On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth, newly widowed and still in official mourning, will turn 95 years old.
A little fanfare is expected. Since her husband, Prince Philip, died on April 9, the queen has been silent. Britain did not hear of her longest monarch, but only observed her, most recently disguised and alone, when her husband’s coffin was lowered into the royal vault of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
However, during that period, she continued to do what she had done for almost seven decades as a monarch: work.
Four days after Prince Philip’s death, the queen attended a retirement ceremony for a royal courtier who helped plan her husband’s funeral. He later received a phone call from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The monarch, unlike Queen Victoria, who disappeared from public view for several years after his wife died in 1861, will continue his long history of public service, palace officials say.