“Happy Birthday Your Majesty”

Happy birthday ‘Ma’am’ – this weekend Queen Elizabeth II will be celebrating her official 90^th birthday.

A national service of thanksgiving to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday was celebrated this morning at St Paul’s Cathedral where tributes were paid to her “faithful devotion” to the country.

The service was attended by Royal Family members, including the Duke of Edinburgh – on his own 95th birthday.

Tomorrow, on her official birthday, Her Majesty will be joined by other members of the Royal Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade which moves between Buckingham Palace, The Mall and Horseguards’ Parade.

The birthday parade will end with members of the Royal Family making their annual appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they will see a flypast by the Royal Air Force.

On Sunday, the Queen will host a street party in The Mall, in St. James’s Park, where 10,000 people, representing some 600 organisations around the UK and the Commonwealth, will have lunch together.

The street party is expected to be attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William and Prince Harry.

So what do you know about the Queen?

The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday on (usually) the second Saturday in June. This year the Queen’s official birthday will fall tomorrow, Saturday June 11.

The Queen was born at 17 Bruton St on 21 April 1926.

This year 17,420 pieces of post arrived for The Queen on her actual birthday, including birthday cards and gifts.

In an average year, The Queen receives approximately 60,000 pieces of correspondence. For her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, The Queen received over 120,000 cards, letters and gifts. Most of The Queen’s correspondence comes from the UK: on average about 75%. 10% comes from Commonwealth countries and 15% from other overseas countries.

The oldest ever recipient of a message from The Queen was a Canadian gentleman, who reached the age of 116 in December 1984.

Photo 2 – courtesy of  the PRESS ASSOCIATION / Danny Lawson.