Celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday - Careline Alarms

Today marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday and as a result there are lots of exciting events taking place today and over the next few months. As part of the celebrations, we at Careline365 personal alarms, have taken a look at the Queen’s life and how you can get involved in her birthday.

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen’s quintessential ‘Britishness’ makes her a very recognisable figure and has earned her the love and respect of millions of people around the world. This may have something to do with the fact that Queen Elizabeth is the longest serving monarch having spent 64 years on the throne as the Queen of the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several other countries that have since gained independence. She is also Head of the Commonwealth. For many of us, the Queen is the only monarch that we have known – she is on our stamps, our money and constantly in our media.

One reason that Queen Elizabeth is so close to everyone’s hearts is her strong work ethic. Despite turning 90 today, the Queen shows no signs of slowing down. Last year she carried out 306 engagements in the UK and 35 abroad – more than William, Kate and Harry put together! Her dedication to her people and duties is endearing and places her high in the public’s estimations.

The BBC recently took a look at how The Queen has achieved such good health for her age and came up with a few important factors including: strong genes (the Queen’s mother lived to 101!), sensible eating habits (she avoids potatoes, pasta and rice at dinner), staying mentally alert (reading lots of government papers) and remaining physically active (she exercises daily by riding or walking).

Queen Elizabeth is not only admired for her health, she has also achieved a lot in her life. At the age of 19, during the Second World War, Elizabeth trained as a driver and a mechanic as part of the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Army, and was promoted to junior commander after 5 months.

When the King died at 56, Elizabeth’s immediate accession to the throne meant that she was made Queen at the young age of 25. She is a patron for 600 charities and has worked with 12 prime ministers so far.

The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations

As many of us know, the Queen has two birthdays: her actual birthday and her official birthday. The Queen’s actual birthday is today and this is normally spent privately. Her official birthday is usually celebrated on the second Saturday in June and is a more public affair. To commemorate her 90th birthday however, the Queen’s celebrations began yesterday and will go on for the next few months.

The celebrations began yesterday with a specially commissioned Stamp Sheet featuring four generations of royals: Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George and the Queen. This was to celebrate the joint birthdays of the Queen and the Royal Mail, which turns 500 this year.

Today, April 21, will not be the main focus of the birthday celebrations but the Queen will unveil a plaque marking the start of a Queen’s Walkway in Windsor, commemorating the Queen as our longest reigning monarch. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will then greet members of the public. This evening, the Queen and other members of the Royal family will light the first beacon of 1,000 that will be lit across the country and the world. Tomorrow, 22nd April, she will host Barack Obama for lunch at Windsor Castle.

The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration will take place between the May 12-15, and will be a 90 minute long performance involving more that 900 horses and 1500 performers. Tickets sold out a while ago but you will be able to watch the parade on ITV.

On June 10, a service of Thanksgiving will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral. June 11 will see the annual Trooping the Colour parade behind Whitehall. Anyone standing on The Mall should be able to catch a glimpse of the Queen and the Royal family will also appear on the balcony at 1pm. Pubs are also allowed to stay open until 1am on the 10th and 11th so that we can all join in the celebrations too!

June 12 sees the pinnacle moment of the Queen’s birthday – a giant street party for The Patron’s Lunch. The public are invited to join in with the festival atmosphere in the parks and public areas surrounding The Mall. People around the country and across the Commonwealth are also being encouraged to throw their own street parties on this day too. The government have a guide to help you plan a street party on their website.

We hope you will enjoy the Queen’s birthday celebrations as much as we will and even if you can’t make it to any of the events in London or Windsor much of the celebration will be televised so that no one misses out.

Finally, a very Happy Birthday from Careline365, Your Majesty!