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When Queen Elizabeth turns 94 on Tuesday, 21 April, for the first time in her 68-year reign, there will be no gun salutes for Her Majesty, The Queen.
A palace source confirmed the news in a statement saying: "Her Majesty was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances."
According to ITV News, though many fly the Union Jack on the queen's birthday every year, the Government has written to all local authorities saying: "In the current circumstances we are not expecting everyone to be able to follow this advice,".
While the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport says to the people of the UK should they decide to fly the flag: "You should continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines as set out by the Government."
These recommendations, of course, are "in line with Her Majesty's wishes" as she continues to self-isolate at Windsor Castle with Prince Philip.
The annual Trooping the Colour, which was set to take place on 13 June in London, will also not go ahead as planned as a result of the coronavirus. The parade is one of the biggest events on the royal calendar and is considered the "official birthday" of the queen.
Fun fact: The centuries-old tradition of a double birthday started in 1748 during King George II reign – that means it dates back 272 years!
According to BBC, King George was born in November, which meant celebrations would've been an icy cold affair in the UK. As a result and in order to have a much bigger celebration, his "official birthday", it was decided, would be held in the summer with a military parade – and the reigning British monarchs have been partying with two rather elaborate celebrations ever since!
