In a moving ceremony at Windsor Castle tonight, the Queen ignited a chain of Platinum Jubilee beacons that stretched around the world in her honor.
Putting her mobility concerns aside, the 96-year-old monarch made her third public appearance of the day, putting her hand on a specially designed sparkling Commonwealth of Nations globe to launch more than 3,500 blazing tributes to her 70-year reign.
Her grandson the Duke of Cambridge, who was waiting 22 miles away at Buckingham Palace to see the 21-metre ‘Tree of Trees’ monument lighted in lights, attended the occasion as part of a unique dual ceremony.
At 9.30 p.m., the State Trumpeters met the queen at the Sovereign’s Entrance, near her private quarters, with a fanfare.
Sir Edward Younqg, Lady-in-Waiting Lady Susan Hussey, and Royal Marines equerry Lt Colonel Tom White accompanied her.
Members of the Windsor Castle community, some waving flags, greeted the king as he arrived at Windsor Castle for the event.
Her grandson the Duke of Cambridge, who was waiting 22 miles away at Buckingham Palace to see the 21-metre ‘Tree of Trees’ monument lighted in lights, attended the occasion as part of a unique dual ceremony.
It was 9.30 p.m. when the State Trumpeters greeted the queen with a fanfare at the Sovereign’s Entrance near her private rooms.
Sir Edward Younqg, Lady Susan Hussey, and Lt Colonel Tom White of the Royal Marines joined her on the trip.
Members of the Windsor Castle community, some waving flags, greeted the king as he arrived at Windsor Castle for the event.
Five Yeoman Warders, led by Chief Yeoman Warder Peter McGowran, set the Commonwealth of Nations Globe on a podium, which is a blue globe that lies inside a silver crown on a blue and gold cushion.
It was designed as a symbol of The Queen’s previous Jubilees, using silver, gold, diamonds, and platinum parts.
The stones in the Crown represent the United Kingdom’s four nations coming together to celebrate the Jubilee, and were collected from the tops of the four highest peaks: Mount Snowdon in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, and Scafell Pike in England.
The Queen went slowly and cautiously with her now-familiar walking stick, dressed in a jade green Stuart Pravin crepe coat and a printed silk dress in tones of jade and taupe.
Her Majesty The Queen was presented with a spectacular new Platinum Jubilee brooch commissioned by the Goldsmiths’ Company as a gift to honor her 70 years of service.
The four nations that make up the United Kingdom are symbolized by four diamond swirls and the national flowers of the rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrock, respectively.
It also includes lily of the valley, one of her favorite flowers and one of the flowers in her Coronation bouquet.
Bright white lights raced along the Quadrangle towards Windsor’s iconic Round Tower as the royal placed her finger on the globe, before traveling up the Tree of Trees in London.
Following today’s Trooping of the Colour, the Queen went to Buckingham Palace’s balcony roughly half an hour later to see the RAF flypast, which included senior royals such as Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate, as well as their children.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not appear on the Palace balcony, but they were reunited with some of their relatives inside a room of the Major General’s Office on Horse Guards Parade, where they watched Charles review guardsmen and officers and take their salute.
It comes after months of speculation over the Sussexes’ position and whether or not they would even attend the Jubilee due to a security dispute. After the Queen decreed that only senior working royals might join her at the Palace, they were only allowed to observe from a room overlooking the Whitehall parade ground.
The Queen, who was wearing sunglasses, smiled broadly as she observed the patriotic sights, giving broad smiles as she took in the six-minute flypast, which included Apache helicopters, Typhoons, and the Red Arrows. Fifteen RAF Typhoons flew in formation as the number 70 to pay honour to the Queen’s reign.
While Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were all present, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Prince Andrew had no place on the Palace balcony today because they are no longer working royals.