Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Cancelled As Coronavirus Peaks In Britain

Queen Elizabeth’s birthday celebrations have been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. She will not celebrate her 94th in grand style as expected. There will also be no gun salute to commemorate the occasion because it was not appropriate in these new times. Britain is at the peak of the outbreak.

Fourteen thousand people have died from COVID-19. The U.K. is the fifth nation to have the highest death toll due to the pandemic that’s been linked to 150,000 deaths worldwide. Gun salutes, which are typically fired from various locations throughout London, are often used by the royal family to commemorate special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays. The Queen’s birthday is on Tuesday, April 21.

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This is the first time in the Queen’s 68-year reign that such an event has been canceled, according to U.S. News.

“We will not be marking Her Majesty’s birthday in any special way’ this year due to the #coronavirus pandemic,” ITV reporter Chris Ship tweeted, as per the Queen’s request.

The U.K. is in its fourth week of a nation-wide lockdown. The business has been forced to close and citizens are ordered to stay home. Earlier this month, Queen Elizabeth addressed the nation, saying that “Better days are coming.”

“Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute then we will overcome it,” she said during her address from Windsor Castle.

“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” the Queen continued, as quoted by The Hill. “Those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”

The country’s longest-serving monarch also praised Britain’s National Health Service and other essential workers who have worked during this pandemic. She also encouraged people to stay home, which she noted is helping to protect the vulnerable.

“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,” she said. “A time of disruption in the life of our country; a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.”

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This was a rare message for the Queen. Aside from her annual Christmas message, she rarely gives a public address like this latest one. Her three previous addressed took place after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, before the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, and during the Gulf War in 1991, according to The Associated Press.

Buckingham Palace announced last month that a parade to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, which is often celebrated in June, is also canceled. There are no alternative plans to replace the parade, an insider said.