The world’s oldest incumbent monarch, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 96th birthday in private on Thursday, as London celebrated her sovereign with cannon fire and military bands playing “Happy Birthday”.
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Now largely withdrawn from public life due to mobility problems, the sovereign, who passed the milestone of 70 years of reign in February, chose to celebrate this anniversary in the calm of the royal estate of Sandringham, 200 kilometers to the north. from London.
According to the press, she spends a few days at Wood Farm, a relatively modest house loved by her husband Philip, who died last year at 99.
Hundreds of people, however, gathered outside Windsor Castle (west London) where she usually resides. A Coldstream Guards marching band, in red tunics and black bearskin caps, played ‘Happy Birthday’ there, and dozens of cannon fire rang out at midday, including in Hyde Park, with another marching band .
For the occasion, Buckingham Palace published a photo taken last month, showing the sovereign in a dark green capeline coat, holding by the bridle in the gardens of Windsor two white Fell ponies, a breed from the north of England.
A Barbie doll bearing her image was also put up for sale, wearing an ivory dress, a large blue ribbon and a small tiara.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the sovereign on Twitter, referring to “70 years of impeccable dedication”. His grandson William and his wife Kate hailed “an inspiration to so many in the UK, the Commonwealth and the world”.
The first months of his “Platinum Jubilee”, which will give rise to four days of highly anticipated festivities in early June, have not been easy, between his health problems, the accusations of sexual assault against his son Andrew – recently arrived to a financial agreement with his accuser – and questions about the future of the monarchy and the Commonwealth.
Since a brief hospitalization in October, Elizabeth II’s appearances have become extremely rare, although she continues to take on “light duties” at Windsor Castle, mostly by videoconference.
On March 29, however, she attended a religious ceremony in Westminster Abbey in honor of Prince Philip. It was his first major public appearance in months.
Arrived on the arm of her son Andrew, leaning on a cane, we saw her there, frail and dignified, walking slowly and greeting several participants after the ceremony.
She herself had confided in mid-February that she “could not move”, showing her left leg during a hearing in Windsor.
Wheelchair
According to the British press, she would use a wheelchair in private, and an adapted lift would have been installed in her Scottish residence in Balmoral.
Adding to these problems, she caught Covid-19 in February. “It leaves you very tired and exhausted doesn’t it, this horrible pandemic”, the sovereign recently confided.
“She is in great shape,” her grandson Harry told NBC on Wednesday, however, after a surprise visit last week with his wife Meghan. The couple now settled in California had not seen her for two years.
Since October, the Queen has largely delegated to her son Charles, 73, the heir to the crown. But he is significantly less popular – 43% in favor compared to 69% for the Queen – according to an Ipsos poll in March, and also much less popular than his son Prince William, 39 (64%), and wife of the latter, Kate (60%). 42% of Britons would prefer Charles to abdicate in favor of William.
But the recent tour of William and Kate in the Caribbean, to celebrate the attachment of the monarchy to the former colonies on the occasion of the Jubilee, has sometimes given rise to tense confrontations, in particular on the slavery past of the United Kingdom, auguring difficulties ahead.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness also considered “inevitable” the transition of his country, of which the Queen is head of state, to a republican regime.
The life of Queen Elizabeth II in 10 key dates
Here are the main dates of Elizabeth II, who celebrates her 96th birthday on Thursday.
– 21 avril 1926: born in London.
– December 12, 1936: heiress to the British Crown after the unexpected accession of her father George VI to the throne.
– November 20, 1947: married Philip Mountbatten, a distant cousin.
– November 14, 1948: Birth of Charles. The couple will have three more children: Anne, Andrew and Edward.
– February 6, 1952: acceded to the throne at the age of 25, on the death of his father from lung cancer at 56. His coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on June 2, 1953.
– 1992: evokes an “annus horribilis”. Three of his children separated from their spouses and Windsor Castle was hit by a devastating fire.
– August 31, 1997: criticized for the timidity of its reaction, out of step with popular emotion, to the death of Princess Diana.
– September 9, 2015: she breaks the record of longevity on the British throne.
– 9 avril 2021: death of her husband Prince Philip, at the age of 99.
– February 6, 2022: she reaches the milestone of 70 years of reign, a platinum jubilee which will give rise to four days of celebrations in June.