The queen turned 95 but there were no public celebrations of an occasion that came days after she buried her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip.
Philip was laid to rest last week Saturday at Windsor Castle, in a scaled-down service attended mostly by family members.
While the queen spent the day at her castle, she did take the time to thank the public for “the support and kindness shown to us in recent days”.
“We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life,” she said in a statement.