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Queen Elizabeth II became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee earlier this year after marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, Realms and the Commonwealth.
In honor of the milestone anniversary, thousands of street parties are scheduled to coincide with days of royal celebrations honor the queen’s historic reign, including two bank holidays planned on Thursday and Friday for a four-day, holiday weekend.
Buckingham Palace shared that the queen’s attendance at events throughout the Platinum Jubilee weekend will likely only be confirmed on “the day itself,” and Prince William and wife Kate Middleton were tapped to lead the Jubilee celebrations as the most senior members of the royal family.
The Royal Family’s official social media accounts have teased access to Jubilee preparations, and will share behind-the-scenes looks at what’s to come for the big weekend in royal history.
Queen Elizabeth II will begin Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Thursday with Trooping the Colour. She is pictured in 2014 in London.
(Stefan Wermuth)
Day One: Trooping the Colour
The annual parade to celebrate the queen’s 96th birthday will mark the beginning of Jubilee events on Thursday, June 2 at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. ET.)
Members of the royal family will ride in carriages and on horseback alongside more than 1,400 military personnel, 200 horses and 400 musicians from Buckingham Palace and down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Palace for the event which has been postponed for the last two years due to the coronavirus.
A flypast featuring more than 70 aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Army and Royal Navy will follow the parade, and the queen is expected to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the parade and greet the public.
QUEEN ELIZABETH WON’T TAKE TROOPING THE COLOUR SALUTE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 70 YEARS
Historically, the British monarch has taken the salute to her troops, known as the Household Division on Horse Guards Parade. This year her son Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, as well as her daughter Princess Anne and her grandson Prince William, will take the salute instead during the military display.
She will be accompanied by three of her four children and their spouses: Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Anne and retired Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; and Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
William and wife Kate Middleton will also be on the balcony with their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. William, 39, is second in line to the throne after his father Charles, 73.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend Vernon Park during a Diamond Jubilee visit to Nottingham on June 13, 2012, in Nottingham, England
(Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The palace confirmed that only working senior members will appear on the balcony, which means Prince Andrew, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, won’t be present.
The ceremony will broadcast live on the BBC network.
Later in the evening, thousands of Platinum Jubilee beacons will be lit throughout Britain and across the Commonwealth, as the 21-meter Tree of Trees sculpture is illuminated during a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Day Two: Service of Thanksgiving
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected in attendance at the service for the Queen’s reign at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, June 3, alongside members of the family.
Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, which was made in 1882 and restored in 2021, will be rung for the service. The bell has tolled on eight occasions since, but this is the first royal occasion it will be rung.
Services begin at 11:30 a.m. with bible readings, prayers and hymns, and a new anthem by Judith Weir, Master of the Queen’s Music, including words from the third chapter of the Book of Proverbs.
Royals are expected in attendance at a reception at the Guildhall hosted by Lord Mayor beginning at 12:25 p.m.
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Members of the royal family gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, with from left, Prince Charles, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate the Duchess of Cambridge, as they watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace.
(AP)
Day Three: Race Day
The queen and members of the royal family are expected to attend the Derby at Epsom Downs on Saturday, June 4, where past and present jockeys are set to form a guard of honor at one of Britain’s biggest horse racing events. Stalls open at 4:30 p.m. GMT (12:30 p.m. ET), and the event will be broadcast live on ITV1.
Stars are set to turn out in droves for the Platinum Party at the Palace concert later in the evening where 22,000 people were invited to attend the soirée. Scheduled performances include Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, Queen + Adam Lambert, Nile Rodgers, Duran Duran, Andrea Bocelli, Craig David, George Ezra and Ela Eyre.
David Beckham, Dame Julie Andrews and Sir David Attenborough are expected to make guest appearances, while Elton John will give a specially recorded performance.
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FULL PLATINUM JUBILEE CONCERT LINEUP REVEALED WITH ALL-STAR LINEUP
Performances featuring casts and special guests from The Phantom Of The Opera, Hamilton, Six, The Lion King and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat are also included in the event, with appearances by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Diana Ross will close the show during her first live U.K. performance in 15 years.
“I have had the honor of meeting the queen many times throughout my life, including when I was with my family,” Ross said in a press release from the BBC and Buckingham Palace.
“Her Majesty has and continues to be such an incredible inspiration to so many across the world and I was absolutely delighted to receive an invitation to perform on such a momentous and historic occasion.”
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is given a tour by Keith Weed (C), President of the Royal Horticultural Society during a visit to the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 23, 2022. – The Chelsea flower show is held annually in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
(PAUL GROVER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Day Four: Grand Finale
More than 60,000 people have registered to host Big Jubilee Lunches in an attempt to set a world record for the longest street party with more than 10 million people anticipated to join in celebrations of communities in the commonwealth on Sunday, June 5.
Ten million people are expected to participate in the lunch, with international participation from Canada to Brazil, New Zealand to Japan, and South Africa to Switzerland.
A three-hour pageant will close the weekend’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations with the Gold State Carriage, led by The Sovereign’s Escort.
The queen is not expected to personally travel in the regal carriage, but a “fabulous surprise” is in store instead.
The Pageant serves as an opportunity to highlight the queen’s achievements throughout the last seven decades, and culminates with a performance by Ed Sheeran, before a gospel choir and military band sing the National Anthem, “God Save the Queen.”
Events will be aired on BBC One and iPlayer, with up to one billion viewers worldwide set to tune in.
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