Excitement builds for Queen's birthday as new coin design revealed

And with two celebrations to look forward to, it couldn’t be helped.

On her actual birthday of Thursday April 21, the Queen will mark the occasion with a dinner staged in her honour by her family - coinciding with events up and down the country, including the lighting of more than 1,000 beacons.

But on her official birthday in June, which this year falls on Saturday June 11, there will be a weekend of celebrations, including the traditional Trooping of the Colour and the Patron’s Lunch, where 10,000 guest, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, will gather in The Mall for a sit-down celebration. Street parties are also be encouraged across the country.

When the Queen became the nation’s longest-reigning monarch last autumn - passing Queen Victoria’s record - she remarked that living to a ripe old age can bring many anniversaries: “Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception.”

And in her Christmas broadcast the Queen made a light-hearted remark about turning 90, hinting she was aware of the significance of the milestone: “I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice.”

When she was born on April 21, 1926 in a town house in London’s Mayfair, the first child of the Duke of York, she never could have expected to one day be Queen.

But her destiny was changed with the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, for the woman he loved - American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and the crowning of her father as King George VI.

Among those who marking the monarch’s birthday are The Royal Mint, which has produced a commemorative £5 coin - personally approved by the Queen.

It features a garland of roses in recognition of her fondness for flowers and nature, and was designed by acclaimed artist and sculptor Christopher Hobbs.

The Royal Mint is also offering a free £5 coin gift to pensioners who turn 90 on the same day as the Queen - April 21. They can be nominated by friends or relatives via the organisation’s Facebook page.

Mr Hobbs said: “My design for Her Majesty’s 90th birthday coin collection was inspired by the heraldic rose and the Queen’s love of flowers.

“The central ‘EIIR’ is surrounded by a classical wreath of celebration. I have tried to make the roses more natural than heraldic, each one different from the other.”

The Royal Mint has struck coins to mark the Queen’s 70th and 80th birthdays and other significant dates during her 64-year reign.

In 1990 a £5 coin was released to commemorate the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday, and a £5 coin was released to mark the moment the Queen became the longest reigning monarch last year.

Anne Jessopp, the Royal Mint’s director of commemorative coin, said: “The Royal Mint has been making coinage for Britain’s monarchs for over 1,000 years, so we are very proud to be celebrating this important occasion together with the nation, with a coin bearing Christopher Hobbs’ strong yet feminine floral coin design.

“Coins produced to celebrate the Queen becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch in 2015 were very well received, with some ranges selling out completely.

“We anticipate that coins created for Her Majesty’s 90th birthday will prove equally popular with members of the public wishing to mark this historic occasion.”

Why celebrate twice?

The tradition of the monarch having two birthdays goes back to Edward VII.

Since 1748, the monarch’s official birthday has been marked by the parade known as Trooping the Colour - usually held on the king or queen’s actual birthday.

But Edward VII who reigned from 1901 to 1910 was born in November, so celebrated officially in May or June when there was less chance of it being cold and drizzly.

The next monarch George V - helpfully had a birthday in June, but the Queen’s father, George VI, whose birthday was in December, reintroduced the tradition of an official birthday, which Elizabeth II has continued.