The Queen has celebrated¹ her official birthday with the Trooping the Colour parade in central London.

Thousands of spectators joined the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the annual military spectacle that has been performed for centuries at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

This year there were more than 1,100 soldiers taking part in the display of military pomp and pageantry on Horse Guards Parade. The route along The Mall was lined by members of the Foot Guards regiments² of the Household Division - wearing bearskin hats and red tunics³.

After the Queen took the salute⁴, the royals headed back to Buckingham Palace to gather on the balcony. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh also watched one of the biggest flypasts in recent years to mark the 90th anniversary of the RAF.

The planes taking part ranged from a 68-year-old Spitfire to the RAF's newest aircraft, the Typhoon.

The Queen's actual birthday was on 21 April, when she turned 82.

The term ‘Trooping the Colour’ comes from an old military tradition. Before a battle, Colours - or flags - were carried, or "trooped", along the rank of soldiers so they could be seen and recognised. In 1748, it was decided⁵ the trooping would also be used to honour the sovereign's birthday.

In an interview with the BBC, Prince Charles said Trooping the Colour was a "stirring and moving occasion".

"It's splendidly British and I hope it will go on for as long as possible because I think the world would be a sadder, drearier⁶ and greyer place without it," he said.