Queen's Official Birthday Marked With Gun Salutes 

British Army Regular and Reserve soldiers have marked the Queen's Official Birthday with ceremonial gun salutes in London.

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode out from their stables in Geroge VI Lines to fire a 21-gun salute at Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich at midday.

Three horse-drawn First World War-era field guns were placed in position on the parade square before firing blank artillery rounds at 10-second intervals until 21 shots were fired.

The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), the City of London's Reserve Army Regiment, also fired a 62-gun salute at 10-second intervals from 13:00.

After leaving their barracks at Armoury House, HAC drove through London in ceremonial procession to the Tower of London.

They then used L118 Ceremonial Light Guns, similar to those used in recent years in Afghanistan, to perform a gun salute – firing from the bank of the Thames and overlooking HMS Belfast.

With the Official Birthday Parade taking place at Windsor Castle due to the coronavirus pandemic, three guns from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery also simultaneously fired a 41-gun salute at the Windsor Castle East Lawn.

Gun salutes can be heard across the country four times a year in honour of the Queen. 

The first one being Accession Day on February 6, followed by the Queen's birthday in April, Coronation Day in June, and finally the Queen's official birthday in the summer.

Cover image: The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 21-gun salute at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich (Picture: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo).