It’s a celebration for the ages! The royal family is getting ready for Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee, and the event is shaping up to be legendary.
“It’s going to be great,” royal expert Nick BullenOnly spoken Us WeeklyTuesday, May 24, 2004. “The image of the queen on the balcony after Trooping the Colour on the first day of the full weekend — I think that will be a very poignant moment.”
Trooping the Colour is an annual parade that marks the British sovereign’s birthday, but this year it will also commemorate the 96-year-old monarch’s 70 years on the throne. Bullen stated that the Jubilee officially begins in June, but early events have been very emotional.
When Elizabeth attended the Windsor Horse Show’s “A Gallop Through History” event earlier this month, there was “spontaneous applause” for the matriarch, Bullen recalled.
Queen Elizabeth II Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/Shutterstock
“People were so thrilled to see her,” the True Royalty TV cofounder told Use. “When she left, there were literally people sobbing around me. There was almost not a dry eye in the house because I think a lot of people were feeling that this might be the last moment they see the queen in person.”
Though the queen officially passed her 70-year mark in February, the country’s four-day Jubilee celebration will begin on June 2 with Trooping the Colour. This month, the queen celebrated her 70th birthday. Prince HarryAnd Meghan MarkleThey have confirmed that they will attend the festivities, but they won’t be standing on the balcony alongside the rest of the royal family during parade.
“After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd of June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement on May 6.
The Jubilee marks the first time the 37-year old Duke of Sussex will attend. BenchAuthor, 40, has returned to the U.K. with her husband, since their last event as senior royalty in March 2020. The couple plans to bring their children Archie (3 years old) and Lili (1 year old) along to the celebration.
Queen Elizabeth II at RHS Chelsea Flower Show photocall Paul Grover/WPA Pool/Shutterstock
Despite the Sussex family’s absence on the balcony, however, Bullen believes the parade will be a “dynamite” moment. “All eyes will be on [the queen],” the producer added.
One day after Trooping the Colour, the royal family is expected to attend a Thanksgiving service in honor of Elizabeth held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Buckingham Palace has not yet announced whether the queen will attend, but Bullen predicts the service “will be a very big moment” if she does.
“The imagery and the symbolism of this relatively small 96-year-old woman in the majesty of [the] cathedral with the music that goes with it?” Bullen reflected. “I think again, you’re gonna have a lot of people reaching for their handkerchiefs.”
Christina Garibaldi reporting
