Photo: Sgt Randall RLC/MOD, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In the UK, Royal Birthdays are marked with various Birthday Bells, Flag Day, and/or Gun Salutes.
Which Royals get Bells at Westminster Abbey, Flag Day or 21 gun salute doesn’t normally change year to year.
Type of Honors
Bell Ringing at Westminster Abbey
The Bells at Westminster Abbey are rung in celebration of church festivals and certain royal occasions.
Westminster Abbey publishes its schedule of bell ringing on a rolling 6-months basis.
UK Flag Day
Flag Days are designated days when the UK Flag must be flown on UK government buildings. Members of the public are also encouraged to fly the UK flag on those days.
The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport releases a list of Flag days the beginning of each year.
Gun Salute
A Gun Salute is performed to mark special occasion. The Gun Salute is performed by the military by the firing a cannon or artillery using blank ammunition. The blank ammunition creates the sound and muzzle flash without a projectile.
It is standard for Gun Salutes in the UK to consist of 21 rounds. But there are circumstances in which the number of rounds is increased:
- In Royal Parks (e.g. Hyde Park & The Green Park) they add 20 rounds as they are a Royal Park. (21 standard + 20 royal parks = 41 total)
- The Tower of London add 20 for being a Royal Palace, plus 21 for the “City of London”. (21 Standard + 20 Royal Palace + 21 City of London= 62 total)
The list of Gun Salutes is released by The Royal Parks organization at the beginning of the year. Salutes are not fired on Sundays. If the date falls on a Sunday, the salute will take place on the following Monday.
King Charles III’s reign
2023-2026
For the first calendar year of King Charles’s reign, the Royal Birthday honors were expanded from the reduction in 2022. However, this list is not as expansive as the 2018-2021 period. It is limited just to the Monarch, heir and their spouses.
The Heir does not receive a 21 gun salute which was standard during much of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. And Princess Kate* does not receive the UK Flag day she had previously received.
| Royal | Bells at Westminster Abbey | UK Flag Day | 21 Gun Salute | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Charles | yes | yes | yes | June/ November |
| Queen Camilla | yes | yes | yes | July |
| Prince William | yes | yes | June | |
| Princess Kate* | yes | January |
2022
See 2022 during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. The schedule for 2022 remained unchanged after Queen Elizabeth’s death in September.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign
2022
The first change (since I started recording this) came in 2022. Westminster Abbey decided to only ring Birthday Bells for Queen Elizabeth & Prince Charles due to “financial strain.”
The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport also changed their Flag Days in 2022 to just include Queen Elizabeth & Prince Charles. The list of who received a gun salute remained unchanged as it was already limited to these two.
| Royal | Bells at Westminster Abbey | UK Flag Day | 21 Gun Salute | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth | yes | yes | yes | April/ June |
| King Charles | yes | yes | yes | November |
2018-2021
I began tracking this in 2018. From 2018-2021, there was no change in who receives each of these honors. People were only added or removed people due to births or deaths.1
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, some bell ringing and gun salutes were canceled during this period. However, since the schedules were announced in advance, we were know who was scheduled to receive this honor. 2
| Royal | Bells at Westminster Abbey | UK Flag day | 21 gun salute | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth | yes | yes | yes | April/ June |
| Prince Philip | yes | yes | yes | June |
| Prince Charles | yes | yes | yes | November |
| Duchess Camilla | yes | yes | July | |
| Prince William | yes | yes | June | |
| Duchess Kate* | yes | yes | January | |
| Cambridge Kids | yes | April/ May/ July | ||
| Prince Harry | September | |||
| Duchess Meghan | August | |||
| Andrew& | yes | yes | February | |
| Prince Edward | yes | yes | March | |
| Countess Sophie | yes | January | ||
| Princess Anne | yes | yes | August | |
| Queen’s Cousins | Various |
- Prince Louis was added in 2018, following his birth. He was given the same honor as his siblings. Prince Philip was removed in 2021, following his death. ↩︎
- In 2020, due to the Coronavirus, the 21 Gun Salute was canceled for all Royal Birthdays. However, we know who was scheduled to receive a salute as it was published at the beginning of the year.
From April 2020 to August 2021, all Birthday Bells ringing at Westminster Abbey was canceled. However, The bell ringing schedule is published in advance, on a 6-month rolling bases. So, we could see who was supposed to get Birthday Bells for most of that period. ↩︎
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