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Queen Elizabeth II turns 96
By Derrick Bangura
After a difficult year marked by health worries, Queen Elizabeth II turned 96 on Thursday, receiving a resounding “Happy Birthday” from a military band outside her Windsor Castle palace.
The Coldstream Guards Band, dressed in scarlet tunics and wearing bearskin hats, performed the tribute before a bombardment of ceremonial gun salutes around the country.
The queen, the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state, marked the anniversary quietly, retreating to her Sandringham rural home in eastern England for a break.
No official engagements have been planned, although royal officials released a photograph of the horse-loving head of state with two of her fell ponies.
Her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate called her “an inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world”.
Royal tradition since the 18th century has also seen the monarch have a second, official birthday, typically celebrated in warmer weather in June.
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‘Great form’
This year’s official birthday coincides with four days of public events from June 2 to 5 to mark her record-breaking 70th year on the throne.
US toy manufacturer Mattel released a new Barbie doll of the queen to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee.
Given her recent health issues, the Sandringham visit is being viewed as a “good step,” according to British media.
On doctor’s orders, she has drastically reduced her public appearances since an unplanned overnight stay in the hospital last October.
She has had to cancel a number of commitments due to a back pain and difficulty standing and walking, including recent church Easter activities.
She revealed earlier this month that a bout of Covid-19 in February left her “extremely weary and exhausted.”
In an interview aired on Wednesday, William’s brother, Prince Harry, told US channel NBC that she was “in excellent form” when he met her last week.
The queen was last seen in public on March 29 at a memorial service for her late husband Prince Philip, who died last year at the age of 99, at Westminster Abbey in central London.
