LONDON –
Members of the royal family attended a church service on Friday in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th enthronement, although the queen herself is expected to skip the event at St Paul’s Cathedral. London due to difficulties moving at the age of 96.
Thanksgiving is the second day of the four-day celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. On Thursday, thousands of royal supporters applauded as the queen joined other members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch 70 British military planes pass by.
The queen decided not to attend Friday church service after experiencing “some discomfort” during Thursday’s events. She will watch the event on television while Prince Charles replaces her.
The Congregation of St. Paul’s includes members of the royal family, senior politicians, diplomats and more than 400 essential workers, charity volunteers and members of the armed forces who have been invited in recognition of their service to the community.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, is to deliver a sermon. Cottrell intervened after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tested positive for COVID-19. The service will begin and end with the ringing of Great Paul, the bell of Britain’s largest church.
Friday’s televised church service led to the first public appearance of Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, during their visit to Britain for the jubilee.
The couple, who resigned from the royal office and moved to California two years ago, kept a low profile on Thursday, appearing only in photographs taken through the windows of the building from where members of the royal family watched the queen’s birthday parade.
But on Friday they were back in the spotlight. As Harry and Meghan walked alone through the long nave of the cathedral, people inside the church stretched their necks to look at them.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive to attend a Thanksgiving service for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022. (Dan Kitwood / Pool Photo via AP)