Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her birthday next week without formal ceremonies or traditional cannon shots, because it is "inappropriate" given the epidemic in the country.
According to the British channel ITV, this is the first time that the Queen has requested such an order since she ascended the throne 68 years ago.
The Queen is celebrating her ninety-fourth birthday on Tuesday. On this occasion, cannon shots were launched from Hyde Park, from the Tower of London and from the Royal Windsor Park, about forty kilometers west of the British capital.
But a source at Buckingham Palace told the French Press Agency that the holiday will not witness any official ceremony this year.
The source pointed out that "there will be no cannon shots, as Her Majesty wished that no special measures would be taken to allow the cannon shots, because she considers that this is not appropriate under the current circumstances."
The palace had previously announced that the military parade, which is held annually in June to celebrate the Queen’s official feast, will not take place this year either.
Because of the spread of the epidemic, Queen Elizabeth II, 93, isolated herself with her husband, Prince Philip, 98, in Windsor Palace, because they are considered to be at risk groups due to old age.
The Corona epidemic has claimed more than 15,000 lives among some 115,000 infected people in Britain.