Hello, hello! I've been pondering for several weeks how best to cover the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. As per usual, there'll be individual posts dedicated to each appearance by the Duchess of Cambridge, but while the weekend's exciting itinerary is the key focal point, there is so much more to share: the anticipation, build-up, celebrations around the country... A Live Blog seems the most expedient way to keep up to date. A reminder to hit 'refresh' to see the latest updates.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Live Blog - Monday 30 May
Update 9 - And that's a wrap on today's Live Blog offering just a glimpse into the excitement and anticipation ahead of this weekend. For the past several weeks there's been rumours the Duchess of Cambridge would visit the Tower of London's Superbloom this week. Now, the cold weather has led to the public unveiling being postponed by a month. This could alter plans for a royal visit. If not, I'm guessing tomorrow or Wednesday. It's even been suggested the children could join Kate. Watch this space...
Update 8 - A segment from TODAY on final preparations for the Jubilee.
From The Royal Family Channel.
I very much enjoyed this one from The National Archives.
5 News looks at additional preparations.
Update 7 - The Ministry of Defence reveals: "With nearly 2,000 Armed Forces personnel on foot or on horseback, hundreds of musicians in marching bands and over 70 aircraft - the major military contribution to the Platinum Jubilee next week is going to be a sight to behold".
Update 6 - Would you like to see some of the preparations around the country?
A fancy dress shop in London is getting in the spirit.
At The Blue Anchor Pub, it's all about royal masks.
Union Jacks abound as cavalry horses are walked down Regent Street.
People are thinking of creative and artistic ways to celebrate.
A colourful mural in London.
And let's not forget collectibles and bric-a-bric.
The Holmes Chapel Community Yarn Bombers have filled the village with patriotic knitted items.
The centrepiece? Her Majesty with a beloved Corgi.
Update 5 - It has just been confirmed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Cardiff Castle, Wales on Saturday, to meet performers and crew involved in the Platinum Celebration Concert taking place in the Castle grounds later that afternoon. William and Kate will meet performers including Bonnie Tyler and learn more about the technical production of the show.
Update 4 - I've been admiring a sea of creative work on social media marking the Jubilee over the weekend. Perhaps the most striking is the spellbinding homage at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Eight iconic images of the Queen are projected onto Stonehenge. Click here to see a video of the process.
Update 3 - Disappointing news for the Archbishop of Canterbury following a positive Covid-19 test. The Archbishop will no longer appear at St Paul's for the service on Friday. In a statement he wrote: "I will be praying for The Queen and giving thanks for her extraordinary seventy years of service to us all. I will also be praying for our nation at this time of celebration and thanksgiving. May The Queen's example bring us together in unity and care for one another". Wishing the Archbishop a speedy recovery.
Update 2 - Last night, I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the BBC's The Unseen Queen. Narrated entirely by Her Majesty's quotes over the years and filled with private home footage from the Queen's youth, it was such a joy. The Queen noted: "You always hope future generations will find them interesting and perhaps be surprised that you too were young once." It is at its core a celebration of family. The bonds of love between the Queen and her parents, her sister Margaret, and then the love of her life Prince Philip and their children. It is available on YouTube now, so please enjoy it while you can.
Update 1 - First things first, what is the schedule for the weekend and what events can we expect to see the Duchess of Cambridge attend? My own personal opinion is all events with the exception of (possibly) the Epsom Derby. As you can see there's a trip to Wales pencilled in for the Cambridges at some point over the weekend.
The outline for key events for the Jubilee weekend:
Thursday, 2 June, 10 am - Trooping the Colour.
9.25 pm - Royals will gather on the Parade Ground from Buckingham Palace to watch the lighting of the principal beacon at the palace -- a 21-metre tall Tree of Trees sculpture. It promises to be an amazing sight with 3,000 beacons lighting up across the UK and Commonwealth.
Friday, 3 June, 11 am - A Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral at 11.30 am. Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung for the service. Afterwards members of the Royal family will attend a Guildhall reception hosted by the Lord Mayor.
Saturday, 4 June, UPDATE: William and Kate will visit Cardiff Castle, Wales.
5.30 pm - Members of the Royal family will attend the Derby at Epsom Downs.
