Platinum Jubilee

Editorial: Goodwill towards the Queen after 70 years cannot disguise the need for the monarchy to adapt to new times.

It is a question for the public and for parliament. But the future of the monarchy is not and must not be a question for the new king alone. The central difference is the relatively low profile of the monarch herself. A long, stable and feminised period in the monarchy’s history is ending. She is the best regarded of all the royals. The only demographics in which more than half were interested in the jubilee were Conservative voters, leave voters and the over-65s.

Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she watches from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Color ceremony. Huge crowds converged on central ...

On Thursday afternoon, Queen Elizabeth appeared with family members on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Color ceremony, and waved to enormous crowds of well-wishers. At 96, the queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne — the most of any British royal, including her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Huge crowds converged on central London on Thursday for the start of four days of public events to mark Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth II looked radiant as she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Trooping the Colour parade, which marked the opening of ...

The Queen, who used to attend on horseback herself, watched from the palace. The parade was presided over on horseback for the first time by Charles, with his firstborn son William and Princess Anna, Elizabeth's second daughter, flanking him. The Queen, aged 96, looked in good shape despite the occasional need to lean on a cane, which she has been doing for some months now due to mobility issues.

The Queen was joined by Prince Charles and other royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as tens of thousands of people waving flags lined the streets.

"Your life has been a gift, not just for the United Kingdom, but for the world. Andrew denied the accusation. "You feel very proud when everybody comes together like this," said yoga teacher Amanda Mackenzie, 51. Her involvement in this year's celebrations will be somewhat limited compared with previous major events. Opinion polls show she remains hugely popular and respected among British people. He later jumped up and down as Red Arrow jets released red, white and blue smoke trails.

The queen and other royals gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony to the cheers of thousands as the Royal Air Force flew overhead.

Celebrations began Thursday to honor Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The queen and other royals gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony to the cheers of thousands as the Royal Air Force flew overhead. Britian celebrates opening day of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee

The Queen stepped gingerly onto the Buckingham Palace balcony overnight, drawing wild cheers from the tens of thousands who came to join her at the start of ...

Prince Charles played a key role during the event as he stood in for his mother. So I wanted to come to show my support today and say thank you.” "She’s been my queen all my life and I think we owe her an awful lot for the service she’s given to the country. And 12 protesters were arrested Thursday after getting past barriers and onto the parade route. The queen, wearing a dusky dove blue dress designed by Angela Kelly, was joined on the balcony by more than a dozen royals — though not Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who gave up front-line royal duties two years ago. Smiling, she chatted with her great-grandson Prince Louis, 4, who occasionally covered his ears as 70 military aircraft old and new swooped low over the palace to salute the queen.

It comes after the news she will not be attending tomorrow's Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral due to experiencing "discomfort" amid the celebrations.

The six-minute display included a formation of Typhoon fighter jets flying in the shape of the number 70. Buckingham Palace announced she would not attend amid ongoing mobility issues. The Queen, wearing a dusky dove blue dress designed by Angela Kelly, was joined on the balcony by more than a dozen royals — though not Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who gave up front-line royal duties two years ago. The decision also, handily, excluded Prince Andrew, who stepped away from public duties amid controversy over his links with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The couple travelled to London from their home in California with their two young children to take a low-key part in the celebrations, and watched the Trooping the Colour with other members of the family. Smiling, she chatted with her great-grandson Prince Louis, 4, who occasionally covered his ears as 70 military aircraft old and new swooped low over the palace.

A palace party, special puddings, even a pop-up corgi cafe. These are among the ways Britons are to celebrate the Queen's platinum jubilee this weekend. Diehard ...

The Queen has won a lot of respect through her dedication to service. "I think this is what a lot of people don't realise. Reader donations are critical to what we do. The Queen officially marks her platinum jubilee this weekend. In New Zealand, it's much more low key, with official events such as a 21-gun salute and a church service. Diehard royal fans have pitched their tents outside Buckingham Palace, where an extra special Trooping the Colour's been held.

To mark Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years as British monarch, there are Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place across the country.

This will be the Queen's first jubilee without her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. The festivities began Thursday with the Queen's birthday parade, which is also known as Trooping the Colour. The Queen and members of the royal family made their customary balcony appearance before the event ended with a fly-past over Buckingham Palace. For the first time in history, a British monarch is celebrating 70 years on the throne.

The Queen will not attend Friday's Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral after experiencing discomfort while watching Thursday's parade at Buckingham ...

The event begins at 11.30 local time on Friday, with coverage starting on BBC One from 9:15 local time. It will be Prince Harry and Meghan's first royal event together since leaving the UK two years ago. Senior royals including the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will all attend, with Prince Charles officially representing the Queen.

LONDON — Nobody pumps out the pomp quite like the British. And so Buckingham Palace and the nation's armed forces put on an extraordinary pageant on ...

The queen’s third child (said to be her favorite) was not alongside siblings Charles and Anne as they took part in salutes on horseback. I think the queen can have a rest and step back and enjoy herself.” She is the only queen most of her subjects have ever known. “I think we just want her to know that she’s very valued.” She works so hard, every day, every day is a working day for her. But the people are happy with their queen. Wearing his royal red military uniform, Charles, the honorary colonel of the Welsh Guards, shook hands and smiled, engaging in a “walkabout” — a custom started by Elizabeth during a 1970 trip to Australia. She puts her country first and family second. “Charles is doing a bit more, William a bit more … and who is to say, she might outlive Charles,” she said. At the end of the parade, there was a record-breaking 82-gun salute and finally a “flypast” by the Royal Air Force, showcasing 70 fighter planes and helicopters roaring overhead, some flying in formation to spell the number “70,” while the queen — wearing sunglasses — smiled from the palace balcony. And many felt this was not just a big thank you, but a final thank you, as if everyone was making merry but also holding their breath, wondering if the queen would make it to her own party. In interviews, over and over, the people massed outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday — many dressed in Union Jack costumes, quaffing a river of Prosecco — told The Washington Post that they wanted to show their appreciation to Elizabeth for a lifetime of service.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is among dignitaries marking the milestone at a service at St Paul's Cathedral in Wellington.

The first day included the traditional Trooping of the Colour and a flypast of 70 aircraft over The Mall and Buckingham Palace. The Queen had been staunch and a comfort during times of tragedy, she said. On one occasion after Sir Don fell off one of her horses during an early morning ride, he limped into a meeting with the Queen and when she heard what had happened she immediately asked: "How's the horse?" He would always try to "have a laugh" with her and regularly discussed the All Blacks and other topics that would lighten the occasion. "The Queen remains a symbol of our constitutional arrangements." The Queen is a woman "who smiles with her eyes" and relates easily to people from all walks of life, former Commonwealth secretary-general Sir Don McKinnon has told those at a service of tribute in Wellington.

Huge crowds converged on central London on Thursday for the start of four days of public events to mark the queen's history-making 70 years on the throne.

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The British Ambassador to Guatemala, Nick Whittingham, gave a speech to commemorate the celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

And, I hope, dance to the music of the Rubber Souls who have a programme of British music lined up. And she has two birthdays – today we mark the official birthday that happens in June. At the same time we will continue to champion the importance of rule of law, fostering transparency, protecting human rights and tackling corruption. The UK Government also made statements linked to other rule of law-related issues. In the UK Winston Churchill was Prime Minister and a thick smog in London in December killed 4,000 people. It took several hours for the Queen to hear of the death of her father because she was travelling in Kenya. Something unimaginable today. The population of Guatemala was just three million people. These are horrors from the past that I never expected to see in the 21st century. I spoke a moment ago my shock at how much has changed during my two years as Ambassador. This change pales into insignificance when one thinks about the changes the Queen has witnessed since she assumed her role in 1952. I would like to express my thanks to Minister Rojas and Rita Mishaan for their important work at COP26 that contributed to its success. Guatemala’s votes at the UN have helped send a clear message to President Putin that his invasion will not be allowed to succeed. And as I stand here today it shocks me how much the world has changed in two years.

Queen Elizabeth II made several public appearances Thursday as Britain began four days of a Platinum Jubilee honoring her 70 years as monarch.

The queen had initially been scheduled to attend but canceled to “pace herself” through the weekend, according to the BBC, and then also canceled her appearance on Friday after experiencing “discomfort” on the first day of festivities. The queen had initially been expected to attend Friday’s event, but Buckingham Palace said late Thursday that she had decided to skip the service after experiencing discomfort on a busy first day of festivities. The celebrations are timed to coincide with her official Queen’s Birthday, an annual public holiday, although Elizabeth’s actual birthday is April 21. Her daughter, Princess Anne, will attend on her behalf. She has complained of trouble walking in the past, and has canceled several other public engagements, including the state opening of Parliament last month. He has been largely banished from public life because of his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender. Her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, did not attend the initial events but are invited to a jubilee service on Friday. The palace did not say whether he was experiencing symptoms. Andrew, scarred by his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender, has been sent into a form of internal exile. Other recent health issues prompted her to miss some public appearances. (He has since stepped down as president of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.) Buckingham Palace announced the lineup well in advance, seeking to avert weeks of speculation about whether they would be invited.

Prayers, anthems and Bible readings will take place as part of the service at St Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday morning local time. And Great Paul, the ...

It's understood he has not seen the Queen since testing positive. - The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Trooping The Colour - ... He had been expected to join the royals at the church service, despite no longer being a working royal and not being invited to the Trooping the Colour parade yesterday. - The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Prince Andrew tests positive ... And Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung after the service - the first time it will be rung for a royal occasion. The royal family is attending a Service of Thanksgiving as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations - but the monarch herself won't be making an appearance.

