Queen Elizabeth II will not get a gun salute to mark her birthday Tuesday for the first time in her 68-year reign — and will instead have a virtual Zoom party from the safety of quarantine, according to reports.
The Queen, who turns 94 on Tuesday, insisted that the usual formalities to scrapped because of the coronavirus crisis, a Palace source told ITV.
It will be the first birthday since her coronation in 1952 that the Queen has not had a formal gun salute — and local councils have also been told that social distancing is more important than flying the Union Jack.
“We will not be marking Her Majesty’s birthday in any special way,” the source told ITV, insisting it was “in line with Her Majesty’s wishes”
“Her Majesty was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances,” the source said.
Coronavirus lockdown measures mean the rest of the royal family cannot visit the Queen, who is isolating with her 98-year-old husband, Prince Philip, in Windsor Castle.
Instead, the monarch is expected to video-chat with her royal relatives as a form of a virtual party, according to The Sun, with aides insisting the chats will remain private.
Prince William has previously said that family members have been using Zoom to stay in touch from their various isolation spots.
Prince Charles is in Scotland, Prince William is in Norfolk, while Prince Harry now lives in Los Angeles.
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