Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II appeared today on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the celebrations of her platinum anniversary to congratulate the soldiers who were returning from the military parade in her honor, DPA reported.
She watched the passing guards and officers along with other members of the royal family. Thousands of people had gathered in the streets to witness the lavish 17th-century ceremony.
The Queen, who is in charge of the armed forces, carefully inspected the military from above while standing with her cousin, the Duke of Kent, who is a colonel in the Scottish Guard.
Dressed in a blue coat of Angela Kelly, which she wore for her official portrait, and a suitable hat, 96-year-old Elizabeth II held a cane. She received the greeting of the cavalry from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, under the waving royal flag, AFP reported.
Harry and Megan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were among the guests watching the military parade. They joined a number of royalty, including Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Harry and Megan did not show up with the queen on the balcony because they are no longer active members of the royal family. They reportedly met with some of their relatives in a room in the Office of the Major-General, who heads the so-called “Household Division” in charge of official events in London. From there, they watched The Mall’s horse parade, which was inspected by Charles.
This is believed to be the first personal meeting between Kate and Megan since Harry and his wife moved to the United States in 2020.
The crowd rejoiced at the three children of Kate and Prince William – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – who marched with their proud mother in a carriage procession.
This was the first public walk of the young royalty during the four-day jubilee celebrations that began today.
The discredited son of Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, was absent from the representatives of the royal family, AFP notes.
The British queen, who has difficulty moving, has been replaced in her usual role by the heir to the throne, her son Prince Charles, who inspects the guards in their scarlet tunics and bear skins.
The United Kingdom is enjoying a special long holiday weekend full of splendor, festivities and celebrations, for which millions of celebrities and ordinary people will gather to pay tribute to Elizabeth II.
Four-day celebrations have begun in Britain on the occasion of the platinum anniversary of Elizabeth II. The festivities began with the spectacular Trooping of the Color parade, which was attended by 1,500 Guards officers and soldiers and 350 Guards horses to the sounds of an impressive brass band. The ceremony was marred when several members of the conservation movement Animal Rebellion jumped into the square, but they were quickly taken out by police.
The parade passed from the Guards Barracks in central London on The Mall to Buckingham Palace, and on the return of the Guards, Elizabeth II appeared, for the first time, albeit briefly, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to send them off.
82 cannon salutes from the Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park in honor of the Queen followed. At exactly 13.00 British time, cannon salutes followed across the country.
But perhaps the biggest attraction of the day was the Royal Air Force show, which was watched in person by the Queen, who appeared on the balcony for the second time, this time with the closest members of the royal family.
It all started with the advent of Navy Wildcat helicopters, followed by an impressive demonstration of historic and modern aircraft.
A big attraction was made by 15 Typhoon fighters, which painted 70 in the sky, and the audience was perhaps most pleased with the Red Arrows acrobats, who left a lasting trail of smoke in red, white and blue – the colors of the British flag.
However, the noise turned out to be quite unbearable for the great-grandson of Queen Louis, son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, whose displeasure did not go unnoticed by the cameras.
The prince stole the show and drew the spotlight with his naughty demeanor, being filmed grimacing and poking his nose out of boredom during the Trooping of the Color parade.
Four-year-old Louis, who is the youngest child of William and Kate, was also photographed waving enthusiastically at passers-by earlier in the day while in the company of his brother Prince George and sister Princess Charlotte as they rode in a carriage. during The Mall at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s birthday parade.
Most notable, however, were the moments when he demonstrated his extremely close relationship with his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who constantly spoke to him during the aerial part of the parade to distract him from the loud sound of airplanes.
Louis, in turn, seemed to be in a trance, looking with great interest at the queen and seeking her attention. At one point, Louis even broke free from his mother and passed the queen, much to Duchess Camilla’s inconvenience.
According to a man who can read people’s speech, during the aerial part of the parade, when Louis was passing by the queen, Kate told Camilla: “She’s really trying to sneak in.”
After the planes had passed, Kate told Louis, “Look how cool it was.” Meanwhile, speaking to her great-grandson, the queen said, “Look how much smoke.” That’s what specialist Juliet Sullivan says.
After the planes were gone, she turned to the kid again and added, “Come on, it’s over. It was really wonderful, amazing.”
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