Queen Elizabeth II turns 91

A gun salute at London’s Tower Bridge and Hyde Park marked the Queen’s birthday, a notably more low-key affair after a year of festivities to mark her hitting 90. A thousand beacons were lit around the country on April 21, 2016, and other events last year included street parties and a pageant at her Windsor Castle home. 

“I’m still alive,” the Queen joked in June during a visit to Northern Ireland, one of the numerous engagements filling the royal calendar. But the ever-popular monarch has begun handing over duties to other royals, standing down as patron of 25 bodies at the end of last year, including the Wimbledon tennis championships. 

While her eldest child Prince Charles is heir to the throne, greater attention has fallen on his two sons William and Harry, who have taken on some of the Queen’s duties. The arrival of Prince William and his wife Kate’s two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte has cemented the country’s positive view of the  royal family.