Queen Elizabeth's 86th birthday was celebrated with a series of gun salutes across the UK on Saturday (21.04.12).
Dozens of cannons were fired into the air at the Tower of London, Hyde Park, York's Museum Gardens, Portsmouth Harbour, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle to mark the birthday of the British monarch.
Large crowds watched the gunfire, with more than 1,000 observing the 41 gun salute in Hyde Park.
The largest salute was at the Tower of London, with 62 shots fired which included 21 shots for the queen's birthday, 20 as it is a royal palace, and 21 to follow a tradition in which ships would fire their guns before entering the City of London to show they were not threatening.
Queen Elizabeth spent the day with Prince Philip at Windsor Castle
The queen celebrates her birthday twice, with smaller family celebrations on her actual birthday and a second, grander celebration at London's Buckingham Palace on her official birthday, which falls this year on June 16.
This year Queen Elizabeth will also celebrate her Diamond Jubilee to mark 60 years on the throne on the weekend of June 2-5.
