Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin is to take Prince Philip’s place at the Trooping of the Colour parade.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent will be alongside the 95-year-old monarch at the military ceremony in honour of the sovereign’s official birthday on June 12, following the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh in April.
Last year’s Trooping of the Colour was largely scaled-back amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was held at Windsor Castle, with 20 members from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards performing military drills on the lawn whilst the Queen watched on. Each soldier stood two metres apart from one another as per government guidelines.
The Queen sat down under a marquee as she watched the ceremony from afar, much different from her usual spot with all of the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, London.
However, with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the 2021 spectacle is expected to feature far more military personnel.
Meanwhile, the queen has a number of other engagements lined up, including meeting US President Joe Biden.
The White House are reportedly finalising plans for the US leader and his wife Jill to meet Her Majesty when he flies to the UK for the Group of 7 summit in Cornwall, with the visit expected to take place after the conference and before the 78-year-old president flies to Brussels, Belgium, for a Nato meeting on June 14.
The UK visit will mark the first overseas trip for the president, who has been focusing on domestic issues, including the US’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And it’s unlikely the queen will be the only royal the president meets as her son, Prince Charles, and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to be present for the meeting in order to cement the “special relationship” between the UK and the US.
Mr. Biden will be the 13th US president to meet the queen in her 69-year reign, with Lyndon Johnson the only leader of the country not to have spent time with the monarch because he never visited the UK during his time in office.
His predecessor Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania enjoyed tea with the queen at Windsor Castle in July 2018, before being hosted for a formal state visit to Buckingham Palace the following year.