LONDON – Thousands gathered in front of Buckingham Palace for a stellar concert at which two future monarchs will pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday, the third day of a platinum jubilee extravaganza marking her 70th birthday on the throne.
Prince Charles and Prince William, the Queen’s son and grandson, are to address a live audience of 22,000 and millions more on television. The event, featuring Alicia Keys, Quinn and Adam Lambert, will take place in a temporary amphitheater built around the Victoria Memorial outside the palace.
David Beckham and tennis player Emma Raducanu are in attendance, while Diana Ross will close the show with her first live performance in the UK in 15 years. The concert is expected to include a pre-recorded performance by Elton John.
The 96-year-old monarch is expected to miss the evening’s outdoor event, which could be affected by light rain. The queen has had problems with movement recently, which the palace describes as “episodic mobility problems” limiting her public appearances in recent months.
The news that the queen failed to do Saturday’s concert did not overshadow the party atmosphere among the crowd.
“It’s a magical experience … (It’s) it’s never going to happen again in our lives, and it’s absolutely amazing to be a part of it,” said Sam Aqua of Cornwall in the South West of England. “I was really, really excited and I just can’t wait to get in there and start dancing.”
The Sovereign also chose not to attend the Epsom derby on Saturday. Instead, she was introduced to the prestigious annual horse race by her daughter, Princess Anne, who appeared in the royal box with her family as crowds applauded and waved Union flags.
The queen is widely known as an avid horse lover and has missed the Epsom derby only a few times. Five of her former racehorses were paraded on Saturday, and 40 jockeys riding for the queen formed a guard of honor before the national anthem was played.
“She has been raising horses for more than 60 years. She knows all the bloodlines and has won many competitions and is very well informed, “said Frankie Dettori, who performed part of the track with fellow jockeys, to the BBC.
“I’m sure she’ll find a TV today and watch it live because she loves Derby,” he added.
It was the second time in so many days that the queen’s mobility problems had deprived crowds of opportunities to see her.
On Friday, the Queen missed a special Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Palace officials said she was “somewhat uncomfortable” with the previous day’s events, which included removing huge crowds from Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry and his wife Megan were among nearly 50 members of the royal family who gathered in St. Paul on Friday to honor the absent head of state. It was the couple’s first public appearance in the UK since retiring from the throne and moving to California two years ago.
In another sign of the thaw in the relationship, the royal Twitter accounts wished a happy first birthday to the daughter of Harry and Megan Lilibet. Lilibet turned one on Saturday. She and her older brother Archie have not yet shown up on this trip.
“I wish Lilibet a very happy 1st birthday!” Tweeted the royal family’s account.
Meanwhile, other members of the royal family traveled to Wales and Northern Ireland as part of the celebrations in the United Kingdom.
William and his wife Kate brought two of their three children, 8-year-old Prince George and 7-year-old Princess Charlotte, to Cardiff Castle in Wales before a separate concert at the Queen’s Palace.
The Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, attended a maritime fair in the 1950s in Belfast. Edward tried to pull a Guinness mug into a diner while Sophie took a dance demonstration from the ’50s and’ 60s.
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