The Queen has decided there will not be any special occasion to mark her 94th birthday this year due to the Coronavirus crisis.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace today announced at the Queen’s request and for the first time during her 68-year reign – there will be no gun salutes in the royal parks this year.
The aide said: “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.”
A social media post will mark the day on Tuesday, but any calls or video calls with family will be private.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport have written to government buildings giving the standard advice on flag flying protocol but included the following in their instructions: “In the current circumstances we are not expecting everyone to be able to follow this advice and you should continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines as set out by the Government.”
As has already been announced due to the pandemic, the Trooping the Colour celebrations due to be scheduled in June has been cancelled and there are no plans currently for any alternative marking of the Queen’s official birthday.
The Queen praised the actions of millions of Brits saving lives by staying at home over Easter declaring “coronavirus will not overcome us”.
In her first ever Easter message she told how she believed the story of Christ’s resurrection could be a symbol for the world giving “new hope and fresh purpose”.
Royal sources said the Queen felt compelled to make the recording as thousands of people were prohibited from being able to mark the religious period as the country continues to be in lockdown.
The Queen: “Easter will be different for many of us, but by keeping apart we keep others safe.
“But Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever.
“The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this.
“We know that Coronavirus will not overcome us.”
It was the Queen’s second unprecedented broadcast in a week after she delivered an historic message of hope to the nation and the Commonwealth amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Yesterday it was reported that Kate Middleton said the pandemic is going to “dramatically change” how much Britain values its NHS staff.
The Duchess of Cambridge said extra recognition for the hardworking lifesavers at the forefront of the crisis is the “one of the main positives that you can take from this”.
The senior royal was speaking to the BBC’s Tina Daheley alongside Prince William about a new phase of the government campaign Every Mind Matters.
The Public Health England scheme is focused on looking after people’s mental wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A video narrated by the Cambridges is set to be broadcast across national TV channels and social media from Monday, April 20.
With the words “we’re in this together”, the couple herald the campaign which includes new NHS expert tips and advice on looking after mental wellbeing and supporting your family and loved ones during the crisis.
The duke said the scheme – which is in its “second guise” following feedback from the NHS and various case studies – is now more important than ever in the current climate in guiding people on their mental health.
“We felt very strongly that now more than ever this was a vital tool and a vital service that people could easily access at home to guide them and give them just some very basic tips to mind their mental health, to mind their mental wellbeing through this process,” he said.
“I think again staying connected, staying positive and being able to talk to friends and family is so crucial and having just some tips and some ideas as to how to tackle some of these strange feelings and difficult circumstances we’re finding ourselves in is really important.”