The Crown fans need to watch these old home movies of Queen Elizabeth playing with Princess Margaret
Happy birthday to Queen Elizabeth II—the longest-reigning monarch in British history. In honor of the queen’s 94th birthday today, April 21st, the royal family posted a video on Instagram featuring private footage of Queen Elizabeth as a child.
“Happy Birthday, Your Majesty! Thank you for your messages today, on The Queen’s 94th birthday. In this private footage from the @royalcollectiontrust, we see The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) playing with her family, including her younger sister Princess Margaret,” the caption says.
Anglophiles and The Crown fans alike will revel in the opportunity to take this walk down memory lane.
In the video we see the young princesses playing on a seesaw, surrounded by puppies (oh, to be a royal), gardening, on horseback, and performing a little dance with the Queen Mother. All pretty standard princess fare—which would translate beautifully into a flashback sequence or five in upcoming seasons of The Crown. Just an idea.
Over at Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate Middleton wished the Queen a happy birthday on Instagram, too. No word from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle yet. They haven’t yet revealed their new social media account since stepping down as senior members of the royal family.
Of course, this year, the queen’s birthday celebrations are dimmed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has hit the U.K. hard.
According to NBC News, “the latest official figures show that about 16,000 Britons infected with the new coronavirus have died in hospital, the fifth-highest number globally.” In light of the crisis, NBC News also reports that the queen has called off the ceremonial gun salute that marks significant royal occasions in the U.K.
On Instagram, the royal family sent its well-wishes to fellow April 21st babies—whose birthday celebrations probably did not involve a gun salute, but likely are not going as planned regardless. “To those of you also celebrating your birthdays today at home, with or without your loved ones—we send you many happy returns,” they wrote.
We’d like to second those birthday wishes. May we suggest celebrating by donning a tiara in a bubble bath a la Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret in that one scene in The Crown Season 3?
On second thought, birthday or no birthday, we’re making that our quarantine plan tonight.
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