Queen back at Windsor ready to embark on historic Jubilee celebrations
The Queen has returned to Windsor Castle from Balmoral ready to join the nation’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking her 70 year-reign.
The monarch had travelled to her Scottish sanctuary on Thursday for a short break in order to pace herself ahead of the busy four-day weekend of festivities.
She is likely to have been resting ahead of the milestone festivities, having faced mobility problems for several months and confessing to having difficulty walking.
Millions across the country are set to take to the streets for parties and Big Jubilee Lunches this weekend in honour of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch.
Patriotic tributes to the Queen around the UK include a life-size woollen knitted monarch plus corgi made by Holmes Chapel Community Yarn Bombers in Cheshire, and a 5ft 3in Victoria sponge cake in the shape of the sovereign by social media star Lara Mason.
The commemorations kick start with the traditional Trooping the Colour military spectacle on Thursday, involving more than 1,500 officers and soldiers and 350 horses from the Household Division.
In the evening, more than 3,000 beacons will be set ablaze across the UK and the Commonwealth in tribute to the Queen, with the principal Tree of Trees beacon illuminated outside the Palace.
There will be no ceremonial journey to the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Queen on Friday June 3, and the monarch, if she attends, will use a different entrance rather than scaling the steep steps.
Saturday is also the first birthday of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter Lilibet, amid speculation the Queen will get to meet her namesake for the first time and possibly attend her christening when Harry and Meghan fly back for the Jubilee.
In the evening, the BBC’s Party at the Palace – set on three stages in front of Buckingham Palace – will entertain a live crowd of 22,000 people and a television audience of millions.
Charles and William are preparing to deliver public tributes at the concert to the Queen, who is due to be watching on television from Windsor.
On Sunday, millions will gather for patriotic street parties, picnics and barbecues, with more than 85,000 Big Jubilee Lunches being held across the UK.
The finale is the Jubilee Pageant through the streets of London, with a cast of 6,000 performers and close to 200 celebrities joining the carnival procession.
Early morning rehearsals for the pageant took place on The Mall on Tuesday as the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force went through their last-minute preparations.
Among the sights was the Gold State Coach which will appear on the day with archive footage of the Queen – travelling in it on for her Coronation – broadcast at the windows, making it seem as if the monarch is in the carriage.