Thousands Line Mall to Cheer Queen Elizabeth II on 70th Anniversary

Queen Balcony 1
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Oliver JJ Lane

Queen Elizabeth II was joined on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with the ‘working’ members of the Royal Family Thursday afternoon as thousands gathered on Pall Mall to wish the Queen well on the 70th year of her reign.

London bore witness to some of the most spectacular ceremonial and pageantry on earth on Thursday with the Trooping of the Colour, a normally impressive official celebration of the Queen’s birthday lent extra weight this year by it also marking 70 years of the Queen’s reign, called the Platinum Jubilee.

(L-R) Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge watch the RAF flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Members of the Irish guards march along the Mall (Photo by Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)

Following a ceremonial military parade of soldiers — the Guards, who as the name implies guard the Queen but are also elite fighting infantry deployed around the world — soldiers marching past Buckingham Palace were followed by a crowd of well-wishers. Walking up Pall Mall, the long, tree-lined avenue leading from the Admiralty and Horseguards’ Parade to Buckingham Palace, the thousands who had turned out were met by the Queen who was photographed smiling and waving from the balcony at the Palace.

The culmination of the ceremony was a fly-past of 70 aircraft representing the air arms of the three military services: the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. A flight of Eurofighter Typhoons spelt out ’70’ in formation in the sky, and Red Arrows aerobatics display team deployed red-white-and-blue smoke.

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, fly in formation during a special flypast (Photo by NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP via Getty Images)

World War II era aircraft take part in a flypast (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, fly in formation duing a special flypast from Buckingham Palace (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In previous years, the Queen would have taken the salute on such occasions at Horseguards, where the bulk of the day’s ceremonial parading takes place, but the 96-year-old monarch is now less physically able and walks with a stick: during her appearance on the balcony today, she was seen to be leaning on a crook-handled rustic stick. The Prince of Wales, her son and heir, deputised for the Queen at the Parade on Horseguards wearing the ceremonial uniform of the Guards and wearing their distinctive bearskin hat.

While the balcony of Buckingham Palace was crowded with senior Royals, some may have noted the absence of certain high-profile characters, among them Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, and the Duke of York. Following scandals involving those parties, they have stepped down from the Queen’s group of top ‘working’ Royals — those who assist her in her duties and work full time to run the monarchy. With just senior working royals invited to appear on the balcony, those more controversial characters can be safely excluded without being technically snubbed.

Even with some individuals missing, the 18 on the balcony today are the largest group to have stood there in many years. Just six appeared on the balcony for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Crowds on the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

Emergency services vehicles become stuck in large crowds in Trafalgar Square (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

Crowds in Trafalgar Square, during the Trooping of the Trooping the Colour ceremony in central Londo (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

While the first day of celebrations — there are parties planned through the rest of the week — has gone off smoothly with perfect weather benefitting the revellers in London, it was not completely without incident. As reported, as the day’s celebrations were beginning, a group of animal rights activists reportedly linked to Green extremists Extinction Rebellion threw themselves into the path of a column of marching soldiers.

While the troops, decked out in full ceremonial and playing musical instruments did not break their stride, armed police jumped in to pull the individuals out of the road. Several arrests have been made.

Although this week marks the Platinum Jubillee — 70 years on the throne — today is not actually the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II becoming the Queen. She ascended the throne on February 6th 1952, but does not celebrate that day because it of course is also the anniversary of the death of her beloved father.

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