Celebrating The Queen

Cecil Beaton

This week marks the Queen's 90th birthday. There will be many celebrations up down the land for her official birthday in June, and I'm betting that my hometown will have many street parties planned!

For many of us, Queen Elizabeth is the only monarch we've ever known. She's always been a part of British life, a familiar face at state and national occasions, so much so, that she's almost like part of our family.

I've been fortunate to meet the Queen and other members of the royal family on several occasions. The most memorable was when my Dad received the OBE from Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace. It was such a special day, and myself and my Mum were lucky enough to be able to sit in the front row. It was a day that none of us will ever forget!

My Dad!

The Queen has met every US President since Eisenhower and her earliest British Prime Minister was Winston Churchill. She's visited 117 countries, travelling at least 1,032,513 miles during her reign. She also sent her first tweet in 2014! I wonder if she has an iPad?

Queen Elizabeth is undoubtedly one of the world's fashion icons, and I'm excited to be going to a special exhibition which will celebrate the largest ever display of the Queen's wardrobe. Fashioning A Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe opens on the 21st April at Holyrood House before moving to Buckingham Palace on 23d July. Here we'll be treated to fashion from ten decades ranging from royal couture to ceremonial and military dress. Many tartan items will be on display at Holyrood, and at Windsor, evening gowns and day ensembles will be cleverly contrasted with fancy dress costumes worn by the young princess when performing family wartime pantomimes at the Castle. It's one not to be missed!

2016 is set to be a pretty special royal year, and I'm looking forward to taking part in the public celebrations that will be taking place over the next several months. How will you be celebrating the Queen's 90th year?

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