Members of Britain's royal family will head to St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday for a jubilee thanksgiving service in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

The Dean of St Paul's, David Ison, is leading the service, which will include Bible readings, prayers and congregational hymns to honor the Queen's 70 years on the British throne. Friday's event is the first royal occasion at which it rung out since its restoration in 2021. They were seated in the second row, alongside Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, the daughters of Prince Andrew, and their husbands. Keaveny leads London's financial district, known as the Square Mile. Prince Charles is representing the Queen at the thanksgiving service. The congregation includes key workers, teachers and public servants as well as representatives from the Armed Forces, charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups, according to Buckingham Palace. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are also among those in the audience.

It is the first major royal event Prince Harry and Meghan have attended since stepping down from their official duties in 2020.

In a surprise move, the couple announced in January 2020 that they were stepping back as senior royals. The two sides agreed to a review of the situation after 12 months. He is bringing a claim against the British government after being informed he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting Britain. The prince offered to pay for the security himself, but Britain’s Home Office declined. Last summer, he returned to Britain to unveil a statue of his late mother, Princess Diana. She has been struggling with what the palace calls “mobility issues” in recent months and has missed a number of engagements. Harry and Meghan named their daughter after Elizabeth, using the queen’s childhood nickname.

Jubilees celebrate a monarch's reign upon ruling for certain periods. The first British monarch to celebrate a jubilee was George III in 1809. Several monarchs ...

The first British monarch to celebrate a Jubilee was George III in 1809. Jubilees celebrate a monarch’s reign upon ruling for certain periods. Jubilees are seen as a way to bring together the British people and members of the Commonwealth of Nations, a group of 54 countries consisting mainly of former parts of the British Empire.

LONDON—Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have spent the past couple of days undertaking a delicate performance on the fringes of Queen ...

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Buckingham Palace has announced the monarch will no longer attend the Epsom Derby, a horse racing event included among her Jubilee celebrations. The event was ...

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, were seated next to them. News that she would not attend the Derby, which was widely reported in the British media, came after she was forced to pull out of another Platinum Jubilee event. Queen Elizabeth II has pulled out of another Platinum Jubilee event.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, joined other members of Britain's royal family overnight for a church service honouring Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on ...

Prince Charles again stood in for his mother at the church service, as he has often done of late. The rift deepened after they made allegations of racism and bullying in the royal household. “And we are all glad that there is still more to come.’’ Moving slowly and with some difficulty she pressed an illuminated globe that sent a river of lights flooding towards Buckingham Palace, where a sculpture of living trees was lit up. Prince Charles, who represented the queen, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, had special chairs in the front row on the other side of the central aisle. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, joined other members of Britain’s royal family overnight for a church service honouring Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne, making their first public appearance in the UK since stepping back from royal duties two years ago.

People gathered across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire as night fell on Thursday. The Queen began the ceremony by touching a globe representing ...

Beacons, bonfires and buildings lit up the skies across the West Country to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The date of the celebration has been added to a jubilee bonfire memorial at the site, which displays the dates of jubilee and coronation bonfires dating back to 1887. Platinum Jubilee: beacons light up the sky across West

The entire population of the Pitcairn Islands - 35 permanent residents - will make the territory the last place in the Commonwealth to light a beacon as ...

Leeman said that dessert at the celebration would be a Pitcairn take on the Platinum Jubilee Trifle. The beacon, which came on the last supply ship to the islands six weeks ago, will be lit during a dinner everyone in Pitcairn will most likely attend and contribute to, said Colin Leeman, administrator of the British Overseas Territory. The entire population of the Pitcairn Islands - 35 permanent residents - will make the Pacific Ocean territory the last place in the Commonwealth to light a beacon as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration later Thursday.

Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank and Prince Harry reunite and enjoy a joke at the historic Thanksgiving Service for the Queen. 2 The Duchess of Cambridge.

After months of preparation, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations are finally here, celebrating the Queen's historic 70 years on the throne. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Service of Thanksgiving as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the Queen at St Paul's Cathedral. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank greet Princess Beatrice as they arrive for the Platinum Jubilee service for the Queen. The Duchess of Cambridge waves at spectators as she arrived in the top carriage with Camilla and her children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex wave to the crowds as they arrive for the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen's 70 year reign. The Duchess of Cambridge wears a yellow coat dress by Emilia Wickstead as she arrives at the Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee at St Paul's Cathedral.

Prince Charles Queen Elizabeth II Prince Louis Kate Duchess of Cambridge Princess Charlotte Prince George and. During the Jubilee celebrations, Queen Elizabeth ...

