LONDON (Reuters) – Four days of nationwide celebrations during which millions of people have turned out to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne conclude today with a church service and carriage procession through central London.
The 86-year-old British monarch will cut a lonely figure as the Diamond Jubilee draws to a close, however, after her husband of 64 years, Prince Philip, was taken to hospital yesterday with a bladder infection.
The 90-year-old will be kept under observation for a few days in a move the palace said was “precautionary”, but it takes some of the gloss of what is widely seen as a triumphant jubilee that has cemented the queen’s popularity in Britain.
A million people gathered for a spectacular 1,000-vessel pageant on the River Thames on Sunday and hundreds of thousands more packed the wide, red road leading to Buckingham Palace yesterday for a concert featuring Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Millions more attended street parties up and down the country despite generally inclement weather.
In a tribute to his mother delivered from the concert stage late yesterday, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles sought to sum up public affection for a monarch who is a symbol of stability at a time of economic gloom and political disillusionment.
“As a nation this is our opportunity to thank you and my father for always being there for us, for inspiring us with your selfless duty and service and for making us proud to be British, proud at a time when I know how many of our fellow countrymen are suffering such hardship and difficulties.”
His speech was followed by the national anthem and a spectacular fireworks display in front of the sumptuous 775-room palace illuminated with a giant Union Jack flag.
Today’s events will be more typical of the formal displays of pomp and glittering ceremony for which British royalty is known across the globe.
They begin with the queen, head of state of 16 countries, attending a thanksgiving service in her honor at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral along with senior members of the royal family.
The spiritual leader of the Anglican church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will deliver the sermon while Prime Minister David Cameron will give a reading to pay tribute to the queen who came to the throne aged 25 in 1952.
