Queen Elizabeth II was marking her 96th birthday privately Thursday, retreating to the Sandringham estate in eastern England that has offered the monarch and her late husband, Prince Philip, a refuge from the affairs of state.
Elizabeth is expected to spend the day at the estate鈥檚 Wood Farm cottage, a personal sanctuary where she also spent her first Christmas since Philip鈥檚 death in April 2021. Philip loved the cottage, in part because it is close to the sea, she said in February when hosting a rare public event at Sandringham.
鈥淚 think the queen鈥檚 approach to birthdays very much embodies her 鈥榢eep calm and carry on鈥� attitude,鈥� said Emily Nash, the royal editor at HELLO! magazine. 鈥漇he doesn鈥檛 like a fuss.鈥�
This birthday comes during the queen鈥檚 platinum jubilee year, marking her 70 years on the throne. While Thursday will be low-key, public celebrations will take place June 2-5, when four days of jubilee festivities have been scheduled to coincide with the monarch鈥檚 official birthday.
The day marks yet another milestone in a tumultuous period for the monarch, who has sought to cement the future of the monarchy amid signs of her age and controversy in the family. After recovering from a bout of COVID-19 earlier this year, the queen鈥檚 public appearances have been limited by unspecified 鈥渕obility issues.鈥� Prince Andrew鈥檚 multi-million pound settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual exploitation also caused unwanted headlines for the royal family.
But the queen got an early birthday treat last week, when grandson Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, paid her a joint visit for the first time since they stepped away from frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020. Harry, in an interview with NBC, said his grandmother was 鈥渙n great form,鈥� though he added that he wanted to make sure she was 鈥減rotected鈥� and had 鈥渢he right people around her.鈥�
Britain鈥檚 longest-serving monarch, Elizabeth has spent much of the past two years at Windsor Castle, west of London, where she took refuge during the pandemic.
It鈥檚 been a little over a year since the death of Philip, her spouse of more than 70 years.
The queen said good-bye during a scaled down funeral in St. George鈥檚 Chapel at Windsor Castle. Coronavirus restrictions in place at the time limited the service to 30 mourners and forced the monarch to sit alone 鈥� a poignant reminder of how she would spend her remaining years.
Last month, with the pandemic on the wane and restrictions eased, the queen shrugged off recent health issues to attend a service of thanksgiving for Philip at Westminster Abbey, entering the abbey on the arm of Andrew, her second son. Her choice of escort was seen as a vote of support for Andrew following his legal settlement.
But the in-person appearance was rare. The Queen has increasingly relied on Prince Charles to take on public engagements in the twilight of her reign, most recently offering alms to senior citizens at the Royal Maundy service at St. George鈥檚 Chapel.
Charles took on the traditional task of distributing specially minted coins to retirees who were being recognized for service to the church and the local community.
This year, 96 men and 96 women received the coins, one for each year of the queen鈥檚 life.
鈥淪he has a lot coming up in the next few months, so it absolutely makes sense that she enjoys her birthday quietly, privately at Sandringham,鈥� Nash said. 鈥淪he will no doubt have quite a lot of time to reflect on her happy times there with Prince Philip over the years. But this is really someone whose focus is still on the future, even at the age of 96.鈥�
鈥擠anica Kirka, The Associated Press
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