Gun salute, new snap mark queen's 96th birthday as Harry faces backlash for royal ‘snub’

PRINT HEAD: Happy 96th birthday, your majesty

PRINT BLURB: Britain’s monarch, who has stepped back from royal engagements, celebrated in Sandringham 

PRINT QUOTE: An inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world — Prince William, grandson

The 96th birthday of Queen Elizabeth was marked on Thursday with gun salutes, the release of a Barbie doll and a new photograph showing Britain’s longest-serving monarch with two white ponies at Windsor Castle.

Government ministers joined members of the royal family in sending wishes to the queen, who has stepped back from most public duties this year over concerns about her health. She spent her birthday in Sandringham, Norfolk.

“An inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world, it’s particularly special to be celebrating in this Platinum Jubilee year,” read a message from grandson Prince William and his wife Kate on Twitter.

Elizabeth became the queen of Britain and more than a dozen other realms including Canada, Australia and New Zealand on the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya on an international tour.

The news was broken to her by her husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99 after more than seven decades by her side.

When she ascended the throne, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry Truman were running the Soviet Union, China and the US, respectively, while Winston Churchill was British prime minister.

The monarch’s birthday was marked by a gun salute in London’s Hyde Park and the release of a photograph showing the queen, dressed in a long dark green coat, standing between two white ponies.

A Barbie doll dressed in an ivory gown with a blue sash was also released to mark the celebration of the queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year.

Queen Elizabeth has largely avoided the public spotlight after spending a night in hospital in October for an unspecified ailment and being ordered to rest. She tested positive for Covid-19 in February and has said she was left very tired and exhausted.

While continuing to hold meetings online, she has missed several large events, such as the Remembrance Sunday gathering and Easter service.

The queen's birthday comes as backlash mounts against her grandson Prince Harry over his latest interview with a US TV show.

Harry ruffled feathers when he spoke about his visit with his paternal grandmother and his assertion that the queen had the “right people around her” and was “protected” during his interview with TODAYshow's Hoda Kotb. 

Harry shared details from his meeting with the monarch, where he was accompanied by wife Meghan, and revealed that the queen was in “great form”.

British newspapers slammed the Duke of Sussex, not a favourite among these publications, for his “narcissism” and “snub” of the royal family. According to the BBC, many of the publications ran with stories featuring reaction to the prince's latest interview. 

Reuters