21 April Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In London, on 29th April for exactness, there will be a big event, the wedding of the Royal House between William and Kate, and already' all the city' is preparing and organizing its streets for the great event.
But 21th April signs another important yearly recurrence celebrated by the british people, is the birthday of Her Majesty The Queen. The Queen's Official Birthday, also known as the Queen's Birthday is the day on which the birthday of the monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms is officially celebrated rather than the actual day of the current monarch's birthday. The exact date of the celebration varies from country to country, and only marks the real birthday of the sovereign by coincidence (the current monarch, Elizabeth II, was born on 21 April 1926). Most Commonwealth Realms release a Birthday Honours List at this time. In the United Kingdom, the Queen's Official Birthday is now celebrated on the first, second, or third Saturday in June, although it is rarely the third. It is marked in London by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour, which is also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade. The Queen's Official Birthday does not coincide with when she was born. Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910, and whose birthday was on 9 November, in autumn, moved the ceremony to summer in the hope of good weather. The Queen celebrates her actual birthday on 21 April. The list of Birthday Honours is also announced at the time of the UK Official Birthday celebrations. In British diplomatic missions the day is treated as the National Day of the United Kingdom. Although it is not celebrated as a specific public holiday in the UK (as it is not a working day), civil servants are given a "privilege day" at this time of year, which is often merged with the Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May) to create a long weekend, which was partly created to celebrate the monarch's birthday.
The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London. In 2006, Her Majesty celebrated her 80th Birthday in 2006 with a walkabout in the streets outside of Windsor Castle to meet well-wishers. On her official birthday, Her Majesty is joined by other members of the Royal Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade which moves between Buckingham Palace, The Mall and Horseguards’ Parade.
