untitled design

Britain prepares to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

Great Britain will mark 70 years of Queen Elizabeth on the throne this week with four days of celebrations, ranging from military parades and a church service to street parties and a pop show outside Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth, 96, marked seven decades on the throne in February, and two holidays were set aside to create a four-day weekend of national events celebrating her reign from June 2-5.

It’s unclear how many of them the monarch herself will attend, forced to miss several official engagements in recent months because of what Buckingham Palace calls “mobility issues”. Royal officials say her participation will be decided on the day.

Paying tribute to “Elizabeth the Great” in parliament last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said her service and dedication to duty is unparalleled.

“I hope that in the coming days we can show, with every bonfire, every show and street party and stunt display, a love and a devotion to reciprocate the love, devotion and leadership she has shown across the country over seven years. decades,” he said.

The four days of events kick off on Thursday with the traditional “Trooping the Colour” military parade in central London, which will be followed by a flyover of modern and historic aircraft.

The Queen is also due to make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet the crowd, although the two most controversial members of the royal family – her son Prince Andrew and grandson Prince Harry – are absent.

In February, Andrew settled a US lawsuit in which he was accused of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre. He had previously resigned from public office because of his connections to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Harry, the youngest son of Crown Prince Charles, also gave up royal duties to move with his American wife Meghan to Los Angeles, from where they delivered barbs and accusations of racism against the royal family.

However, both are likely to attend other engagements over the long weekend. Another notable absence will be her late husband Prince Philip, who died aged 99 last April after 73 years with her.

intense programming

On Friday there will be a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, while on Saturday the Queen is due to participate in the Derby horse race with other family members. Later, there will be a concert outside Buckingham Palace with rock group Queen, pop band Duran Duran and American singer Diana Ross.

The celebrations will end on Sunday, with street parties and a parade through the British capital.

Elizabeth became Queen of Great Britain and more than a dozen other kingdoms, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya on an international tour.

At the time, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry Truman led the Soviet Union, China and the United States, while Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister.

In September 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in nearly 1,000 years in a line dating back to the Norman King William I and his conquest of England in 1066.

During her seven decades on the throne, the Queen has been a symbol of stability for the country through major social, economic and political changes, including the end of the British Empire.

“Not only has his majesty been a constant presence in the lives of most of his subjects, he is also the third longest-serving monarch in world history,” the speaker of parliament’s House of Commons said in a statement.

Polls show that she remains very popular and respected, despite a growing indifference to the monarchy among young people.

A YouGov poll for the Republic campaign group last Thursday also found that more than half of respondents were not interested in the jubilee.

“Rather than being a national celebration, the jubilee is a minority interest,” said Graham Smith of Republic. “The lack of interest across the country and all age groups under 65 shows that the future of the monarchy is in serious doubt.”

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular