Queen Elizabeth's milestone year ahead: 'She will not be doing less, just doing it more gently'
After celebrating the holidays among her royal relatives, Queen Elizabeth is already looking ahead to this brand new, milestone year. In her annual Christmas Day broadcast, Britain’s longest reigning monarch said, “I am looking forward to a busy 2016.” The Queen, who will turn 90 years old in April, remarked, “I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice.”
While Prince George’s great-grandmother is anticipating an active year, royal insiders believe there might be a slight change of pace when it comes to her royal duties after her birthday celebrations during the summer.
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“She will not be doing less, just doing it more gently,” a palace source tells HELLO!. “There is a lot happening between now and July, so it is about trying to find ways for her to work less strenuously.”
As she enters her tenth decade, England’s Queen will gradually begin to spend more time over the summer at Balmoral. To conserve her energy, the senior royal will also spend longer periods at Windsor Castle on weekends.
The monarch’s public duties will be packed into fewer days allowing for more downtime. During this period, younger members of the royal family will continue to step up with their own obligations and support her.
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The Queen is expected to spend her April 21 st birthday at Windsor, however she will be in London for a series of special commemorations in June. She will be present on June 10 for a Service of Thanksgiving held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in honor of Prince Philip’s 95 th birthday, followed by the Trooping the Colour on June 11.
The entire royal family is anticipated to attend the Patron’s Lunch on June 12, which will involve a street party for 10,000 people on The Mall to celebrate the Queen’s patronage of more than 600 charities and organizations to mark her 90th birthday.
