When Will We See Queen Elizabeth at the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations?
A decade ago when the Queen marked her Diamond Jubilee aged 86 she was still carrying out a full program of public engagements including overseas visits. But the past 10 years have been a reminder that the monarch is not immune to the aging process as for some time now she has been gradually scaling back her official duties.
The biggest change, however, has come in the last few months as the 96-year-old Queen has been looking visibly more frail and been forced to pull out of a spate of events, many for the first time ever due to ill health. Since November, Prince Charles has represented his mother at the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, the Commonwealth Day Service, Maundy Thursday, and the State Opening of Parliament.
Royal sources have said that the Queen is suffering with “episodic mobility problems” and that she has at all times continued with “light duties” at Windsor Castle (referring to paperwork received in her “red boxes” of government papers and communication with her office staff). However, she has also made it clear that she still goes by the motto “I have to be seen to be believed” by frequently appearing on video calls and getting out and about publicly to events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show and the Chelsea Flower Show.
There are high hopes that the Queen will be visible throughout her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and a Palace source has emphasized that she is “looking forward to the weekend and will be taking part.” However, just as she wanted to attend events such as Remembrance Sunday and the State Opening of Parliament, the Queen has had to recently accept that the new reality is that at times appearing publicly is just not possible. For this reason, her presence at events throughout the four-day weekend will not be confirmed until much closer to the time and possibly on the day itself. Organizers have meticulously planned the events that she is anticipated at to make sure that she can be there with as much comfort and as little walking as possible. While potential adaptions to Trooping the Colour on Thursday, June 2, have still to be made clear, the Palace has already said that she will not arrive at the front of St Paul’s Cathedral on June 3 for the Service of Thanksgiving and ascend the steps as she did during her Diamond Jubilee. Instead, she will enter via a different entrance and may not be filmed making her way to her seat.
Expectations over how many events the Queen can attend have also changed in the past decade. Instead of arranging for her to be present across the weekend, it is understood that aides and organizers have identified some key moments which she hopes be at. This includes Trooping the Colour which opens the celebrations, although it is possible that she may only be there for part of it or just the balcony appearance. She also hopes to attend the Thanksgiving Service on Friday, which is particularly meaningful to her due to her faith. There had been an expectation that she would attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday afternoon, but it is now though that Princess Anne will represent her so she can pace herself. It is hoped that the Queen will be visible in some way on the final day of the celebrations when a pageant of 10,000 people will make its way through central London towards Buckingham Palace, but there has so far been no confirmation of where the royal family will be for this moment.
It seems unlikely that she will watch Saturday night’s concert outside Buckingham Palace as she did 10 years ago, and while there are plans for Thursday night’s beacons to be lit by a “senior royal” it is also very possible she will sit that event out.
Following her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the Queen issued a special televised message of thanks, and it’s possible that something similar could be on the cards for this even more momentous milestone, however the Palace have not yet confirmed anything. As is the case for so much about this jubilee, we will have to wait and see.
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