The Queen celebrated her official 83rd birthday today with the annual Trooping of the Colour.

More than a 1,100 soldiers and 300 horse-mounted soldiers took part in a display of military pomp and pageantry in London.

The Queen, In bright blue outfit with matching hat, was joined by senior royals family, including grandsons Princes William and Harry, as she took the salute during the military spectacle.

She was accompanied by Prince Philip on her journey from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in an open-topped carriage first used by Queen Victoria in 1842. The Duke of Edinburgh wore a bearskin and full ceremonial military uniform as the Prince of Wales, together with his sister the Princess Royal and the Duke of Kent followed on horseback.

Princes William and Harry, both in the military uniforms of their regiments, travelled together with the Duchess of Cornwall and in a horse-drawn, open-topped carriage.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah, were amongst the politicians who attended the ceremony.

The Queen’s first duty was to inspect a long line of troops, in the traditional uniform of red tunics and bearskin hats, from the four Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division - the Irish, Grenadier, Scots and Coldstream Guards.

Celebrations came to a close with a fly-past over Buckingham Palace by the RAF’s Red Arrows who were joined by World War II planes and modern fighter aircraft.

Since her coronation in 1952, the Queen only ever missed the Trooping of the Colour once in 1955 when it was cancelled due to a national rail strike.

The Trooping of the Colour, which marks the official birthday of British monarchs, was created so sovereigns whose birthdays fell in the winter months were able to enjoy a day of pageantry during fine summer weather. It always falls on a Saturday in June.

The Queen celebrated her actual birthday on April 21. She was 83.

In Scotland, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly turned army inspector today at a Royal Gun Salute to mark the event in her first official duty since taking up an honorary post with the Black Watch.

Dressed in official uniform, the GMTV host acted as Inspecting Officer at Stirling Castle where troops lined up in honour of the Queen's official birthday. Glasgow-born Kelly, 49, is a keen supporter of the Armed Forces and was recently appointed to the role of Honorary Colonel of the Black Watch battalion's Army Cadet Force.

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