Advertisement

Britain holds pageant, lunches for final day of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee

Millions in Britain gathered for a pageant and lunches on Sunday for the final day of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE
Millions in Britain gathered for a pageant and lunches on Sunday for the final day of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE

June 5 (UPI) -- Britain capped off Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee celebration Sunday with the Jubilee Pageant.

The finale features a four-act procession in the streets of London including a military parade, theater, cultural representation and a concert by Ed Sheeran to draw the festivities to a close.

Advertisement

Sunday's pageant included seven open-top buses decorated to represent one decade of Elizabeth's reign as queen, with British "national treasures" riding inside including singer Shirley Bassey, former England soccer player Gary Lineker and actor Idris Elba.

Elizabeth, 96, is the first monarch in British history to hold the throne for 70 years.

Observers were also greeted with a surprise as a video of the queen from her 1953 coronation was placed on loop in the window of her Gold State Coach during the parade.

The queen, who skipped the National Service of Thanksgiving in her honor on Friday after experiencing "some discomfort" during a parade on Thursday, also made a surprise appearance from the balcony of Buckingham palace to close out the celebration.

Advertisement

Sunday was also marked by Jubilee lunches with more than 10 million people throughout Britain expected to gather to "share friendship, food and fun."

Elizabeth's son, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, attended a lunch at The Long Walk near Windsor Castle which attempted to break the world record for the longest dinner table with nearly 500 tables.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, raised a toast at the "Big Jubilee Lunch" at the Oval Kennington cricket ground in London.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not expected to attend any of the final day of events after they had not publicly spent time with Harry's immediate family members on the trip to Britain which saw them celebrate their daughter Lilibet's first birthday.

Latest Headlines