LONDON (AP) – Queen Elizabeth II may have missed a London concert in her honor on Saturday, but when she appeared in a stunning video recorded with another British national treasure: the Paddington Bears, she brought the house down.
The monarch, 96, said she shared Paddington’s love of marmalade sandwiches in a surprise video, delighting thousands who gathered outside Buckingham Palace on the third day of one. Platinum Jubilee Extravaganza Completes 70 Years on the Throne,
Rock bands Queen and Adam Lambert opened the open-air show outside the palace, and will follow Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, Rod Stewart and opera singer Andrea Bocelli. Diana Ross will conclude the show with her first UK live performance in 15 years.
Prince Charles and Prince William, the Queen’s son and grandson, will address a live audience of 22,000 and millions more on television.
The Queen has recently had problems moving around, which the palace has described as an “episodic mobility issue” limiting her public appearances in recent months. But his absence at the concert did not dilute the party atmosphere among the crowd.
“It’s a magical experience … [This is] That’s never going to happen again in our lifetime, and it’s absolutely incredible to be a part of it,” said Sam Ahkoim from Cornwall, south-west England. “I’m really, really excited and just can’t wait to get out there and start dancing.”
Sovereign also opted not to participate in the Epsom derby on Saturday. Instead, he was represented at the prestigious annual horse race by his daughter, Princess Anne, who appeared in the royal box as a crowd with her family.
The Queen is widely known as an avid lover, and has only missed the Epsom Derby a few times. On Saturday, five of her former racehorses were paraded, and 40 jockeys riding for the Queen formed a guard of honor before the national anthem was played.
“She has been breeding horses for over 60 years. She knows all the bloodlines and has won a lot of races and she is very knowledgeable,” Frankie Dettori, who parted the course with fellow jockeys, told the BBC told.
“I’m sure she’ll get a TV today and she’s going to watch it live, because she loves Derby so much,” he said.
(L) Catherine of Britain, Duchess of Cambridge, Britain’s Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince George of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain’s Platinum at Buckingham Palace on June 4 Reacted during the party. 2022, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. (Chris Jackson/Pool/AFP)
This was the second time in as many days that the Queen’s mobility issues robbed the crowd to see her.
On Friday, the Queen left a special Thanksgiving service in her honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Palace officials said she had experienced “some discomfort” in the events the day before, which involved a huge crowd waved from Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were among nearly 50 members of the royal family who gathered in St Paul’s on Friday to honor the absent head of state. It was the couple’s first public appearance in Britain since they stepped down from royal duties and moved to California two years ago.
Apart from attending Friday’s service, the couple has been away from the limelight till now. Their two children, Archie and Lillibet, who died on a Saturday, have yet to make an appearance during the visit. A spokesman for the couple said they would not be attending Saturday’s concert among some other 30 members of the royal family and were spending the day “privately”.
Meanwhile, other members of the royal family traveled to Wales and Northern Ireland as part of celebrations across Britain.
William and his wife Kate brought two of their three children – 8-year-old Prince George and 7-year-old Princess Charlotte – to Cardiff Castle in Wales before a separate concert in the palace grounds in honor of the Queen.
The Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visit a 1950s-themed seaside funfair in Belfast. Edward tried his hand at pulling a pint of Guinness at a diner, while Sophie took part in dance performances from the ’50s and ’60s.
