The Queen, who spent her birthday at the State Opening of Parliament with King Charles, had her big day commemorated throughout London.
Queen Camilla’s birthday called for a special celebration.
King Charles’ wife turned 77 on July 17, and Westminster Abbey commemorated the special occasion by ringing its bells.
“The Abbey bells are ringing out to celebrate the birthday of HM The Queen,” the London landmark captioned a video of the musical tribute on X, adding the hashtag “#HappyBirthdayYourMajesty.”
The bells of Westminster Abbey, where Kate Middleton and Prince William wed in 2011 and the royal family hold important services including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in 2022, only chime for a few royal birthdays each year, but it wasn’t always that way.
Before 2020, the bells rang for 12 royal birthdays. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, then-Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward all received the honor, as did Camilla, Kate Middleton, and Prince William. The youngest on the list were William and Kate’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who follow their father in the line of succession to the throne.
This tradition changed amid financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly scaling back the number of royals honored with the birthday bells. By 2022, the Westminster Abbey bell-ringing schedule marked only the birthdays of Queen Elizabeth and future King Charles, and things changed again following Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022.
After Queen Elizabeth died, Westminster Abbey announced that the bells would ring for the birthdays of King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and Princess Kate, the new heir to the throne and his wife.
King Charles, 75, has the unique honor of hearing the birthday bells twice a year. The abbey bells ring on his actual birthday, November 14, as well as on the day of Trooping the Colour, the British Army’s parade for his official birthday as monarch, traditionally held in June.
Westminster Abbey most recently rang out for Prince William’s 42nd birthday on June 21.
Queen Camilla’s birthday bells coincided with the State Opening of Parliament in London the same day, noted on the church’s bell-ringing calendar, where she began her birthday with King Charles.
The select birthdays aren’t the only royal reason that the bells chime. They will next sound on September 8, marking the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death and King Charles’s accession.
Elsewhere in London, Queen Camilla’s birthday and the State Opening of Parliament were marked with two consecutive gun salutes at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.
The gun salutes organized by Royal Parks honor more royal-related occasions than the bells of Westminster Abbey. They are fired throughout the city for the anniversary of King Charles’ coronation, Trooping the Colour, the King’s accession day, Remembrance Sunday, state visits to London from foreign heads of state, as well as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s birthdays in November and July.
