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LONDON – I may not use that exact term, but Queen Elizabeth II is on the verge of a grand victory: a round of applause, a mile-long horse parade, 3,200 bonfires and a serenade at Sir Buckingham Palace Rod Stewart.
What do you dislike about your subjects? Her Majesty is offering Britain a four-day weekend to celebrate its 70th anniversary on the throne, its platinum jubilee.
What is the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II? Here is your royal guide.
Thousands and thousands of street parties, garden lunches and picnics in the park are planned for Sunday. How much jubilee pudding and coronation chicken, Prosecco soda and strong beer to consume? Almost incalculable.
Britain is decidedly in the mood for a party, not only to honor the queen’s record reign, but as a launch after two pandemic winters, three complete national blockades and some 180,000 deaths per covid, many of them ‘they alone.
Celebrating the “Queen and the Country” is a way for the British buttoned up to celebrate themselves, to wrap themselves in the soft patriotism of the Union Jack flag, as they overcome the pain of the pandemic and the endless fights. for Brexit.
Memories of the platinum jubilee, from cups to Barbies and corgi cakes
Of course, not everyone in Britain likes the idea of the monarchy. Republicans abound with a small “r”. But they really like their queen here.
Elizabeth’s poll is very high. Which is more than just other members of the royal family’s cast (such as Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein’s dishonored friend, and the controversial California fugitives Harry and Meghan).
Also in the rankings container: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has just completed a police investigation that found that he and 82 other people in his orbit on Downing Street violated the rules blocking the pandemic, with meetings which in an official report involved vomiting, punching and a lot of drinking.
Now the country wants its turn to party.
The corgis play a leading role in the celebrations of the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
As images of the Queen are projected on the plinths of Stonehenge and Marble Arch, her “pageant masters” prepare to light beacons across Britain.
Steps have been erected around Buckingham Palace and Prince William has been riding in preparation for the Trooping of the Color, the Thursday morning military parade in the mall which will include 1,400 officers and soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.
The guest of honor is the only British monarch to ever reach this milestone.
The reign of the queen has extended for a century of almost incomprehensible changes. He gave some of his first public speeches on the radio; now his statements are posted on Twitter and Instagram.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman, author of a new book, “Queen of Our Times,” told The Washington Post that Elizabeth has the quality of being “always present,” an almost “subliminal” background for many Britons.
“The fact that she only appears on coins and stamps, images of banknotes, government buildings, even the national anthem at sporting events, is about her. . Whenever there is any kind of national who joins for a happy or sad reason, she is usually at the center of it, ”she said.
Queen Elizabeth II: A visual chronology of her 70 years on the throne
Of the two dozen remaining royal families in the world, none is as well known as the stars of “The Crown,” the enduring and dysfunctional House of Windsor.
For her part, Elizabeth has indicated that she has no plans to retire: her uncle Edward made “abdication” a dirty word.
But in interviews in The Post, the people on the street are quite sincere, realistic, that even if there are birthdays for the queen, the next mega-event for her majesty could be what marks her death.
The queen is 96 years old. Her mother arrived in 101. Elizabeth’s 73-year-old husband, Prince Philip, died last year at the age of 99.
His funeral, the last great royal moment, was gloomy, naked, with only a few dozen members of the family attending St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, all wrapped in black and wearing face masks. the queen alone. hunched over a bench.
The queen’s health scares in recent months have pushed the country to its limits. After a brief hospitalization, a sprained back, a covid attack, and what palace spokesmen called “episodic mobility issues,” many feared he would not reach his jubilee.
But now that the week has arrived, the occasion offers the opportunity to look back and take stock and celebrate, without having to cry yet.
On the 96th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, a look at her life and legacy
“I think you’ve noticed that this is the last big event and it’s a way to thank you,” said Ian Middleton, 58, an airline pilot. your dog to an emerging “corgi cafe”. to London.
“I think continuity is the important part [of the queen’s reign] and Britain will be a different place when it goes, “Middleton said.” I think it will be more of a shock to the system than Brexit. “
The four days of the official jubilee celebrations will be rooted in tradition.
On Thursday, the main event kicks off with the Trooping the Color fashion show, which marks the British monarch’s official birthday for more than 260 years. This is the British pomp at its best, concluding with a Royal Air Force flyover observed by the royal family from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
There has been a lot of talk about who will be and who will not be on the balcony this year. The palace said only “royal workers” would be allowed, so there is no Prince Andrew, no Prince Harry, no wife, Meghan.
In the evening, more than 3,200 beacons will be lit throughout the kingdom, including a so-called “Tree of Trees”, a 350-storey six-story display, which will be lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. (and later). planted around the British Isles).
On Friday, the royal family will attend a church service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, home to the country’s largest church bell, which will ring throughout the territory.
On Saturday, the royal family will attend the Epsom Derby, a prestigious horse race where some of the queen’s horses will be able to compete. The queen would have to be kept away from her beloved horses, but if the reports in the tabloid Sun are true, the event may be missed to celebrate the first birthday of her great-granddaughter Lilibet, the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan. .
Later that night, thousands of people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace for a live concert with artists such as Duran Duran, Rod Stewart and Queen, whose guitarist Brian May played “God Save the Queen” from the rooftop. palace during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. .
On Sunday, a procession will parade through central London, with acts such as Ed Sheeran performing her ballad “Perfect” as a tribute to Prince Philip and the Queen. More than 85,000 people have signed up to hold “Great Jubilee Lunches” on the same day, although many more will be held. The royal family will appear in some.
What all these events have in common is that most Britons will offer a toast to the only monarch they have ever met.