Queen’s birthday marked with stripped-down Trooping the Colour ceremony due to coronavirus pandemic

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A STRIPPED-DOWN Trooping the Colour ceremony took place to honour the Queen’s birthday today – as the coronavirus pandemic forces a change in tradition.

And top Army official Major General Christopher Ghika, whose men paid tribute to Her Majesty, said the event offered a “unique opportunity” to commemorate the head of state’s milestone.

The Queen is celebrating her birthday with a stripped-back ceremony at Windsor Castle today

The traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony was replaced with a smaller celebration

This year, fewer soldiers participated in a private parade instead

The ceremony was marked at Windsor for the first time in 125 years

For the first time in 125 years, the ceremony has taken place at Windsor Castle.

More than 1,700 troops and 400 musicians traditionally perform at London’s Horse Guards Parade in front of huge crowds.

But this year, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, fewer than 100 Welsh Guards participated in a private parade in place of Trooping the Colour.

Maj Gen Ghika, who commands the Household Division and all military support for London’s civil response to coronavirus, said: “The circumstances of the requirement to perform the birthday tribute at Windsor Castle this year are clouded in tragedy.

“The effects of Covid-19 have been devastating in terms of loss of life and the threatening of livelihoods of so many across the country.

“People have had to endure separation from loved ones, great uncertainty and the suspension of so much of what is special about our national life.”

Servicemen from the Household Division – which includes the Welsh Guards – have been formed into a Covid Support Force, with the soldiers carrying out coronavirus tests at regional and mobile sites.

The Queen has been in residence at Windsor Castle during the coronavirus pandemic

The monarch would usually celebrate with a Trooping the Colour ceremony at Buckingham Palace

Today’s celebrations have been stripped back because of the pandemic

Maj Gen Ghika said: “The Welsh Guards and many of those on parade have recently been deployed within the United Kingdom as part of the nation’s response to the virus and so the context of the ceremony is particularly poignant.”

The ceremony featured a detachment from the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, and a reduced Massed Band of the Household Division taking part in a display in the castle’s quadrangle, created by Garrison Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Class 1 Andrew Stokes.

The band’s lead drummer, Lance Corporal Chusa Siwale, was one of those recently testing key workers for coronavirus.

LCpl Siwale, 29, from Zambia, said: “It is a huge privilege.

“Only four weeks ago I was testing key workers as part of the contribution to the battle against the virus. Now I am on parade performing in front of Her Majesty.”

Trooping the Colour has marked the reigning monarch’s official birthday since 1748.

The Queen, who was 94 in April, is in lockdown at Windsor. The last time the ceremony was held there was on Queen Victoria’s 76th birthday in 1895.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ac-graphic-UK-deaths-per-day-linegraph-12-jun-1.jpg

The decision to strip back the ceremony was made due to the UK’s coronavirus crisis
More than 1,700 troops and 400 musicians traditionally perform at London’s Horse Guards Parade in front of crowd
Trooping the Colour has marked the monarch’s official birthday since 1784

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