The Jubilee's Grand Finale!

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people cheered, sang patriotic songs and waved Union Jack flags outside Buckingham Palace in a spectacular finale to four days of celebrations honoring Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the British throne.

The 86-year-old beamed at the throng and waved from the balcony of the palace, accompanied by the senior members of her family with one notable absentee - Prince Philip, her husband of 64 years who was taken ill with a bladder infection on Monday.

It was one of the few grand state occasions in her life when he has not been present, taking some of the gloss off what has widely been seen as a triumphant diamond jubilee that has reinforced the popularity of the queen and the monarchy.

The grand Mall avenue leading to the queen's London residence was turned into a sea of red, white and blue as well-wishers flooded the road to hail the queen before a flypast led by the Spitfires which won the Battle of Britain and concluded with an aerobatic display by the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows.

Celebrations outside Buckingham Palace closed when soldiers fired a rifle salute, then thrust their bearskin hats in the air to lead the crowds beyond the palace gates in a rousing three cheers to the queen, the only British monarch other than Queen Victoria to have reigned for 60 years.

As the ecstatic crowd roared its approval, Elizabeth flanked by son and heir Charles, his wife Camilla, Prince William and his new wife Kate as well as brother Harry, gave one final wave before heading inside.

"I don't think we'll see anything like this again in my generation. It was wonderful," said Joseph Afrane, 49, a photographer who was wearing a red, white and blue Union Jack flag waistcoat and hat.

Millions have attended street parties, watched a spectacular 1,000-vessel pageant on the River Thames in London on Sunday and a concert in front of Buckingham Palace on Monday, all held in honor of Elizabeth II.

http://news.yahoo.com/parade-palace-wave-finale-uk-queens-jubilee-095811137.html 

The Prince of Wales Pays Tribute to HIs Majesty

Queen lights national jubilee beacon at end of star-studded concert and firework display where Prince Charles pays tribute to "Mummy". 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9311470/Queen-lights-giant-beacon-at-end-of-jubilee-concert.html 

 

 

The President Sends The Queen His Greetings

Addressing "Her Majesty" in a special video message, the US President salutes the Queen as he wishes that she "reign supreme for many years to come".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9312118/US-President-Barack-Obama-records-Diamond-Jubilee-message-for-the-Queen.html

Jubilee Service Highlights

Service of Thanksgiving held for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Watch highlights from the National Service of Thanksgiving celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at St Paul’s cathedral in London. 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9306562/Service-of-Thanksgiving-held-for-the-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee.html 

 

 

Royal Jubilee Concert

It was Madness at Buckingham Palace, as the much loved nutty boys of ska took to the roof of Her Majesty's residence. For the Golden Jubilee, they only had Brian May up there, playing the national anthem. This time the roof had to take the weight of a seven strong band doing silly dancing. They were one of the highlights of the Diamond Jubilee Concert delivering a rambunctious performance of Our House, a song more usually associated with humble terraces rather than grandiose palaces.
 

Everything about this year's show had been planned to upstage its predecessor, from the massive purpose built stage surrounding the Victoria Monument to the dazzling laser mapped projections that turned the palace itself into an ever-changing backdrop. The staging was actually more ambitious and cutting edge than the line-up.

Perhaps inevitably, the show tread lightly around the edges of pop culture. Queen Elizabeth II has reigned over psychedelia, heavy rock, punk, indie, hip hop, electro, rave and Britpop, but there was nobody on the bill at the Palace who was likely to upset the corgis. “We forgot to invite The Sex Pistols,” joked Gary Barlow backstage. The Take That frontman was heavily involved in setting the concert up, and it reflected his middle-of-the-road, light entertainment tastes. “You don’t want to be on the edge of your seat at an event like this. There’s plenty of great artists who want to be there, and deserve to be there.”

They included several knights and dames of the realm, superstars who can usually be relied upon to perk up royal entertainment. Sir Tom Jones proved popular with the crowd, the kind of cheerful performer who can be relied on to lead a big lusty singalong. Delilah may be a song about infidelity and murder but it sounded oddly uplifting sung by massed voices on the doorstep of the Palace. Perhaps circumspectly, Her Majesty delayed her entrance until after the Welshman had finished his murder ballad. "You missed Tom Jones," joked Lenny Henry. "You just live over there!"

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Views from Royal London

The crowds along The Mall went wild as the Queen's carriage went past on the final section of its short journey back to Buckingham Palace. 
 
This was the moment they had been waiting all day for.

As she raised her hand and waved, the spectators cheered even louder and fluttered their flags even more vigorously.

