A lot of people in the US and UK have late June/early July marked on their calendars as the start of “getting back to normal” in some kind of post-pandemic world. Will the pandemic actually be OVER at that point? No. But that’s when we’ll have a tipping-point amount of vaccinated people and that’s when many restrictions may begin to be lifted. Still, it’s best not to get too far ahead of ourselves, which is why Queen Elizabeth’s annual birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, has already been cancelled in its traditional form. Last year, the Queen still wanted a mini-parade, so she ordered one to happen at Windsor Castle, just for herself, as she sat there maskless. It’s possible the same thing could happen this year:

Queen Elizabeth’s traditional parade, Trooping the Colour, has been canceled for the second year in a row due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Plans are being explored for a scaled-down celebration likely to take place in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, like last year, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.

In a statement, the palace said, “Following consultation with Government and other relevant parties it has been agreed that The Queen’s Official Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead this year in its traditional form in central London. Options for an alternative Parade, in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, are being considered.”

The statement added that the annual Garter service that usually takes place at St. George’s Chapel on the Monday after Trooping the Colour, will also not be taking place.

Although vaccinations are continuing successfully and rates of COVID-19 illnesses are falling steadily in the U.K., restrictions around large public gatherings are not likely to be eased for months. Trooping the Colour usually brings thousands of people onto the streets of central London to view the procession of horseback-riding royals and carriages.

[From People]

I mean… maybe they should just do away with Trooping all together? I guess the reason to do it is to encourage tourism? Do tons of tourists come specifically for Trooping? Or is it more like British people coming into London for their own “theme park” experience? As for cancelling it this year ahead of time… I think that’s actually pretty smart, and it shows that they actually learned to take better precautions FINALLY.

Meanwhile, did you know that the Queen wants it to be known that she isn’t actually full of hate for Prince Harry and Meghan?

Queen Elizabeth II is reportedly “sad” not “angry” by Prince Harry’s bombshell TV interview with Oprah Winfrey — but has privately pledged to stand by her grandson. Harry and Meghan Markle made a series of stunning allegations during their sit-down with Oprah, including that an unspecified member of the royal family had raised “concerns” over how dark their unborn son Archie’s skin would be. The 94-year-old monarch ordered a private family investigation into the claims as she took personal control of healing the bitter divide that was laid bare in the tell-all, according to The Sun.

“She is not angry, she is just sad,” an insider told the news outlet about the Queen, who is privately said not to be livid with the Sussexes, whom she has described as “much loved family members.”

“They have always worried about him (Harry) and the Queen feels very protective about him,” the source told The Sun. “They always tried to support him when Meghan came along. They all worried less about him when Meghan was on the scene as he seemed so happy.”

[From Page Six]

I think it’s possible that the Queen is genuinely sad about the turn of events, although that doesn’t explain why she refused to allow Harry’s wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day last year, but whatever. I also think it’s interesting that there were such high hopes that Harry would fly back to the UK in June for Trooping the Colour and his grandfather’s birthday (not to mention the stupid Diana-statue unveiling) but sh-t keeps getting cancelled. Oh well.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.