Queen Elizabeth releases archive family video on her quiet birthday in lockdown

The video shows her and her sister Margaret playing as children

The Queen has released private footage of her and Princess Margaret as she marks her 94th birthday at Windsor Castle without celebrations. Royal Collection Trust

Queen Elizabeth as a baby. Royal Collection Trust

The Queen and Princess Margaret. Royal Collection Trust

Westminster Abbey is closed and has not rang its bells to honor the Queen's birthday. AFP

In Hyde Park there is usually a military salute but this year the guns are silent. AP

The London Palladium theatre is closed for the lockdown but someone is updating the message board. AFP

A coronavirus message from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is displayed on a screen in Piccadilly Circus. Reuters

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has released archive family video and photos as she celebrated her 94th birthday in lockdown at Windsor Castle.
She also wished a happy birthday to others celebrating their birthday alongside her.
In some ways, British royal birthday traditions were quietened in that there were no gun salutes in her honour and the bells at Westminster Abbey did not ring out.

But the lockdown, imposed to tackle the country’s coronavirus outbreak, meant new ways to celebrate can be enjoyed.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are in Norfolk, eastern England, tweeted a family photo wishing the Queen a “very happy 94th birthday”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also tweeted his congratulations and the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, 98, made a rare public comment thanking essential workers.

The family released video, from the Royal Collection Trust, showing the Queen when she was a little girl playing with her sister, Margaret, a pram and some dogs.

The child royals are also seen dancing, gardening and playing on a seesaw.

Four still images were also tweeted, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Prince Edward as a baby. Another photo showed Elizabeth and Margaret as girls.

In the accompanying tweet, the Queen said: “To those of you also celebrating your birthdays today at home, with or without your loved ones - we send you many happy returns."

Britain’s Prince Charles has formally opened NHS Nightingale, a 4,000-bed field hospital in east London, built in just nine days to address the country’s coronavirus crisis.

The heir to the British throne declared the field hospital open via video link from his Scottish home in Birkhall.

The Prince of Wales completed a period of self-isolation earlier this week following his own Covid-19 diagnosis.