-19. The U.K. government has said that the list will be released later when it can include those who have made important contributions during the present crisis, such as in healthcare, and other essential jobs.
But notwithstanding the disappointing cancellation of official ceremonies in this time of Coronavirus, the pandemic has brought the Queen and Duke together in the same place for the longest period of their married lives. It is a bittersweet that it has taken a crisis like this for them to be able to be together and enjoy time as never before.
It is a longstanding tradition that the Queen sends a special birthday greeting to citizens in Commonwealth realms when they reach 100 years. Her Majesty is, no doubt, hoping to include her own husband in that ritual next year as they both continue to carry on in challenging times after more than 72 years of marriage.
