Crowds cheer Queen as Jubilee celebrations begin
Crowds have cheered the Queen as she watched the Trooping the Colour parade from Buckingham Palace at the start of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Thousands turned out in brilliant sunshine on The Mall for the military display to mark the monarch’s official birthday.
The 96-year-old also appeared on the balcony with senior members of the Royal Family to view an RAF flypast.
The Prince of Wales took the salute from the troops on the Queen’s behalf.
The parade marked the start of the official celebrations of the Queen’s 70-year reign, the longest by a British monarch.
Riding on horseback and wearing the Platinum Jubilee medal with his uniform, the Prince of Wales inspected the troops in his mother’s place.
As the soldiers marched towards Buckingham Palace at the end of the parade, the Queen emerged onto the balcony, accompanied by cheers from the crowd.
The Queen, who was using a walking stick, has limited her appearance in recent months due to mobility issues.
More than 1,500 officers and soldiers along with 350 horses from the Household Division took part in Trooping the Colour, the first time the parade has been staged in full since the pandemic.
After the parade, more than 70 aircraft - including Spitfires from World War Two, Apache helicopters, Typhoons and the Red Arrows - took part in the flypast over Buckingham Palace. Several jets flew in formation to form the number 70 in honour of the Queen’s long reign.
Royal Family at Balcony
Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - flanked the monarch on the balcony - the Royal Family’s first gathering there since 2019.
It had been decided that only “working royals” would appear, which excluded the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the Queen’s son, the Duke of York.
Prince Harry and Meghan, who now live in the US, watched Trooping the Colour from a vantage point in the Duke of Wellington’s former office, overlooking Horse Guards Parade. They travelled with their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, who turns one on Saturday. Lilibet is the Queen’s family nickname.
Prince Andrew, whose royal titles were returned to the Crown amid a lawsuit in the US, did not attend.
The parade was also briefly interrupted by protestors, claimed to be from animal rights and climate campaign group Animal Rebellion. Police arrested several demonstrators as they entered the ceremonial route on the Mall.
Millions of people are gearing up for street parties among other celebrations over the four-day Bank Holiday weekend. In a statement on Wednesday, the Queen thanked the public for organising celebratory events and said “many happy memories” would be made.
