WINDSOR, April 21: Queen Elizabeth, her fortunes revived after a tumultuous decade for the monarchy, was given a rousing reception by 20,000 cheering fans when she went on a walkabout on Friday to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Waving Union Jack flags and clutching bouquets, well-wishers launched into an impromptu chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ as the beaming monarch stepped through Windsor Castle’s Henry VIII gate to mark her octogenarian milestone. Police put the numbers at over 20,000, a bigger turnout than the crowd for the wedding last year of her son and heir Charles to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, after a tortuous 35-year romance.—Reuters
