Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her 94th birthday on Zoom

It’ll be a subdued celebration today at Windsor Castle as Queen Elizbeth, the oldest monarch to ever rule Britain, turns 94 amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Like the rest of us who’ve marked another year on the calendar since the pandemic lockdown forced so many of us out of the public sphere, the Queen will be putting technology to use to connect with her loved ones and accept their well-wishes. The Daily Mail (one of the British tabloids that Harry and Meghan officially broke up with yesterday) is reporting that “Aides have been planning to set-up video calls to mark the celebration instead, allowing the Queen's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to wish her a happy birthday."Prince William, for one, believes that it’s the best way for the family to see each other and remain connected.  “I think very carefully about my grandparents who are, you know, at the age they’re at, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure that they’re isolated away and protected from this,” he told the BBC (via People).Zoom calls aren’t the only technology being employed in the celebration. The official Royal Family Instagram account posted private archival footage of a very young Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret for Royal-watchers to enjoy.

 

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Thank you for your messages today, on The Queen’s 94th birthday. In this private footage from the @royalcollectiontrust, we see The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) playing with her family, including her younger sister Princess Margaret. Head of the Commonwealth, Head of the Armed Forces, Head of State in 16 countries and the longest reigning Monarch in British History. Wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Happy birthday, Your Majesty! To those of you also celebrating your birthdays today at home, with or without your loved ones - we send you many happy returns. Visit our highlight to learn more about The Queen’s childhood.

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Apr 21, 2020 at 2:31am PDT

And so that we can all share in something a little sweet, the Queen’s Royal Pastry Chefs came out to wish Her Majesty many happy, delicious returns, posting a photo of the picture-perfect chocolate cupcakes they’ve whipped up for the scaled-down celebration and sharing the recipe for anyone who’d like to make their own batch (if they can find flour, that is).The typical gun-and-cannon salute that usually marks the Queen’s birthday, however, has been cancelled this year (a first in the history of her reign) since social distancing regulations have made the gesture impossible to pull off. Wisely, her Royal Highness has been adhering to a self-isolation regimen inside Windsor Castle along with 98-year-old Prince Philip, who recently came out of retirement to thank healthcare workers and others on the frontline of the fight to flatten the coronavirus curve. The couple’s son, Prince Charles, was quarantined late last month after testing positive for the virus but experienced only mild symptoms.Despite his recent illness, we’re doubting that the Prince will be permitted to wear sweatpants for today’s video call, even if his lower half is out of the frame.[video_embed id='1932815']RELATED: Meghan and Harry are officially out of office[/video_embed]