With a huge parade in the streets of London, the curtain falls on Sunday on the celebrations celebrating the 70th anniversary of the historic reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who has remained in the background due to her declining health.
Buckingham Palace has not said whether the 96-year-old monarch, who has difficulty walking, will make an appearance once more at the end of the parade, which will end outside the palace with the national anthem.”God Save the Queen” (may God protect the queen).
Some 10,000 soldiers, dancers, puppeteers and artists are expected there. The 260-year-old Golden State Carriage, traditionally used for weddings and coronations, will open the parade. The queen will not be there, but digital images will recreate the magic of her coronation in June 1953, Buckingham Palace said.
Ed Sheeran is also expected at the end, for a tribute to Queen Elizabeth, always extremely popular, and her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
Hoping that the rain won’t spoil the party, more than 10 million people are also due to take part in Jubilee lunches between neighbors on Sunday, joyfully celebrating the historic reign of a queen who is both close and mysterious, a reassuring symbol of stability in a century of great upheavals.
Many of the participants in the celebrations which lasted four days, taking advantage of a major holiday weekend, were aware of the historical dimension of this platinum jubilee. Never has a British monarch reigned so long, and it is unlikely that this record will be broken in the future: the Crown Prince Charles is 73 years old, his son William, second in the order of succession, soon 40 years old.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it will never happen once more“, explained to AFP Julie Blewitt, 56, who came from the north of England for the festivities.It won’t be the same without the queen“.