Queen Elizabeth will not attend the thanksgiving mass at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, as part of the celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee: a decision made following a "malaise
": Buckigham Palace, quoted by the BBC, reports that speaks of new health concerns for the 96-year-old sovereign, who celebrates 70 years on the throne.
"The Queen enjoyed today's Birthday Parade and Flypast very much, but she felt quite unwell," a Palace spokesperson said, reports Sky News.
"In view of the travel and activities required to attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral tomorrow, Her Majesty has reluctantly decided not to attend," writes the royal palace in its statement.
"The Queen looks forward to attending the torchlighting ceremony at Windsor Castle tonight and she would like to thank everyone who made today such a memorable occasion," she adds.
THE DAY
Ovation for Queen Elizabeth,
96, who appeared as expected from the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the end of the Trooping the Color parade which in this 2022 seals the public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee in honor of her seven decades on the throne:
never a milestone achieved by no one in the centuries-old history of the British monarchy.
The sovereign, dressed in blue,
initially went out alone leaning on a stick, as she has been doing for a few months.
, but she looked in good shape.
The parade - accompanied as usual by the sound of military marches, including drums, trumpets and bagpipes - was presided over the field on horseback for the first time by the dolphin Carlo, with his eldest son William and Princess Anna, her Majesty's second child, to give him wing even in the saddle.
Then the "active duty" royals moved to the balcony to flank the queen, after the royal banner had replaced the Union Jack flag on the palace flagpole to confirm the monarch's presence.
The greeting to the cheering crowd was preceded by a curtain when Prince Louis of Cambridge, 4, William and Kate's third child, anticipated everyone by peeping for a moment to wave his hand.
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Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, never anyone like her - Foreground
Hurray to the Queen from a sea of crowd, Elizabeth lingers with her gaze on tens of thousands of people.
Next to her are members of the royal family on duty.
Great absent, Harry and Meghan (ANSA)
The first to appear next to Elizabeth II, in the role that in the past had always been the inseparable prince consort Philip, who died almost a centenary in 2021, was according to the ceremonial
the Duke of Kent, elderly cousin of His Majesty.
With which the queen carried out the so-called inspection of the troops, which returned inside the courtyard of Buckingham Palace after the parade conducted in the surroundings.
Then there was the extended exit to the heir to the throne Carlo and to the other "active service" leaders of the royal family, for a collective greeting to the many subjects present and to watch the passage of the planes of the aerobatic team of the Raf (Red Arrows ) which according to custom marks the end of the ceremony.
Trooping the Color is a tradition that spans 260 years in the history of the celebrations of the British monarchy.
It usually seals the public celebration of the royal birthday - on a date other than the actual date -, each year featuring a different elite regiment, charged with showing off their colors and performing on horseback.
This year, however, also marks the start of the key events of the Platinum Jubilee, scheduled until Sunday 5.
As noted by the BBC, it is the first time in the 70 years of Elizabeth's reign that the queen has not personally presided over this. parade, however, suspended in its solemn form in the years of the Covid pandemic, and delegates Prince Charles to receive the honors of the rite
.
The last time it was the turn of an heir to the throne dates back to 1951, when the current sovereign - still a princess - was commissioned to replace her father George VI, too ill to be able to ride, and destined to die - giving her the crown. - the next year.
Highly emotional closure of the event that today sealed the culmination of the public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee of the 70th anniversary of the reign of Elizabeth II.
The 96-year-old sovereign, in a sugar-blue dress signed by Angela Kelly, was greeted by repeated cheers from an overflowing crowd that gathered at the end of the Trooping of Color parade in front of Buckingham Palace and along the Mall avenue to pay homage again. once to the longest-lived sovereign in British history: returned to be seen for the most important occasion after months of semi-isolation and repetitive forfeits.
The queen showed herself smiling, and touched behind the smoked lenses by the enormous manifestation of affection of the subjects who flocked in a Union Jack riot, she lingered with her gaze on the human tide that invoked her before returning from the balcony into the palace.
Balcony from which he witnessed the passage of helicopters and jets with a satisfied and at times absorbed expression, alongside the active-duty members of the Royal Family: alternating dense exchanges of words with the eternal heir to the throne Charles, on his right, a few jokes with his wife Camilla, but also with little Louis, 4 years old, William and Kate's third child, lively on his left next to his mother, father, his older brother George (the protagonist of some grimaces) and his sister Charlotte .
In what was a grand finale upside down in the London sky - a bit clouded over after the early morning sun - marked by the overflight of various aircraft formations: from the glorious historic WWII aircraft (a Lancaster, 2 Spitfire, 2 Hurricane),
The Pope sent Queen Elizabeth a message for the national holiday and the Platinum Jubilee.
"On this joyful occasion" the Pontiff sends his "cordial greetings" and assures his prayers - reads the telegram - so that "Almighty God may grant you, the members of the royal family and all the people of your nation blessings of unity, prosperity and peace ".
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II's 70th anniversary on the throne
: an unprecedented milestone whose celebration - in what the registry suggests could be (but who knows) the last great jubilee of His Majesty - comes alive in the context of the 4 extra days of national holiday proclaimed by the government of Boris Johnson in across the UK from 2 to 5 June.
Preceded at dawn by the spectacular projection of holograms of historical images of the queen on the famous stones of the primitive site of Stonehenge (and yesterday by a shower of royal decorations and honors), today opens at 10 am (11 am in Italy) with a special edition of Trooping the Color, the great military parade, destined to last almost three hours, which is usually held every year for the public celebration of the 96-year-old sovereign's birthday, after the private one on 21 April,
his true date of birth.
As per tradition - suspended only during the Covid pandemic - Elizabeth is waiting on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to follow the procession and flyby of the RAF acrobatic team, and greet the crowd that has already begun to gather in the area in a riot of Union Jack.
Next to her, the presence of only the "active service members" of the Royal Family is announced: Prince Charles, 73-year-old heir, with her wife Camilla;
the eldest son of these William, second in line of succession, with Kate and the princes George, Charlotte and Louis;
as well as two other children of the queen, the second, Anna, and the fourth, Edoardo, with family.
There will be no Prince Andrew, second son of her Majesty,
apparently excluded from all events today against the backdrop of his involvement in the Epstein sex scandal;
while the rebellious nephew Harry, who arrived last night from the US with his wife Meghan and the little ones Archie and Lilibet Diana (in his UK debut where he will turn one year old on Saturday), will not go up on the balcony after being torn from the senior representative role of the following dynasty to the transfer overseas on the balcony, but will still be present at the palace.
In the evening, the queen is expected to reappear to turn on the highest spotlight in Buckingham Palace park,
placed on the Tree of Trees monument 21 meters high, simultaneously with a global light show that will see 3000 lighthouses illuminate throughout the country and in the nations of the Commonwealth.
Tomorrow will therefore be the turn of a religious liturgy of thanksgiving for the long reign of Elizabeth II in the London Cathedral of St. Paul.
While on Saturday there will be the Epson Derby horse race tribute and the artistic-musical one of the Platinum Party, animated by a parade of attractions and then by a mega concert of British and international stars.
Finally, Sunday 5, the "popular" closing of the celebration will be entrusted to the Big Jubilee Lunches, with parties and banquets offered to subjects and guests in various public places of the Kingdom, including the parks of various royal residences.