Celebrations held across London for Queen's 90th birthday

Celebration: Queen Elizabeth II receives flowers as she walks through a Diamond Jubilee street party in Bromley
AFP/GettyImages
Hannah Al-Othman21 April 2016

Celebrations will be taking place up and down the country and across the world when the Queen turns 90 tomorrow, and London is gearing up to celebrate in style.

Bands will play, beacons will be lit, church services will be held, and thousands of cups of tea will be drunk in honour of her Her Royal Highness.

To mark the momentous occasion, more than 1,000 beacons will be lit simultaneously throughout the UK, UK overseas territories and Commonwealth countries, with Her Majesty the Queen lighting the Principal Beacon at Windsor Castle.

All local authorities were given the opportunity to light a beacon, and most in London have taken up the offer, although some have declined and chosen to mark the event in their own way.

How the Queen will celebrate

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will go on a walkabout in Windsor from the Henry VIII Gate of Windsor Castle towards the Statute of Queen Victoria at the foot of Castle Hill.  Here Her Majesty will unveil a plaque marking The Queen's Walkway.

In the evening, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, will light a beacon and view two further beacons being lit along Long Walk and at Copper Horse, Windsor.

The Queen will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 900 beacons across the country and worldwide. Beacons large and small, either specially built gas-fuelled structures or simple bonfires, will be lit across the country. Members of the public are being asked to attend a beacon lighting in their local area.

Not just tomorrow, but in days, weeks, and months to come there will be street parties, tea parties, concerts and church services across the capital, all held in honour of the Monarch.

Tomorrow night, the skies of London will be illuminated by beacons, which will be lit from various locations across the capital, including Dartmouth Park in Islington, historic Alexandra Palace in Haringey, the roof of the Hackney Empire Theatre, the Royal Chelsea Hospital, and from the middle of the River Thames in Kingston, on the Thames Adventurer boat.

In Harrow one of two beacons will be lit from Old Redding Car Park, in Harrow Weald, where spectators will enjoy a view of beacons being lit across London and beyond.

The beacon lightings across the capital will be accompanied by pomp and ceremony, with entertainment, music, and decorations to honour the historic event.

Queen Elizabeth II - In pictures

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In Greenwich, there will be three beacon lighting events across the borough. The leader of the council, Denise Hyland, said, "As a Royal Borough we are proud to be helping Her Majesty celebrate this tremendous milestone and wish her a happy birthday."

Church bells will also ring out from Havering to Barnet as special mid-week services are held to mark her Majesty's birthday.

Across the capital, 90-year-old Londoners have been invited to sip tea and eat cake to mark their own birthdays as well as the Queen's.

Gun salutes

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will ride their horses and gun carriages past Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park to stage a 41 Gun Royal Salute at midday.

The Honourable Artillery Company will also drive through the city in their liveried Pinzgauer vehicles to the Tower of London to fire a 62 gun salute across the Thames at 1pm.

Westminster is organising a tea party for all of the borough’s residents who also turn 90 this year, and Waltham Forest residents who are also turning 90 in April have been invited to a tea party tomorrow at Waltham Forest Town Hall.

Richmond Council is also holding a tea party with the Mayor in June for any resident who turns 90 that month.

Several local authorities across London, including Enfield, Southwark, Lambeth, Westminster, Newham, Richmond, and Havering are encouraging residents to celebrate by hanging out the bunting, by facilitating free street parties to mark the Queen’s birthday.

The celebratatory parties, many of which have been booked already, will be taking place throughout the summer.

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