The Queen’s 70th Jubilee is the major event in Great Britain. On Thursday the celebrations started with the big military parade, tonight there will be a big concert. All important events to read in the FOCUS Online ticker.
8:40 p.m .: While most of the royal family will celebrate on Saturday night at a concert in front of Buckingham Palace on the occasion of the Queen’s jubilee, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan will not attend. Instead, they will spend their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday in private.
The couple are keeping a low profile this weekend after the Queen said there should be “no drama” during the anniversary, reports British newspaper The Sun. Harry and Meghan have only been to the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London so far. The Queen will not be able to watch the show in person either. She will remain in Windsor and watch the event on TV.
6:37 p.m.: Queen Elizabeth II watches the traditional Epsom Derby horse race at home on the sofa in her “comfortable clothes,” her granddaughter Zara Tindall said on Saturday as her mother, Princess Anne, represented the queen at Saturday’s races. “She’ll be watching the race on TV – she’s got some runners spread across the country today so she knows exactly what’s going on. She’ll just sit on the sofa and watch TV, in her comfy clothes.
4:37 p.m .: According to a body language expert, Prince William showed his brother, Prince Harry, the “opposite of recognition” at the thanksgiving service on Friday for the jubilee. The two brothers sat far apart and were not even seen standing next to each other. “So far there have not been moments between the brothers that signaled recognition or any hint of reconciliation,” body language expert Judi James told the British newspaper Mirror.
She said William even made a “barrier gesture” as he and his wife Kate walked past the pew his brother was sitting on on their way to their seat. “He sucked in his lips, pulled his chin up and seemed to turn his head the other way for a moment while lifting the sheet of music in a gesture of delineation,” analyzed James. Harry, on the other hand, seemed resigned to not sitting behind his brother, James commented.
4.06pm: Peter Philipps, known as Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘favourite grandson’, arrived at the traditional Epsom Derby horse race with a new wife at his side. Peter arrived with his new partner Lindsay Wallace, his sister Zara Tindall and mother Princess Anne, who replaced her mother the Queen in the race.
The Queen is said to have met Peter’s new girlfriend earlier this year following his divorce from his ex-wife Autumn, reports British tabloid Mirror. The Queen is believed to have met Lindsay after a shooting match in Windsor – a sign the couple are “serious”.
2:57 p.m .: On behalf of the Queen, her daughter Princess Anne attended the traditional Epsom Derby horse race. The 71-year-old was greeted with cheers and British flags on Saturday. Also present were her second husband Tim Laurence and their children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall from their first marriage.
The Princess Royal was in good spirits in the Royal Box as she waved to the crowd. The Queen had decided not to attend to recover from the previous celebrations. The equestrian fanatic has been thought to be watching the race on television at her Windsor Castle residence.
In honor of the Queen, 40 jockeys who had ridden for the horse owner and breeder in the past formed an honor guard in royal racing suits. Then the national anthem was played. Five of the Queen’s previous racehorses were presented at the site.
2:05 p.m .: Duchess Meghan’s (40, born Meghan Markle) hairdresser, of all people, has fulfilled the wishes of numerous royal fans and finally revealed details about their children Archie (3) and Lilibet (1). So far, the royal supporters have not been able to take a look at the children of Meghan and Prince Harry (37) at the throne jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (96).
Regarding a series of photos showing Harry and Meghan at the service in St. Paul’s Cathedral, George Northwood writes: “It is so nostalgic and wonderful to see Harry, Meghan and their family again in the United Kingdom.” Then the long-awaited details about the two follow Children he probably saw styling the Duchess. “Archie is the cutest, most well behaved boy and Lilibet is beautiful.”
He receives compliments for these insights – and also for his work. A fan account of Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry writes: “Finally an update from Archie and Lili, thanks!”. He also gets praise for his styling of the Duchess: “You did a great job with Meghan’s hairstyle.”
11:13 a.m .: Queen’s great-granddaughter Lilibet received congratulations from the palace on her first birthday. “Wishing Lilibet a Happy 1st Birthday,” the Royal Family’s official account tweeted on Saturday, along with a balloon emoji. As reported by the media, Queen Elizabeth II wanted to meet her second youngest great-grandchild in person on Saturday.
