Queen Elizabeth II of England has decided that she will also follow the Epson Downs Horse Derby on Saturday 4th, included in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, on television from her residence in Windsor Castle. She announced it Buckingham Palace, after the 96-year-old sovereign had to renounce on Friday the presence in person at the thanksgiving liturgy for her long reign officiated in St Paul’s Cathedral, being represented by the heir Charles. The participation in the Derby had been left pending in the official programs, unlike the one in the church, which was scheduled and was canceled due to the fatigue endured yesterday by the sovereign.
Cheers for Harry and Meghan …
Also present at the celebrations on Friday were Harry, second son of Carlo and Diana Spencer, accompanied by his wife Meghan, more than two years after the separation from the Royal Family, the move to the USA, the forced renunciation of the status of junior royals and the controversies that arise follow. The two had kept a low profile during the popular meeting that saw Elizabeth show herself from the balcony of the Windsor palace on Thursday, but on Friday there was a first recognition of their rank, guaranteed by protocol, according to the BBC, at the behest of Elizabeth. II in person. Harry and Meghan garnered a lot of applause, which overwhelmed those who even the Mirror online, one of the tabloids most viscerally hostile to them, has called “isolated whistles.”
… whistles for Bo Johnson
Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who arrived in the company of First Lady Carrie and was then called to St Paul Cathedral to also read a page of the New Testament, was instead hit by a barrage of disapproval – unique among the politicians present, of opposition or of the his own government – from large sections of the square, in response to the Partygate scandal that continues to threaten his chair.
The multi-religious rite at St Paul Cathedral
During the liturgy at St Paul Cathedral, the Anglican Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, addressed these words to the sovereign: «Majesty, we are sorry that you are not here with us today in person, but you are still in the saddle. And we are happy that you have another way to go ». Cottrell presided over the rite, concelebrated by prelates women and men, in the presence of British Catholic, Orthodox and various non-Christian religious dignitaries, as well as 400 guests of honor of a multi-ethnic assembly: rite concluded with the exit in procession of the royals present, led once again on behalf of the monarch by Prince Charles, heir to the 73-year-old throne, with his wife Camilla.
Andrea Bocelli will also attend the celebrations
Meanwhile, on Saturday there will also be an Italian presence to celebrate the queen: the tenor Andrea Bocelli will in fact be the only Italian singer to take the stage at Buckingham Palace as part of the celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, which marks the 70 years of his reign. Bocelli will perform during the ‘Platinum Party at the Palace’ event, a global event that counts over two hundred accredited newspapers from every continent and broadcast live by the BBC in the United Kingdom and by ABC in the United States.