LONDON // It’s approaching high summer in Britain so of course it was raining. But that did not stop thousands of people from gathering for a street party outside Buckingham Palace on Sunday to mark the 90th birthday of Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
With The Mall lined with Union flags, picnickers donned plastic ponchos as a summer shower hit central London. As the sun went in, the British stiff upper lip came out. “Rain won’t spoil the party,” said picnicker Noreen Chisholm. “
Around 10,000 people attended the Patron’s Lunch on The Mall where the queen gave a short speech thanking them for their birthday wishes and joked about the length of the festivities, which have spanned several months.
After the rain stopped, the queen, dressed in bright fuchsia, and her husband Prince Philip were driven down The Mall in an open-topped 4x4 to wave at the gathered crowds.
Briefly addressing the crowds to thank them for their good wishes, she added: “How I will feel if people are still singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in December remains to be seen.”
Tickets for the event cost £150 (190 euros, $215) with most of the guests from over 600 organisations with which the queen has links.
Guests dined on hampers containing sandwiches, snacks and puddings from British producers, while adults even got a can of Pimm’s, a fruit punch popular at summer garden parties in Britain.
The queen’s grandson and future king Prince William paid tribute to the monarch’s “sharp wit” and “strong health”.
“The queen at 90 is the only head of state that world leaders can turn to for a first hand perspective on the arc of history over the last six decades,” he said.
The not-for-profit picnic event brought to an end three days of celebrations to mark the queen’s official 90th birthday, which began on Friday with a special service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
On Saturday, the queen took the salute at the Trooping the Colour military parade which drew a crowd of thousands.
After Trooping the Colour, members of the royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a military fly-past, including Prince William and his wife Kate, plus their young children George and Charlotte.
At least 1,000 smaller street parties were also expected to take place across Britain to mark the birthday.
Each year, the queen celebrates two birthdays as part of a royal tradition which dates back over 250 years.
The actual date of her birth is April 21, 1926 but her official birthday is also marked in Britain on a Saturday in June.
This year, her 90th birthday celebrations started on April 21 with the lighting of 1,000 beacons around Britain.
They also included a pageant at her Windsor Castle home last month featuring equestrian displays and music.
* Agence France-Presse
