Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and baby Archie hold video call with the Queen to wish her a happy birthday two days after only ‘vaguely discussing’ their plans to boycott British popular press with her
- Queen is marking her birthday away from her family as the lockdown continues
- She is with her husband of 72 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle
- A spokesman for Meghan and Harry confirmed they phoned Her Majesty today
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and baby Archie have held a video call with the Queen to wish her a happy birthday.
The Queen is marking her birthday away from her family as the lockdown continues. She is with her husband of 72 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle in Berkshire with a reduced household for their protection.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were joined by their 11-month-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor to speak to Her Majesty this afternoon, a spokesman for the couple has said.
It comes after tributes to the monarch from Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Charles, as the now 94-year-old celebrates an unconventional birthday in lockdown.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, London on Commonwealth Day, on March 9 this year
Clarence House released four photographs of the Queen with Charles and his wife Camilla over the years, while Kensington Palace put out a picture of Kate and William with the monarch at the Chelsea Flower Show last May.
Captain Tom Moore wished the Queen a happy birthday from his Bedfordshire home as he was flooded with cards ahead of his centenary – and his daughter said her heart is ‘bursting’ over the £27million he has raised for the NHS.
Aides have been planning to set-up Zoom video calls to mark the celebration instead, allowing the Queen’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to wish her a happy birthday.
With the UK in lockdown and thousands dead from the coronavirus outbreak, there will be no birthday gun salutes. The Queen decided the celebratory display of military firepower would not be ‘appropriate’ at this time.
The footage released by the Royal Family today shows a young Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret dancing on a yacht
Touching archive film, from the Royal Collection Trust, shows the monarch as a child – released to mark her 94th birthday
The Queen and Margaret are seen playing in a garden together in their younger years
The video from the Royal Collection Trust also shows a young Princess Elizabeth playing with a pram as a toddler
Elizabeth and Margaret play on a seesaw in a garden when they were young children, in one of the clips released today
Princess Elizabeth smiles for the camera while on a horse in a video filmed during her childhood
The series of video clips of Elizabeth as a girl were released today to mark the monarch’s 94th birthday
Usually a 21-gun salute is fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from either Hyde Park or Green Park, followed by a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.
More to follow…