{"id":77478,"date":"2022-04-21T13:33:04","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=77478"},"modified":"2022-04-21T13:33:04","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:33:04","slug":"queen-elizabeth-ii-turns-96","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=77478","title":{"rendered":"Queen Elizabeth II turns 96"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"News Desk:<\/strong> Gun salutes will ring out Thursday to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 96th birthday, although the monarch herself was expected to mark the occasion with little fanfare.<\/p>\n

It has been a troubled year for Britain's royal family, with concerns over the queen's health and questions over the future of the monarchy.<\/p>\n

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Rounds will be fired from the Tower of London and Hyde Park in the British capital, where a military band will also play “Happy Birthday”.<\/p>\n

Royal tradition since the 18th century has also seen the monarch have a second, official birthday, typically celebrated in warmer weather in June.<\/p>\n

This year's official birthday coincides with four days of public events from June 2 to 5 to mark the queen's record-breaking 70th year on the throne.<\/p>\n

British media said the queen has flown by helicopter from her Windsor Castle home, west of London, to her Sandringham country estate in eastern England.<\/p>\n

There, she is reported to be spending time at the cottage where her late husband Prince Philip lived after he retired from public life in 2017.<\/p>\n

The Daily Mirror quoted an unnamed royal source who said the trip was being viewed as a “positive step” given the queen's recent health problems.<\/p>\n

Since an unscheduled overnight stay in hospital last October, she has cut down massively on public appearances on doctor's orders.<\/p>\n

A back complaint and difficulties standing and walking have seen her cancel a number of engagements, including recent church events to mark Easter.<\/p>\n

A bout of Covid-19 in February left her “very tired and exhausted”, she told doctors and patients at the Royal London Hospital during a virtual event earlier this month.<\/p>\n

But her grandson Prince Harry told US broadcaster NBC in an interview aired on Wednesday that she was “on great form” when he saw her last week.<\/p>\n

The queen was last seen in public at Westminster Abbey in central London on March 29 at a memorial service for Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99.<\/p>\n

– Health and succession –<\/p>\n

The queen's enforced retreat from public life in her Platinum Jubilee year has increased attention on the succession and the monarchy's future.<\/p>\n

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, has assumed more of his mother's responsibilities in preparation to take over the throne.<\/p>\n

His popularity has increased in recent years, according to an Ipsos poll of more than 2,000 adults in Britain in March.<\/p>\n

But his 43 percent approval rating is still well behind his mother (69 percent), his eldest son Prince William (64 percent) and his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton (60 percent).<\/p>\n

Some 42 percent of those surveyed also said they believed Charles, 73, should step aside for William, who turns 40 in June.<\/p>\n

Aside from questions about the queen's health and the succession, the royals have rarely been off the newspaper front pages due to a succession of scandals.<\/p>\n

Last month there was controversy after the queen's disgraced second son Prince Andrew supported her at Prince Philip's memorial service.<\/p>\n

In February, he settled a US civil claim for sexual assault that had earlier seen him stripped of his honorary royal military titles and charitable roles.<\/p>\n

The palace is said to be bracing for fresh revelations about royal life from Harry, who is due to publish his memoirs later this year.<\/p>\n

The former British Army captain quit the royal frontline last year and moved to California with his American wife Meghan Markle.<\/p>\n

From there, the couple accused the royal family of racism, while Harry claimed his father Charles and brother William were “trapped” within the system of the British monarchy.<\/p>\n

The future of the royal family's global reach is also far from assured.<\/p>\n

The queen is head of state of Britain and 14 other Commonwealth countries around the world.<\/p>\n

But Barbados became a republic last year and a number of other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, have since indicated they want to follow suit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News Desk: Gun salutes will ring out Thursday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 96th birthday, although the monarch herself was expected to mark the occasion with little fanfare. It has been a troubled year for Britain’s royal family, with concerns over the queen’s health and questions over the future of the monarchy. Rounds will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":77479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n