Celebrity spotting: just before the Queen arrived, John Barrowman, the star of the BBC's Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, rushed through the crowd heading in the direction of the Palace.

He was obviously in a hurry, but one middle-aged lady managed to grab him and kiss him as he passed.

Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie – In Awe of Granny

All across the British Commonwealth, people are commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

The monarch has long inspired enormous admiration in her subjects and, it turns out, in her granddaughters as well.

(Matt Dunha/AFP/Getty Images)Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice - daughters of the Queen's son Prince Andrew - shared their feelings last month about their royal grandmother.

"It's phenomenal, actually, when she walks into the room because everyone just stops and stares.  And even I catch myself going, 'Oh, wow,'" Eugenie said an interview May 21 with ABC News' Claire Shipman at the royal family home in Windsor.

"Because she's just this most incredible lady who makes everyone just stop for a second and we're all kind in awe of her.  So it's great.  It's fantastic.

Despite her status as head of the state of the United Kingdom, to the princesses, the queen is "granny," first and foremost.

"I think Granny is … she's very funny," Eugenie, 22, said.

"She says, 'I'm too young to be a grandmother,'" Beatrice, 23, added.

Asked about rumors that the queen loves to play cards, Eugenie laughingly replied: "We play a lot of Patience, which is the most difficult game ever.  And I don't have very much patience. So when we play, it's quite funny because she will sit there for a good hour and a half and I'll sit opposite her and she'll win a fairly few times."

While Eugenie said she wouldn't describe her grandmother as competitive, she added, "She just wins."

She said the queen enjoys the time playing with her granddaughters because "it's the time when we can all just kind of hang around together and it's quite nice."

The girls especially like talking to their grandmother about what her earlier life was like. "I think it's always so nice when you can say, 'Oh, Granny. What was Frank Sinatra like?'"  Eugenie said.

Beatrice added: "Those are the bits that I enjoy the most, sort of learning, 'Oh my gosh, you know, [what] was it like to drive an ambulance in the Second World War?'

"She's an incredible driver, she's still driving now," Beatrice added. "She drives the big trucks, the big Land Rovers around Balmoral," her residence in Scotland.

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Official Communiqué from Buckingham Palace

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was taken to King Edward VII Hospital in London this afternoon, from Windsor Castle, as a precautionary measure after developing a bladder infection, which is being assessed and treated.

Prince Philip will remain in hospital under observation for a few days.

He is, understandably, disappointed about missing this evening’s Diamond Jubilee Concert and tomorrow’s engagements.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2012/TheDukeofEdinburghadmittedtohospitalwithbladderinf.aspx

 Portrait by Richard Stone

Duke of Edinburgh Rushed to Hospital

The Duke, 90, will spend the next few days at King Edward VII Hospital in London after being taken there by ambulance from Windsor Castle.

He was said to be "disappointed" that he would miss the remainder of the Jubilee weekend, which culminates tomorrow with a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral and a carriage procession through the capital.

The Duke's sudden illness, which follows a spell in hospital over Christmas after he suffered heart problems, will lead to inevitable speculation that his health has suffered as a result of the four hours he spent in the open in bitterly cold and wet conditions during yesterday's Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh was taken to King Edward VII Hospital in London this afternoon from Windsor Castle as a precautionary measure after developing a bladder infection, which is being assessed and treated.

"Prince Philip will remain in hospital under observation for a few days. He is understandably disappointed about missing this evening's Diamond Jubilee concert and tomorrow's engagements."

The Duke was taken to the hospital in Paddington following a call to ambulance control from Windsor at 2pm stating that the Duke was feeling unwell.

His doctor had been called to Windsor Castle and was with him when paramedics arrived and he was lifted into the ambulance in a chair before it set off for London.

His illness will cast a long shadow over tonight's Diamond Jubilee concert in front of Buckingham Palace, which should have been the most fun-filled event of the Jubilee weekend.

Instead, the Queen's thoughts, and those of the rest of the Royal family, will no doubt be elsewhere as the Duke, who will be 91 on Sunday, fights to regain his health.

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©Eddie Mulholland

The Thames flotilla – The Highlights

Cheering crowds greeted the Queen as she travelled through the heart of the capital at the head of her majestic 1,000-strong Diamond Jubilee flotilla.

Surrounded by her family the Queen acknowledged the well wishes of thousands who had flocked to the River Thames to witness the once in a lifetime spectacle.

Bridges and embankments were filled with spectators while others found vantage spots in offices blocks, all desperate to catch a glimpse of the myriad of boats, ships and tugs passing by.

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