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Thanksgiving service starts British Queen’s 90th birthday celebration

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip travel in a carriage to Horseguards Parade for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in central London June 11, 2016.

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The parade featured nearly 1,500 uniformed officers and their men as well as more than 300 horses.

Thousands of people were to gather for a special street party outside Buckingham Palace on Sunday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday.

The 13-month-old joined her family – including older brother Prince George – on the famous frontage of the London landmark for the first time, on the official 90th birthday of her great-grandmother the Queen.

IBTimes UK rounds up the Queen’s big birthday weekend including when and where to watch the televised celebrations; so get your Victoria sponge and pots of tea at the ready as the regal revelries get under way.

The goodwill and excitement were palpable as the queen’s carriage approached the palace, her imminent arrival announced by a military band on horseback.

Mrs Ollive was born in Gibraltar so has always followed the Queen very closely and even describes childhood memories of the family waiting to have their Christmas dinner after Her Majesty’s speech each year.

And at just 21 she made a defining broadcast from Cape Town in which she said: “My whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service”. Flag-waving throngs crowded into the spacious Mall in front of the palace to honour the longest reigning monarch in British history.

The Trooping of the Colour parade is a traditional military ceremony that dates all the way back to the 18th century.

“For him, I think the flypast was a huge thing”. Then the Queen and other members of the Royal Family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace where they will receive well deserved cheers from the huge crowds of people.

A Guardsman took a tumble when he fainted at the Trooping the Colour ceremony today.

In celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday this year, photographer Annie Leibovitz was tasked with capturing not one but six new portraits of the monarch.

At “89 and a half” years old, Mrs Ollive has shared many close memories with the Queen not only sharing the same birth year but as an avid royalist.

David Ison, the Dean of St Paul’s and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury praised the Queen’s work and reign to the country, and thanked her and Prince Philip’s contribution to Britain and to the Commonwealth.

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Her choice of color for Saturday’s outfit triggered a social media storm, with Twitter users celebrating the monarch’s fashion sensibilities with “neon at 90”.

The royals celebrate the queen's 90th birthday