Queen’s at the heart of the party
Royal Air Force planes screaming through the skies, a military band on horseback, a ceremonial Irish wolfhound named Seamus.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee kicked off Thursday with all the grandeur one would expect from this 1,000-year-old institution. But despite the lavish royal pageantry, there was only one star of the show for the flag-waving crowds lining the streets of the British capital on this warm June day.
There were doubts about how much of the country’s four-day celebration its 96-year-old queen would manage to attend. On Thursday, she was greeted with rapturous cheers and applause as she made two smiling appearances on the famed Buckingham Palace balcony.
What to expect for the rest of the long jubilee weekend
After Thursday’s big kickoff of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, attention will turn to the final three days of festivites.
Here’s what else to expect:
- A Service of Thanksgiving will take place on Friday morning at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with prayers, anthems and bible readings. Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung at about 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) — the first time it will be rung for a royal occasion.
- On Saturday evening there will be a star-studded musical event, the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace, will feature musicians including Queen and Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, and Diana Ross.
- To cap off the celebrations, Sunday will see…
