BYGONES: Reading circus trip marks Princess s 20th birthday FUTURE QUEEN: HRH Princess Elizabeth celebrated her 20th birthday The Mercury also published a series of photos of her majesty visiting Bertram Mills’ Circus in Reading, along with her sister HRH Princess Margaret. The Mercury headline announced: “Princesses at the Circus” and described how thrilled the hundreds of people in the audience were to see the royal party arrive- the first visit to a big top since the end of WWII. ROYAL VISITORS: Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret visted a circus A solemn prophecy that the Royal Berkshire Regiment was in danger of ‘going under’ was made by the Colonel of the Regiment 75 years ago, after a dramatic slump in new recruits.