Take a walk through Hyde Park on April 21st and make your way to the North West Corner of the Park by noon. Every year on this date the Queen’s birthday is celebrated witha 41 gun salute.  There was a surprisingly small crowd for this event last year, but it might be a bit more crowded since the 21st is on the weekend.  It is still worth going for a half hour of pure English ceremony.

From the Royal website:  “The Queen’s Birthday Gun Salutes in London are loud and spectacular, presenting a magnificent spectacle to the public. The Union flag is flown on government buildings and gun salutes are fired in different locations within England. There is a 41-gun salute at 12.00 noon in Hyde Park London and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London an hour later. Viewers at the Tower of London and Hyde Park can also watch the admirable Artillery Company and the King’s Group Royal Horse Artillery dressed up in prestigious traditional ceremonial dress in a display that echoes Britain’s powerful past.

The Queen’s Birthday Gun Salutes in London is a smaller occasion than Trooping the Colour which marks her official birthday in June, during which there is a salute at 11:00 in Green Park and later at the Tower of London. The Queen was actually born in April but it has been a general custom to celebrate her birthday publicly in the summer as the weather is better.”