Queen Elizabeth feted at official 80th birthday celebration

Jun 17, 2006, 17:07 GMT

London - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was feted Saturday at the official celebration of her 80th birthday, with the gathering of her family at Buckingham Palace and the traditional Trooping of the Colour parade.

More than 1,100 soldiers took part in the annual procession for the monarch's birthday, which actually took place on April 21, with an estimated 10,000 or more well-wishers turning out to line the streets as the Queen and members of her family rode past.

At 1.00 pm (1200 GMT), the Queen surrounded by the royal family appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace and watched a flypast of 49 World War II and modern military aircraft, an event labelled the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The action was to be followed by a 'Feu de Joie' (Fire of Joy), a celebratory volley of blank rounds fired by the guard and other soldiers in the palace's forecourt, the first time the ceremony has been performed during the Queen's reign.

The trooping of the colours ceremony originates from traditional preparations for war, but in 1748 it became an official mark of the sovereign's birthday.