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Queen Elizabeth’s socially distanced Trooping of the Colour

Queen Elizabeth took part in a socially distanced Trooping of the Colour on Saturday (13.06.20).

The British monarch celebrated her 94th birthday back in April 21, but her "official" birthday always takes place in June with the Trooping the Colour parade.

However, it was very different than usual due to the coronavirus 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.

It also marked the Queen’s first official appearance since the lockdown started, although she has made two televised addresses – one about the coronavirus pandemic and the other to celebrate VE Day.

In a rare televised address to the British public and the wider Commonwealth amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Queen Elizabeth promised "better days would return"

She said: "While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us. We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."

The British monarch went on to say how she hoped people would be proud of how they responded to the current challenges.

She added: "I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country."