Queen pictured with great-grandchildren as royals mark her 97th birthday

A picture of the late Queen surrounded by some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren has been released on what would have been her 97th birthday.

The Princess of Wales took the photograph during a family trip to Balmoral last summer.

It shows the smiling young royals - including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - sitting or standing next to their "Gan Gan".

Queen Elizabeth died on 8 September last year at Balmoral Castle.

As well as the Prince and Princess of Wales's three children, the Queen is joined in the photograph by Zara and Mike Tindall's children Mia, Lucas and Lena, as well as Savannah and Isla Phillips - the children of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly.

Standing at the back are the Queen's grandchildren Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, the son and daughter of the now Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

The Royal Family also shared a picture of the Queen taken during an engagement, with a message saying: "Today we remember the incredible life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on what would have been her 97th birthday."

The Queen's actual birthday in April was celebrated privately with family - with the military mounting gun salutes in Royal Parks and castles across the UK.

The monarch also has an official birthday in June each year when the annual military parade Trooping the Colour is held in central London's Horse Guards Parade.

In her latter years the Queen was represented at the ceremony by her children before she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to see a flypast by the Royal Air Force and to acknowledge well-wishers who had gathered outside.

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