Queen Elizabeth.Photo: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty
Kate MiddletonandPrince Williamare set to lead celebrations forQueen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee across the U.K.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be the most senior members of the royal family to travel outside of London during the monarch’s celebratory weekend next month.
The royal couple will head to Wales, where they lived for a few years when they were first married more than a decade ago, whilePrincess Annewill travel to Scotland andPrince Edwardand Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, will go to Northern Ireland.
“Over the course of the Central Weekend, Members of the Royal Family will visit the Nations of the United Kingdom to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. Members of the Royal Family will attend engagements in each nation, including public events marking the occasion,” the palace announced in a statement.
Royal sources point out that during the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, the monarch and her late husbandPrince Philipvisited many places across Britain, touring on the royal train during the lead-up to the Jubilee weekend celebrations.
Queen Elizabeth, Prince William and Kate Middleton.GEOFF PUGH/AFP via Getty Images
That hasn’t been possible this year as the Queen is now 96 and mainly confined to less arduous duties at Windsor Castle, so the family and their advisers thought it would be poignant to have some of the senior royal family members represent Her Majesty outside of London and around the country.
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No dates or location details have been confirmed for the away days, which will take place during the central weekend in early June.
The main celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee will begin on Thursday, June 2, with the traditional birthday parade, Trooping the Colour. It was announced on Friday that whilePrince HarryandMeghan Marklehaveconfirmed that they will travel to the U.K. next month, they will not be appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the parade.
Queen Elizabeth.Joe Giddens/WPA Pool/Getty
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been excluded from the lineup because they’re not working members of the royal family, a palace spokesman said.
Harry’s unclePrince Andrew, who is no longer a working royal following his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will also not be included on the balcony for Trooping the Colour, which marks the Queen’s official birthday each year.
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“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 spokesman said.
The balcony appearance will therefore comprise the Queen,Prince Charles,Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, William and Kate and their three children, Prince George,Princess Charlotte, andPrince Louis. Also there will be Princess Anne and her husband, Prince Edward, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their two children and the Queen’s cousins, the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Princess Alexandra will also be in attendance.
Announcing they’d be arriving in the U.K. with their two children Archie Harrison and daughter Lilibet Diana, a spokesperson forPrince HarryandMeghan Marklesaid, “Prince Harryand Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honored to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June with their children.”
To kick off the week of commemorations, a unique documentary will air featuring never-before-seen home movies of the monarch — including a charming moment when she got engaged toPrince Philip. The then-Princess Elizabeth is seen beaming at her engagement ring during a vacation to Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 1946 — well before her impending wedding was announced.
source: people.com
