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Members of the British royal family are sharing special tributes online today in honor of Queen Elizabeth. April 21 marks the 100th anniversary of what would have been the late Queen’s birth; Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning British monarch in history, died on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96.
The British royals have been out and about frequently over the last few days at events celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s centenary. Yesterday, King Charles and Queen Camilla were joined by Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto, to tour the landmark new exhibition, Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, hosted at The King’s Gallery inside Buckingham Palace. Then today, the King and Queen, along with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and other royals, visited the British Museum to view the final design for the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth. They also hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace with other members of the royal family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, for representatives from many of the late Queen’s patronages.
Separately, Princess Anne was on hand to officially open the Queen Elizabeth II Garden at Regent’s Park. The two-acre dedicated space encompasses a flower garden with Queen Elizabeth’s favorite plants, a circular pond, and a viewing platform offering panoramic views of Regent’s Park.
Below, see all of the tributes to Queen Elizabeth on what would have been her 100th birthday:
King Charles
Buckingham Palace shared a quartet of portraits of the Queen, some of which have rarely if ever seen before. Starting with her final ever portrait, photographed by Ranald Mackechnie, the image shows the late Queen in a powder blue suit and wearing a pair of aquamarine brooch clips designed by Boucheron. The series also includes an image of Elizabeth as a young monarch, wearing the State Diadem, as well as two images of her in her youth.
The King also published a video message just after midnight in the UK, which included a much more candid message: that his mother might be troubled by the world as it has progressed in the four years since her death in 2022. “Much about the times we now live in I suspect may have troubled her deeply,” the King said. “But I take heart from her belief that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon. For as a young Princess Elizabeth put it in her first ever public broadcast, aged just 14, we can each play our part ‘to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place’. It is a belief which I share, with all my heart.”
Related StoryThe Prince and Princess of Wales
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who opened a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted for representatives of the late Queen’s many patronages on Tuesday, shared a series of photos to Instagram. The set started with a rarely seen image of Elizabeth in her youth, followed by a photo of the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the Queen at the Chelsea Flower Show, one of her favorite annual events, in 2019. The carousel ended on photos of William with his grandmother on the balcony of Buckingham Palace followed by images of Queen Elizabeth with three of her great-grandchildren and then an image of the line of succession: then-Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince George, and Prince William. “Remembering Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 100th anniversary of her birth. Inspiring generations through a lifetime of duty,” read the caption accompanying the images.
Princess Anne
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The Princess Royal speaks at the official opening of the Queen Elizabeth II Garden inside Regent’s Park.
Princess Anne carried out a particularly meaningful engagement in honor of her mother on Tuesday morning, opening the Queen Elizabeth II Garden, a new two‑acre garden in Regent’s Park in London. During the event, the Princess Royal reportedly laughed at a secret tribute included in the park’s designs. Per The Independent, the garden’s blacksmiths, Ian Kebby and Ian Thackray, quietly added a corgi statue into the layout as a nod to the late Queen’s beloved dogs.
“Gardens are important for a number of reasons, in terms of historical perspective,” Princess Anne said during the speech. “When [Queen Elizabeth] was growing up, the gardens were one aspect of life that changed dramatically during the war to become places where everybody grew things, and then the spaces afterwards became used for other things. This is a lovely evolution of that whole voyage of garden design.”
Related StoryThe Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
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Sophie and Edward at the British Museum on Tuesday.
While attending a preview for the Queen Elizabeth Memorial at the British Museum on Tuesday, both Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Edward included subtle nods to the late Queen in their attire: Sophie’s Gabriella Hearst shirtdress features a riding-boot print while Prince Edward, who loves an animal-print tie, wore a red tie with horses on it.
Related StoryPrince Harry
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Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth at a garden party at Buckingham Palace in 2019.
Town & Country can confirm that the Duke of Sussex sent flowers to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle today, where Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest in September 2022. This is not his first time having flowers brought to her burial site; he has had them both sent and hand-delivered them on multiple prior occasions. In 2023, on the one year anniversary of her death, Prince Harry visited St. George’s Chapel privately during a visit to the UK, and in 2025, while back in the country, he also paid his respects at his late grandmother’s grave on the third anniversary of her death.
Related StoryDavid Beckham
Instagram/David Beckham
Instagram/David Beckham
After her death in 2022, it was estimated that 250,000 people queued to see Queen Elizabeth II’s lying-in-state during the period between her death and her funeral in September 2022. Among them: English soccer star David Beckham. The sports legend, who received a knighthood last year, paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth once again, this time in his Instagram Stories. He share both images of the Queen from throughout her reign as well as from times he met her, from Buckingham Palace receptions to the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. With the images he included a caption, “Leading our country with grace & elegance.”
We will continue to update this post as more tributes come in.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.