7.40 pm - The Royal family will be out in force for a glittering evening of entertainment -- Platinum Party at the Palace. The celebration will see famous faces from the world of entertainment brought together to perform for a night of musical tributes to celebrate the Jubilee. 22,000 people will attend the event including 10,000 allocated in a public ballot and 5,000 tickets for key workers. It will be televised live on the BBC.
Sunday, 5 June - The Jubilee Big Lunches will take place all over the UK and further afield. Over ten million people across the UK are expected to join celebrations to share friendship, food and fun at Big Jubilee Lunches as part of a nationwide act of community friendship.
2.30 - 5 pm - Events will culminate with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Buckingham Palace said: "The Gold State Carriage, led by the Sovereign’s Escort, will lead the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, embracing the latest in digital technology to evoke the excitement and majesty of the Queen's journey to be crowned 70 years ago. The Pageant will bring to life iconic moments from the Queen’s reign, as well as showcasing our changing society over the past 70 years. 10,000 people are involved, including the military, over 6,000 volunteers, performers, key workers and 2,500 members of the general public."
There may be a large family appearance or additional balcony appearance afterwards.
Great idea to do a live blog. Thank you for the links to things already, Charlotte. Good luck with getting enough rest during all your coverage of events, too!
ReplyDeleteThis week, this moment in history is something we will be glad to witness. Charlotte 🌹🌹🌹 THANK YOU for this blog and for all the hard work you are doing to bring it to your followers. Thank your husband too, I know he helps!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU SO MUCH in advance Charlotte for all your hard work on this blog!! With all the upcoming activities, I hope you take care of yourself and get some sleep! 😊 As a history nerd and follower of this blog since before Kate's wedding I'm so pumped for the upcoming coverage and history lessons!!! But don't worry, we are very patient and can have many many scones while waiting..
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab idea. Thank for this and all the work you do to make this such an enjoyable respectful and informative website x
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! As someone that is so excited and especially given we in the US need positivity. Our news is covering some of the aspects of the Celebration. I heard that Gayle King is hosting a show on Thursday evening at 10:00am EDT on CBS, Her Majesty the Queen which I look forward to watching in addition to the video (linked above) that you already shared Charlotte. And then I saw something over the weekend about the young man that created the daring icon (70 and crown above) others might enjoy hearing the story if you could include that Charlotte. Oh and the Corgi emoji (or sticker). That's fun as well but I don't know how to source (download) or add it. Thank you Charlotte for all of your hard work.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful idea. Thank you for all your hard work; much appreciated
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to the Festivities, It is time to celebrate 70years Head of State, is not for the faint of hearts, hope we will see HM on all of them. See deserved being celebrated.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be an extraordinary amount of work by both the palace and individuals who wish to celebrate. It really is something that likely will not occur again, and it's a great way to say thanks to the Queen. Her smile is just beautiful lately -- I think she'll enjoy all the festivities and be so relieved that all the planning came to fruition. I was thinking about all the planning that the RF members have to do to ensure that they and their children are ready. I have noticed how wonderful Beatrice has been looking -- she recently wore a white suit that looked splendid. With Meghan, Beatrice, and Eugenie having young children, I wonder if we will at some time see family photos rather than appearances? Two of my favorite singers (the others being Willie Nelson and the late Leonard Cohen) are Rod Steward and Adam Lambert, so I am thrilled to see their performances. It should be quite a week -- like a royal tour on steroids!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the info., Charlotte! This is great!
ReplyDeleteThe format of the live blog is a bit difficult to read though bc you have to go to the bottom then scroll up to read in chronological order. When it's long that requires scrolling up to get the start of the next entry then back down to read, then back up to find the start of the next one...
What do you think about putting each new item at the bottom? Just a thought😀
The YouTube link to the documentary has unfortunately been removed and other YT links appear a bit sketchy (I'd rather not register anywhere to view). So if anyone comes across another link for those in the U.S. to be able to watch it, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for all of your work, Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to see it was removed. I will keep searching and update immediately if I find a full copy. It's an incredible piece and very moving.
DeleteWe tried to watch it, but only could find the brief promo for it. So disappointed. There are pictures of The Queen that are truly magnificent. She was such a beautiful young girl/woman. What a gift for her family to see.
