Army cannons mark the 64th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation at Hyde Park gun salute
THE 64TH anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation has been marked with an impressive 41 Gun Royal Salute in Hyde Park.
The Army fired the salute in the Royal Park before flash floods swept across the South East of England on Friday afternoon.
Teams of horses could be seen galloping across the park for the event, pulling six guns with them, which were then detached before being fired.
Royal Salutes are fired from various locations in London and across the UK, including the Tower of London, along with Hyde Park and Green Park.
The basic salute consists of 21 rounds, fired at 10 second intervals – however, salutes taking place in Hyde Park require an extra 20 as it is a Royal Park.
Friday's salute was fired by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, around noon.
Gun salutes are fired to mark a variety of occasions, including Accession Day, the Queen’s birthday, Coronation Day, the Duke of Edinburgh’s official birthday, the Prince of Wales’s birthday and the State Opening of Parliament.
They also take place during the Prorogation of Parliament, for royal birthdays, and for meeting visiting Heads of State and the Sovereign in London, Windsor or Edinburgh.
A Royal Salute was fired for the Queen’s 91st birthday on 21 April.
The event, which also took place in Hyde Park, kicked off at midday and saw 41 volleys in honour of her birthday fired by the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
Just over an hour later, the Honourable Artillery Company fired a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.
Why does the Queen have two birthdays?
THE QUEEN has two birthday celebrations each year, one on her actual birth date, and the other on her “official” birthday.
The tradition for monarchs to have two birthdays was started by George II back in 1748.
George was born in November and it was felt that it was too cold to host an annual birthday parade at that time.
It was decided that his birthday festivities would be combined with a military parade known as the Trooping the Colour, which was held in spring.
Subsequent monarchs helpfully had birthdays at more convenient times of the year, but the Queen's father, King George VI, reintroduced the tradition which she has continued.
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