Queen Elizabeth II marks birthday with parade, visit to Philip in the hospital

GlobalPost
The World

The Queen of England celebrated her official birthday Saturday as hundreds of soldiers in black bearskin hats and red tunics marched in a colorful parade near Buckingham Palace in London.

Queen Elizabeth II attended the annual 'Trooping the Color' parade but her husband, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized after having exploratory abdominal surgery earlier this month.

The monarch traveled along The Mall in a vintage glass coach built in 1881 for the Lord Mayor of London and was purchased for King George V's coronation in 1911.

Queen Elizabeth rode in the carriage for her own wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.

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Duchess of Cambridge also made her last public appearance at the parade before she gives birth. Kate is currently eight months pregnant with her first child with husband Prince William.

She rode to the parade in a carriage with the Duchess of Cornwall and her brother-in-law Prince Harry.

The 'Trooping of the Color' parade gets its name from traditional battle preparations.

According to the BBC, colors, or military flags, were carried or "trooped" down the rank so that they could be seen and recognized by the soldiers.

After the parade, Queen Elizabeth II visited the private London clinic where Prince Philip is recovering after surgery. The Queen met "quietly and privately" with her husband, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.

Prince Philip, 92, is expected to remain at the clinic for another week.

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