DeleteI will keep my fingers crossed that you can find it Charlotte. It should be seen by the world.
DeleteThank you,
Tedi
Looking at all the little extras that people are putting up makes me realize that there is true affection for the Queen -- as much as Charles or William may be appreciated, I think having a Queen will one day be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteIt's truly historic Allison.
DeleteThank you for the very kind comments and please feel free to share links to Jubilee coverage you're enjoying.
ReplyDeleteCan’t wait to watch all of the events & coverage! Thank you, Charlotte, for all the detailed information! ❤️👸🏻👑🎉
ReplyDeleteSo excited to watch all the events & coverage! Thank you, Charlotte, for all the detailed information! ❤️👸🏻👑🎉
ReplyDeleteYou have truly outdone yourself, Charlotte! I’m so excited for the festivities this week.
ReplyDeleteThe photo of Cardiff Castle under Update 5 has me wondering about the field of loose stones in front of the castle. I can't seem to find anything written about their significance, is there a reason why they are there?
ReplyDeleteBorder Terrier lover
Thank you dear Charlotte! I am very happy to share this milestone with you and all the ladies of this blog🤗🤗🤗. Anna
ReplyDeletenice post Charlotte. I cannot wait to see the events this weekend! will be nice to see Harry and Meghan there supporting HM. Interesting video by the Today Show they were very negative including saying the Queen's reign is coming to a close. they should not count her out yet...
ReplyDeleteHere is to many more years for Her Majesty and thank you for all your service as Queen of England and Canada where I live.
I hate to be negative, and I say this as an American, but I think the future of the monarchy doesn’t depend on us! Give me a break Today Show! :)
DeleteCharlotte, thanks in advance for all of your work. I’m so excited and wish I could be in London. I’ll be anxiously reading all I can. I truly hope all of the coverage on the focuses on the Queen. Sue
A live coverage !!. Kudos to you and many thanks for your dedication Charlotte. You will keep us enthral.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Charlotte!! Wonderful idea!! I'm so excited about the upcoming festivities!!! 😍
ReplyDeleteI love that you give both the official and the unofficial activities; that is SO helpful. It's been very interesting so far and should be a bit crazy in a day or so! Thank you for your time in doing this.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Charlotte for doing a live blog for the Jubilee. Very excited to watch and read about all the events. I was disappointed that I missed getting to see the documentary since I live in the States and the video was deleted by the time I could view it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Charlotte for doing all of this! Sadly my Fortnum & Mason's Basket of Jubilee Goodies won't be here in time... but such is life! I'll be here with bells on for every moment! :)
ReplyDeleteBecca USA
I'm so lucky that I got time to watch the Queen's home movies documentary during the short time it was available here. Thank you so much for linking to it, Charlotte. If any of you ever get a chance to see it, definitely drop everything and see it. It is incredible, and so, so heartwarming to watch. There was so very much that was brand-new that it's a must for anybody interested in the Queen.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte - Trooping the Colour is almost upon us! So excited. While I have NEVER watched the procession - only seen pictures - I would really love to watch it this year. Now of course it takes place at 2:00am for us on the west coast but I typically wake up between 3 and 4am so maybe I'll watch. Are their websites/media channels that will be streaming the event? All links would be appreciated (and I have no doubt you'll be sharing them if they are available). To date, Kate has worn ivory, gray, pink, ice blue, light blue, ivory, bright pink, light blue, and yellow. And has worn McQueen 6 times. I'm placing my bet. :-)
ReplyDeleteElle, this should do the trick and actually gives me a good idea on sharing this stream in a post. Thank you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taXXQlgLNOg
ReplyDeleteThe Duchess is wonderfully dressed for the occasion. Very thoughful to wearr a repeat from the G7 meeting last summer. The "new" sapphire earrings are a heritage from her late mother-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales. She had worn them very often. It is lovely to see them again now. The Philip Treacy hat is very elegant and matches the white-navy blue colour theme. It would be interesting which shoes she is wearing.
ReplyDeleteThe elegant outfit of Sophie Countess of Wessex reminds me with the pink-white gingham pattern of a coat dress of Diana Princess of Wales in the early 1990s.