A Mini Trooping the Colour Will Take Place on June 13

windsor, england april 21 queen elizabeth ii waves during a walk about around windsor on her 90th birthday on april 21, 2016 in windsor, england photo by samir husseinwireimage

(Image credit: Victoria Jones - PA Images)

published 12 June 2020

The Queen's official birthday, the second Saturday in June, is typically celebrated with the Trooping the Colour military parade.
The ceremony was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last time the event was called off was in 1955, when a national rail strike occurred.
On Saturday, June 13, a "small, brief military ceremony" will take place to mark the Queen's official birthday, Buckingham Palace told People.

Pretty much all of the Queen's typical birthday celebrations have been thwarted this year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. On April 21, her actual birthday, the customary gun salutes were called off, government buildings weren't compelled to fly the Union Jack, and she spent the day in quarantine at Windsor Castle (though she did get a very cute birthday call from Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and Archie). And Trooping the Colour, the grand military parade usually held on her official birthday, celebrated on the second Saturday of June, was called off too—for the first time since 1955, when a national rail strike resulted in the event's cancellation.

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The Queen will still receive a little military celebration on Saturday, however. As People reports, the sweeping parades and Air Force fly-past of Trooping the Colour will be replaced by a scaled-down military salute at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and husband Prince Philip are isolating together. "There will be a small, brief military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark The Queen’s official birthday," Buckingham Palace told People.

The royals typically gather on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the fly-past at the end of Trooping the Colour, but according to People, it's not yet known whether the Queen's family will be permitted to join her at Windsor Castle for the smaller military salute. It is, however, likely to be broadcast on TV. Media arrangements haven't been finalized, People reports—but your best bet is the BBC.

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