Queen ‘excited’ about being joined by thousands for 90th birthday bash

The Queen’s 90th birthday is fast approaching and soon the nation will celebrate the milestone of its longest-lived monarch. The big day on April 21 will be a moment of personal happiness for the Queen, who will have a dinner staged in her honour by her family. But the joy will also be shared by the nation, with thousands expected to attend celebrations, planned for the summer, to mark the occasion. Over a weekend in June a series of events will be staged from a St Paul’s Cathedral service of thanksgiving to the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony, also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade.

I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice.

The Queen’s Christmas message

The Queen is said to be excited by the prospect of 10,000 guests joining herself, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry in The Mall for a sit-down celebration. Called the Patron’s Lunch it will honour the monarch’s lifetime dedication to service and will be the culmination of the weekend, with communities across the country encouraged to hold local street parties. When the Queen became the nation’s longest-reigning monarch last autumn - passing Queen Victoria’s record - she remarked that living to a ripe old age can bring many anniversaries: “Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception." On the day of her birthday the Queen will step out of her Windsor Castle home and go on a walkabout in the town centre, meeting the crowds who are expected to gather and are likely to sing her Happy Birthday.

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