(LONDON) Crowds converged on Buckingham Palace on Thursday, where Elizabeth II, increasingly rare in public due to her health problems, is due to appear on the balcony for celebrations of 70 years of a historic reign.
Posted at 6:30 a.m.
Updated at 7:09 a.m.
Kicking off the four-day platinum jubilee festivities, thousands of people carrying flags and portraits of the Queen lined the Mall, the avenue leading to the palace, hoping to catch a glimpse of the long-lived 96-year-old monarch. unprecedented for the British monarchy.
On horseback, his heirs, Princes Charles and William, arrived in the famous red outfit with a long bearskin cap for the traditional annual Salute to the Colors parade, bringing together more than 1,200 soldiers and hundreds of musicians. Their respective wives, Camilla and Kate, arrived by coach, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in the stands with his wife Carrie.
“It’s a unique day, it won’t happen again as long as I’m alive: 70 years on the throne,” exclaimed Peter, questioned by AFP in the audience.
“It only happens once in a lifetime,” added Mark Cornell, who came especially from the north of England, who nevertheless assures that he is not an unconditional admirer of the monarchy: “They must reinvent themselves for the new generations”.
Pennants, flags and giant portraits have been hung in the streets across the United Kingdom, which will celebrate the ultra-popular sovereign on Sunday, a symbol of stability over decades of upheaval for the country.
After Thursday’s parade, a mass is scheduled for Friday, a giant concert on Saturday at Buckingham Palace and above all tens of thousands of popular gatherings, including giant picnics on Sunday.
This platinum jubilee brings a respite and a moment of communion for the British after several years of heartbreak over Brexit and strict confinements due to COVID-19, now followed by enormous inflation.
“I hope that the next few days will be an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved over the past 70 years, while looking to the future with confidence and enthusiasm,” the sovereign, head of the country, said in a written message. state of 15 kingdoms, from the United Kingdom to Canada to New Zealand.
Twice on the balcony
Never has a British sovereign reigned as long as Elizabeth, who ascended the throne at the age of 25 on February 6, 1952 on the death of her father, George VI. It is unlikely that another will achieve such longevity: Charles, the crown prince is 73 years old, his son William will soon be 40 years old.
On Thursday, the monarch is due to appear on the balcony twice briefly, at 11:20 a.m. GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT) to greet the parade and then at 12 p.m. GMT for an aerial flyover.
At his side, the family will be limited to members who have official functions and their children. Exit therefore Prince Harry and Meghan, who attend the parade from another building for their first return together to the United Kingdom since their sensational departure in California in 2020. Also missing is Prince Andrew, who paid millions of dollars to put put an end to a sexual assault complaint.
In the evening, the queen must remotely light, from Windsor Castle, a 21-meter-high tree-shaped sculpture located in front of Buckingham Palace, where Prince William will be present.
Growing role for Charles
Confirmed only Wednesday evening by the palace, the appearances of Elizabeth II, which have become rare, are eagerly awaited. Because her health worries: since a night in the hospital in October, she has canceled almost all her official appearances, replaced by Charles, including for the first time in May for the speech from the throne in Parliament.
Weakened since the death of her husband Philip last year, she struggles to walk and relies on a cane. She shows no willingness to back down, however, and has made several surprise appearances recently, smiling and relaxed.
In this atmosphere of end of reign, the monarchy has gone through several crises in recent years and is faced with growing criticism, particularly in the former colonies, concerning the slavery past of the British Empire. After Barbados last year, Jamaica has indicated that it wants to cut the cord with the crown to become a Republic.
In the United Kingdom, the queen remains pampered by her subjects with 75% of favorable opinions according to the YouGov institute, but her heir Charles is much less appreciated (50%). Young people are more divided than their elders on the monarchy, and, of all ages, only 39% of Britons think that the institution will still exist in 100 years.