The Queen is expected to watch from the palace balcony as more than 70 aircrafts complete Her Majesty’s birthday parade with a six-minute flypast, it has been announced.
Dozens of aircraft from the Royal Navy, the Army and Royal Air Force will soar over Buckingham Palace on Thursday, June 2 as part of Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Ministry of Defence said.
It will take six minutes to fly over the crowds and is expected to include more than three times the number of aircraft which took part in the Queen’s last birthday parade flypast in central London in 2019.
Following Trooping the Colour, 18 family members will be on the balcony: The Queen; Charles and Camilla; William and Kate with George, Charlotte and Louis; Edward and Sophie and their children Louise and James; Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
However Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince Andrew and Prince Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, will not.
The Queen is expected to watch from the palace balcony as more than 70 aircrafts complete Her Majesty’s birthday parade with a six-minute flypast
Although they will not be on the balcony, Harry, Meghan and their children will attend the celebrations, but it is not known which elements of the four-day Jubilee weekend they could make an appearance at.
Other royals set to appear for the historic occasion will be Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and the Wessexes’ children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
The MoD said aircrafts including the Red Arrows and aircraft used by the UK Armed Forces on operations around the world would take part in the flypast.
The display will include helicopters from the Royal Navy and the Army and RAF aircraft recently seen responding to events in Kabul and Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.
The monarch has limited the Trooping The Colour balcony appearance to working members of her family, with the Duke of York and Duke and Duchess of Sussex missing out
The flypast will also include highlights from the history of the RAF, including aircraft from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
It will follow the Queen’s birthday parade, known as Trooping The Colour – a display of military pageantry involving 1,500 officers and soldiers and 250 horses from the Army’s Household Division on Horse Guards Parade.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘I’m proud that the Armed Forces are leading the nation in celebration with such a spectacular display.
‘Throughout the Platinum Jubilee celebrations we will all enjoy the expertise, skill and talent of our Armed Forces as we celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.’
Dozens of aircraft from the Royal Navy, the Army and Royal Air Force will soar over Buckingham Palace on Thursday, June 2, similar to those for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, pictured here
The balcony appearance, which is often seen as the centrepiece of major royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour and weddings, usually sees the Queen’s extended family gather to watch a flypast and is a rare chance for fans to see the entire extended family together.
In paring the list down to just 16 people to avoid potential diplomatic pitfalls, the Queen has been forced to omit a number of well-liked family members including her much-loved grandchildren and their families.
Today, a friend of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed they never wanted to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Monarch is joined on the Buckingham Palace balcony by members of the royal family for the Jubilee in 2019. Prince Andrew, who was at his mother’s left hand that day, has also been excluded
Omid Scobie, who penned a biography on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, says the Harry had discussed the possibility of not being present for Trooping the Colour at the Mall in London on June 2 with Her Majesty.
He said despite this the couple are ‘very keen’ to be part of the arrangements in the coming months, including the Thanksgiving celebrations at St Paul’s Cathedral.
This comes after a sensational statement from the Queen last week stating the pair – along with Prince Andrew – would not be invited onto the balcony for Trooping the Colour, the spectacular start of her long weekend of commemorations.
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