The royal family has shared another vintage snap of the Queen as part of its countdown to the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June.
Today’s image is a black and white 1988 photo of her Majesty visiting Port Sunlight, a village in Merseyside, to celebrate its 100th birthday.
The photograph marks the latest in the series of images being shared to count down to the Platinum Jubilee, with a photo being shared daily.
With the countdown starting 70 days before the celebrations are set to take place in June, each of the 70 photos represents a year of the monarch’s seven-decade reign.
The caption for the image, which garnered more than 11,800 likes in an hour, says: ‘The Queen is welcomed by crowds at Port Sunlight in Merseyside during a visit to celebrate the village’s 100th birthday.’
This image of Queen Elizabeth, pictured in Merseyside village Port Sunlight in 1988, was shared today by the Royal Family’s Instagram account as part of its countdown to the Jubilee
Images from the visit, which were part of the village’s 100th birthday celebrations, show Her Majesty meeting locals, including this young girl who gave her a bouquet of flowers
The caption for today’s throwback image revealed it was taken during a 1988 royal visit to Merseyside
Port Sunlight is a Merseyside village, founder by soap entrepreneur William Hesketh Lever in 1888, to house workers from his ‘Sunlight Soap’ factory.
During the 100th birthday visit, which was also attended by the Queen’s late husband Prince Philip, she visited a number of the village’s buildings and attractions.
Explaining the significance of the countdown, the Instagram caption for today’s image read: ‘Over the next 70 days, as we countdown to the Platinum Jubilee Celebration Weekend, we’ll be sharing an image a day of The Queen – each representing a year of Her Majesty’s 70-year long reign.’
Yesterday’s image, also a black and white photo, showed the Queen, in her role as the Patron of the Scout Association, meeting some of the 1,000 Scouts who took part in the St George’s Day parade at Windsor Castle in 1987.
Then and now: Her Majesty, who is 96-years-old, seen in a photograph taken yesterday at Windsor Castle
Meanwhile the picture from the day before showed the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh joining President Li Xiannian and his wife Jiamei in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1986, noting that her Majesty was the first British Monarch to visit mainland China.
Her Majesty, who ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, is the first British royal to reach to reach the Platinum Jubilee.
The historic milestone will be celebrated over a four-day bank holiday weekend, from 2nd -5th June.
To mark the date, public events and community activities will be held, among other celebrations.
Among the pictures shared earlier this week is this image of the Queen meeting scouts who took part in the St George’s Day parade at Windsor Castle in 1987
While the final plans for the weekend are still being drawn up, it is understood William will be taking the lead on military events, including standing in for Her Majesty reviewing the Trooping of the Colour in a formal inspection the week before the jubilee weekend.
Her Majesty, 96, will undergo less engagements than at previous jubilees due to mobility problems.
Yesterday, a smiling Queen stood unaided as she held a face-to-face audience with the president of Switzerland at Windsor Castle.
The monarch, who returned from a week-long break at her Sandringham estate yesterday, smiled broadly as she posed for photographs with Ignazio Cassis and his wife Paola in her Oak Room sitting room this morning.
Another image shared this week showed the monarch with her husband Prince Philip joining President Li Xiannian and his wife Jiamei in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1986
The Queen stood without her walking stick and was dressed in a blue and grey paisley-style patterned silk dress.
She was wearing her fruit-themed sapphire and diamond grapes brooch, which features a sapphire bow and 16 small diamonds shaped like a bunch of grapes. It was inherited from the Queen Mother.
There were no public engagements for her birthday, but there will be celebrations for her official birthday and Platinum Jubilee in June.
Buckingham Palace spokesman said she is hoping to attend the State Opening of Parliament in less than two weeks’ time, on May 10.
Royal aides said confirmation is expected closer to the time or on the day. The Queen, who has experienced mobility issues in recent months, has opened Parliament on all but two occasions during her reign.
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