Royal Family Offers Touching Tribute To Queen Elizabeth On Her 97th Birthday

April 21, 2023 would have been Queen Elizabeth II's 97th birthday. She passed away on September 8, 2022 and currently holds the record for the longest-reigning British monarch, after 70 years on the throne. (Her Platinum Jubilee celebration was in June 2022, a few months before her death.)

Since her passing, many people have honored Queen Elizabeth II in their own ways. Jill and Joe Biden shared a thoughtful tribute to her shortly after her death, and more recently on British Mother's Day, King Charles III shared a photo of him as a baby with Queen Elizabeth on the royal family's Twitter account. The photo included a caption honoring mothers everywhere and the people who may be missing their mothers on the special occasion.

To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday, the royal family's Instagram account shared a photo of her along with a brief overview of her history as the Queen and some lovely sentiments.

The post describes the Queen's record-breaking reign

The Instagram post honoring the Queen includes a photo of her smiling, holding a bouquet of flowers, and wearing her infamous accessories: brooches and a hat. The caption states that the date marks what would have been her 97th birthday, and then goes on to mention that her rise to the throne was an unexpected one.

The post continues on to add that Queen Elizabeth II is the only British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. (The longest reign before hers was Queen Victoria's, who was on the throne for almost 64 years – six years shy of Queen Elizabeth's reign.) The celebration post concludes by inviting people to visit the royal family's official website to learn more about the beloved monarch. Queen Elizabeth's biography on the website describes her life and impact, mentioning that she worked with over 500 charity and public service groups during her reign.

People are showing their support for the Queen on her birthday

Queen Elizabeth II's tribute post has comments from many supporters sending well wishes and remembering her. One commenter said, "Happy heavenly birthday Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace, I'm glad we got to witness her as long as we did." Another commenter stated, " ... what an amazing legacy you have left for the annals of history!"

Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton shared their own post honoring the Queen's birthday. Their photo, taken by Princess Kate, is a lovely shot from last summer of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

After Queen Elizabeth's passing, Prince Charles became King Charles III. His official coronation is scheduled for May 6, 2023. He and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles are the oldest king and queen to be crowned, at 74 years old and 75 years old, respectively.