Britain's Queen attended ‘Trooping the Colour’ event

The queen's actual birthday is on 21 April but her official birthday is marked on the second Saturday of June each year.

On Saturday, Britain's Queen Elizabeth attended a scaled-down military ceremony at Windsor Castle to commemorate her official birthday, her first since the loss of her husband, Prince Philip, two months ago.

The 95-year-old Queen was escorted by her cousin Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, for a socially distant rendition of the 260-year-old 'Trooping the Colour' event. In April, Philip, Elizabeth's husband for more than 70 years, passed away.

The celebration arrives a day after the monarch received leaders of the Group of Seven affluent nations for a reception in Cornwall, southwest England, where they are convening for three days.

Further, the queen will have tea with US Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, On Sunday, before he departs for more engagements in Europe. Traditionally, 'Trooping the Colour' features troops in scarlet uniforms and towering bearskin hats parading through downtown London, however, it has had to be cut back for the previous two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Soldiers from the Household Division and The Queen's Colour of F Company Scots Guards took part in the event this year, which was held on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the queen's residence to the west of London where she has spent the most of her time since the pandemic outbreak.

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute, which was followed by a flypast by the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic display team.

Furthermore, pandemic heroes have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours, with vaccine developer Prof Sarah Gilbert and former head of the vaccine taskforce Kate Bingham among those honoured.

Official celebrations of a sovereign's birthday are often held on a day other than their actual birth date, notably if the actual birthday is not in the summer, when the weather is ideal for a parade.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)