Queen's official birthday celebrations cancelled for second year

Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebrations have been cancelled for a second year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Buckingham Palace announced on Friday afternoon (3.30am Saturday AEDT) that the annual Trooping the Colour parade wouldn't go ahead as a large-scale event.

"Following consultation with government and other relevant parties it has been agreed that the Queen's Official Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead this year in its traditional form in central London," the statement read.

"Options for an alternative parade, in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, are being considered."

This year's event was supposed to happen on June 12 to mark the monarch's 95th birthday and would have taken place two days after Prince Philip's 100th birthday.

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The alternative options are likely to be similar to last year's scaled-back and socially distanced event, which was held on the grounds of Windsor Castle amid the first wave of COVID-19 and lockdowns in the UK.

Trooping the Colour is usually a large-scale event held each June to officially celebrate the Queen's birthday, which is actually on April 21.

The fanfare sees members of the extended British royal family parading down The Mall in carriages and on horseback.

They then gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the air show, when the Royal Air Force's famous Red Arrows fly over London.

The palace also announced that the annual Garter Service, which is usually held in June, would not take place this year.