“Never such innocence again,” Philip Larkin wrote about a photograph of soldiers taken in the catastrophic year of 1914—who at that moment looked to Larkin like ordinary people enjoying bank-holiday pleasures. The alarming but not surprising news arrived late on Thursday that the Queen was, again, having “episodic mobility problems” and so would miss Friday’s service at St. Paul’s, a reminder that the central indignity of old age lies in a machine no longer biddable to its owner’s purposes, or to the mind’s motivations. There is even an official Platinum Jubilee textbook, distributed to primary schools across the nation, and presented to one primary school in particular by the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi—it is some sign of how much Britain has altered during the past seventy years that there is an Education Secretary at all (the post was only created in 1964; before that, there was only a minister) and that the current one is named Nadhim Zahawi. No republican manifesto seems to have made it onto the best-seller lists, though the Twitter hashtag #abolishthemonarchy certainly has had its moment. It was hard not to be moved by the Queen’s appearance, as a reminder of the power of cliché to stir us, even when we recognize it as such. If people seemed less dressed up than they would have been at such an event seventy years ago, wearing shorts and T-shirts and jogging pants and sneakers—sorry, “trainers,” as the British call them—the hum and vibe of the city seemed to have none of the threatening energy that a London celebration can sometimes have, overcharged as such occasions can be, particularly when football-related. We try to use language to avoid cliché, but there are certain public occasions that are so deliberately crafted as clichés, or so allow themselves to be entangled in them—clichés in the positive sense of consoling continuities, familiar things that capture unchanging tradition, like Christmas lights or the first pitch of baseball season—that to avoid the cliché is to fail to capture the event properly.

People have come from far and wide to be part of the festivities marking Queen Elizabeth II's 70th year on the throne.

“I enjoyed it so much,” she said. “I enjoyed it so much,” she said. “I love the Queen so much.”

Normanton Church at Rutland Water featured on BBC One's beacon-lighting programme on Thursday.

"We wanted to do something to mark the occasion and illuminating Normanton Church in the official colours was a natural choice." Normanton Church at Rutland Water was lit up in purple and white to celebrate the occasion on Thursday. A landmark church was illuminated in the official Platinum Jubilee colours to mark the Queen's 70-year reign.

The Queen skipped the event at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, which came on the second of four days of festivities marking her Platinum Jubilee.

Prince Charles again stood in for his mother at the church service, as he has often done of late. The rift deepened after they made allegations of racism and bullying in the royal household. “I’m afraid I don’t have any great tips for the Derby tomorrow, but since the scriptures describe life as a race set before us, let me observe that your long reign reflects the distance of Aintree rather than the sprints of Epsom …,’’ he joked. She appeared later in the evening outside her home at Windsor Castle for the final moments of an international beacon lighting ceremony. Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge were seated next to them. But royal watchers quickly shifted their focus to Harry and Meghan, who held hands as they walked down the long central aisle accompanied only by a military officer in a scarlet dress tunic.

Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne will continue through the weekend across the U.K. And street parties are ...

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. And that’s where U.K. charity the Eden Project has provided a helping hand. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. And it’s been lovely to see how enthusiastic people are about an event like this. “It’s been great to actually meet people, spend time with them, and really understand what they’re about. But, she emphasized street parties don’t have to be expensive, carefully coordinated blowout bashes. They’ve got 15 panels and each panel is a different design: The queen, the emblem, the dates. She’s even seen her bunting tied up on fences or street signs on TV coverage of the jubilee festivities. We’ve seen people ordering just one unit, or some businesses order 15 or 100 at a time,” she explained, adding that online sales have boomed this jubilee. The festive triangular flags strung up between trees and streetlights have become an absolute staple of celebrations like these. And we’d also like to do this traditional afternoon tea.” But these are on a scale all their own.

A Lower Hutt woman who once caught Prince Harry's attention with a large sign promising not to kiss him has proclaimed herself the country's biggest royals ...

Garlick said he smiled when he saw her sign and came over to talk to her. One thing they enjoyed doing was keeping a close eye on royal fashion and trying to source the same items of clothing themselves. "She's done so well. I just don't think anyone's going to top that. The "collective grief" at the princess' death in 1997 struck Garlick at "a really formative time" in her life, she said. She always wanted to be a princess, and Diana was "the most prominent princess in the media".

The UK is celebrating 70 years of the Queen's reign with a long weekend of parades, concerts and other royal appearances.

On Sunday, the skies will get cloudier with potential for rain in southern parts. As the rain moves away, southern England will see some sunshine. They will be accompanied by singer Adam Lambert. It will see the return of rock band Queen, whose guitarist Brian May performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the previous Party at the Palace in 2002. The Earl and Countess of Wessex will attend a Big Jubilee Lunch on The Long Walk in Windsor. They will meet residents and groups of street performers. The Queen will no longer attend the Derby Day at Epsom Down racecourse in Surrey, but the Princess Royal is expected to be at the event at 5.30pm.