London – Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 90th birthday on Thursday and Britain will honor a woman who appears to have kept the promise of devoting her whole life to serve her nation. The occasion will be commemorated with longer pub hours and warm bear, equestrian displays, a lunch with Barack Obama and an appearance by Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, among other royal events.
Celebrations were kicked off on Wednesday, when the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in a dutiful display at a Royal Mail delivery center. They watched employees sort mail before enjoying a serenade by a choir of postal workers, according to a report by the New York Times.
On Thursday, the longest-reigning monarch will meet-and-greet locals on a royal walkabout around the charming city of Windsor, located about 20 miles west of London.
The walkabout is an example that Queen Elizabeth is still on the move. Since she first did it during a visit to New Zealand and Australia in 1970, walking among the crowds has been a mark of her own when it comes to royal events.
She is expected to light the first of more than 1,000 torches or bonfires in the evening as part of the royal tradition deployed on big occasions. Beacons will be taken to the highest peaks in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The message Buckingham Palace is giving out is, she is still working on her 90th birthday,” said royal biographer Robert Lacey.
The Queen alongside the Duke of Edinburgh will open a new bandstand near Windsor Castle, the royal residence where Elizabeth will host a lunch for Barack and Michelle Obama on Friday.
Prince Charles, Elizabeth’s son and heir, is hosting a private dinner for her birthday and it has been said that Nadiya Hussain is backing the queen an orange drizzle birthday cake with orange curd and orange buttercream. Hussain is the winner of the TV program The Great British Bake Off.
Depending on their budget, Britons will be able to buy either the 22-karat gold God Save the Queen (retailing for $1,425) or the $50 souvenir waistcoat emblazoned with the queen’s image.
Prince William describes Queen Elizabeth as a ‘strong female influence’ in his life
The Duke of Cambridge said in an interview with Sky News ahead of his grandmother’s 90th birthday that it has been particularly important to him that he had such an honorable woman to look up to after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He was just 15 when Diana died in a car crash and told Sky News that Elizabeth has understood “some of the more complex issues when you lose a loved one.”
Source: New York Times