According to information from the newspaper “Sun”, the audience for Lilibet’s family with father Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan is not the first time that the Queen has seen the toddler in person. Accordingly, Elizabeth met little Lilibet, named after the monarch’s family nickname, on one of the previous days.
10:21 a.m .: The new Australian government is distancing itself from the head of state Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s 70th jubilee is an occasion to think about the future of the former British colony, said cabinet member Matt Thistlethwaite of the British news agency PA.
With the end of Elizabeth’s reign, the time had come for a serious debate. “Australia is an independent country. We have our own unique identity and culture,” said Thistlethwaite. All Australians should have the opportunity to become head of state.
As in many other Commonwealth member states, the Queen is formally the head of state in Australia. Thistlethwaite’s appointment as Assistant Minister for the Republic has fueled suspicions that Labor Party Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking a referendum on the issue. In a 1999 referendum, a majority (55 percent) of Australians voted to retain the monarchy.
“My job in the early stages is a kind of education – to explain to people that we have a foreign monarch as head of state, that we have a deputy representative in the governor-general, but that we could have an Australian as head of state,” Thistlethwaite said However, there is still a long way to go before a referendum is held, and the Labor government is reportedly not planning to do so until after re-election.
Premier Albanese paid tribute to the Queen at a ceremony on Saturday and renamed an island in Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin reservoir Queen Elizabeth II Island. The Queen has visited Canberra 14 times during her reign.
8:59 a.m .: With their own speeches, heir to the throne Prince Charles and his son Prince William want to honor the Queen on her 70th anniversary at a mega concert in London. Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son and her grandson wanted to speak out on a stage in front of Buckingham Palace late Saturday night and address the approximately 22,000 spectators separately, British media reported.
The two-and-a-half hour spectacle is the culmination of the third day of the anniversary celebrations. Among others, the US singers Alicia Keys and Diana Ross as well as the British bands Duran Duran and Queen are to appear. The appearance of Queen guitarist Brian May was eagerly awaited. At the golden throne jubilee in 2002 he played a rocking version of the national anthem “God Save the Queen” from the roof of the palace. Celebrities such as footballer David Beckham and actress Julie Andrews are said to be there.
It was considered unlikely in the morning whether the Queen would watch the celebration in her honor live at the palace. The 96-year-old had canceled her participation in the thanksgiving service in her honor on Friday, as well as attending a horse race near London that was planned for Saturday afternoon. The monarch had recently repeatedly canceled appointments due to mobility problems. Her daughter Princess Anne was expected to replace her at the racecourse.
At her Windsor Castle residence, the Queen wanted to receive her grandson Prince Harry and his family instead, who had traveled to the celebrations together from the United States for the first time. Harry’s daughter Lilibet, who is named after her great-grandmother’s family nickname, celebrated her first birthday on Saturday.
Saturday, June 4th, 8:50 a.m.: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised Queen Elizabeth II as a “role model” for the 70th anniversary of her throne. “In the past seventy years there have been twelve German Presidents – but only one Queen Elizabeth,” said Steinmeier in a video message published in English on Friday.
“Over these seven decades, shaped by your wisdom and leadership, you helped write our common history after the catastrophe of World War II.” With her determination and steady hand, she was a role model for the British as well as for the Germans. “And now that war is raging again in Europe, your tireless commitment to lasting peace between peoples is a source of hope and inspiration.”
7:58 p.m .: How is the Queen and aren’t the celebrations too much for the monarch, who is already in poor health? Duchess Kate is said to have given a guest the all-clear: “She was fine, it was just very exhausting yesterday, but she had a really good time,” the Duchess is quoted as saying in the “Daily Mail”.
7.35 p.m .: The British punk band “The K**ts” sings about the trial of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre in their controversial version of the well-known children’s song “The Grand Old Duke of York”. In it, they make fun of the financial compensation he paid. Now, of all things, during the Queen’s 70th Jubilee celebrations, the song even made it into the top 20 of the British music charts. A very strange choice.
Giuffre has sued Prince Andrew for sexual abuse. The court awarded her millions in compensation. It is said to be between seven and twelve million pounds.
You can read more about the events surrounding the platinum anniversary on the next page.
Read here: Personal SUV and security: Queen sends signs of reconciliation to Harry and Meghan
