, the Duke of Sussex, ahead of his trip to the Netherlands with the Duchess of Sussex to launch the 2022 Invictus Games.
In 2020 and 2021 the Queen has been in Windsor for her birthday. She is often in Windsor at this time of year for Easter Court but in the two years of coronavirus restrictions, there have been fewer official elements of this period in the royal calendar.95th birthday was spent in mourningHer birthday has been marked privately for several years, and 2021 saw no official confirmation of any activities. It was reported she had a quiet lunch with family.
There were no gun salutes in 2020 or the first part of 2021 due to the pandemic. They were reinstated after the death of Prince Philip on 9 April, but there were none for the Queen's real birthday.The practice of an official birthday for the monarch dates back 260 years, when George II repurposed the traditional Trooping the Colour for his own celebration.
Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI, had his official birthday on the second Thursday in June, and the Queen adopted this for a few years after she acceded.