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Queen Elizabeth II has had to cancel swathes of engagements amid the coronavirus crisis including her spectacular Trooping the Colour official birthday parade. However, it has now been confirmed a small military display will be held at Windsor Castle on June 13 to mark the milestone.

The Queen turned 94 on April 23 and spent the special day in private with Prince Philip, 98, as lockdown prevented her from seeing other Royal Family members.

As well as her actual birthday the Queen marks her official birthday on the second Saturday of June every year with a spectacular military display known as Trooping the Colour.

The parade involves thousands of military personnel and usually draws huge crowds to central London.

The Queen and other Royal Family members gather to watch the spectacle from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

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While coronavirus has made the traditional Trooping the Colour impossible it will take place in a much smaller format, a Buckingham Palace spokesman has confirmed.

A Palace spokesman told Express.co.uk: “There will be a small, brief, military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark The Queen’s official birthday.”

The Queen has been isolating at Windsor with Prince Philip since March and is expected to remain there for the foreseeable future.

While the Queen has been enjoying riding in the grounds of Windsor throughout lockdown she is unlikely to relocate any time soon.

One royal commentator has branded the miniature birthday celebration an “imaginative” move.

While the final details are still being firmed up it is likely to be a private event witnessed only by those at Windsor.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “In March Buckingham Palace announced that the traditional Queen’s Birthday Parade, Trooping the Colour, would not go ahead in its traditional form, it was indicated that a number of other options were being considered in line with the relevant guidance.

“It has now been reported by the Daily Mail that a miniature version will go ahead in the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle where the Queen and Prince Philip are in virtual self-isolation and from where she made two moving broadcasts to the nation.

“You can invariably rely on the British military to improvise with an imaginative idea.

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“The Queen’s official birthday will be marked by a royal salute at 11am and a small contingent of the Welsh Guards and a reduced group of the bands of the Household Division will be involved in the ceremony, which will not have stands for spectators to watch it from.”

While the Queen’s son Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and daughter Princess Eugenie are all currently staying at the Royal Lodge in Great Windsor Park Mr Fitzwilliams dismissed the idea that they might attend the event.

Mr Fitzwilliams said: “Had the Trooping gone ahead on Horse Guards Parade, as it has in every year except 1955 when it was cancelled due to a rail strike, Prince Andrew, who has stepped down from royal duties would not have attended.”

Mr Fitzwilliams added: “He has remained Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.

“However, after his interview with Emily Maitlis about his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender and financier, he has stepped down from royal duties.”

The Queen has had a difficult year with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal departure, the announcement of two royal divorces and Andrew’s withdrawal from public but Mr Fitzwilliam’s claims she has shone in the current crisis.

He said: “The monarchy had a tough year until relatively recently.

“During the pandemic, it has become a symbol of national unity which is its main function in a crisis.”

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