The queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration included everything from Trooping the Color to a National Service of Thanksgiving, a star-studded concert led by Diana Ross, thousands of lunches and street parties across the country and a final appearance by the queen herself.
Here is how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Jun 02, 2022, 6:23 AM EDT
Pomp and pageantry on display at Trooping the Color
British tradition is on full display as the Queen’s Birthday Parade makes its way to Buckingham Palace.
The parade includes 1,400 soldiers and 10 military bands marching and playing in unison.
The Household Cavalry ride during the Trooping the Color parade at Buckingham Palace, June 2, 2022, in London.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II plays a ceremonial role as the head of the U.K.’s Armed Forces. Each member of the British military swears an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty.
The Band of the Welsh Guards pass members of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery on their way to the Queen's Birthday Parade, the Trooping the Color, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations, June 2, 2022, in London.
Paul Ellis/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Trooping the Color is the military’s opportunity to impress its commander in chief with all its precision, pomp and pageantry.
Jun 02, 2022, 6:22 AM EDT
George, Charlotte and Louis make surprise carriage appearance
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the children of Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, made their debut at Trooping the Color on Thursday riding in a carriage.
The siblings sat in a carriage alongside Kate and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Louis sat in the center flanked by his older siblings, George and Charlotte, as they waved to the crowds.
The royal children during the Trooping the Color during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London, June 2, 2022.
Stephen Lock/i-Images via Polaris
Prince George of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during the Trooping The Color - The Queen's Birthday Parade, London June 2, 2022.
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
Jun 02, 2022, 5:31 AM EDT
What to know about Trooping the Color
Trooping the Color, also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade, is considered one of the most spectacular ceremonies in the world.
Each year on the reigning monarch’s official birthday, the streets around Buckingham Palace are lined with flag-waving crowds who gather to watch as 1,400 soldiers and 10 military bands parade alongside members of the royal family, who travel on horseback and in carriages.
People gather along The Mall as they attend the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London, June 2, 2022.
Henry Nicholls/Reuters
The parade’s name comes from a military practice in which soldiers gather, or troop, around the Color, a flag that marks a regiment’s position in a battlefield.
At the end of the parade, Queen Elizabeth II traditionally carries out an inspection of the troops and receives a royal salute.
This year, for the first time in the queen’s 70-year reign, her eldest child, Prince Charles, will carry out that duty for her.
Elizabeth will arrive on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where the royal family gathers to watch a military fly-over.
The queen has attended Trooping the Color every year of her reign except for one, in 1955, when it was canceled due to a national rail strike.
Queen Elizabeth II takes the salute during the Trooping the Color ceremony in London, 1979.
Central Press/Getty Images, FILE
Jun 01, 2022, 7:31 PM EDT
Prince Harry, Meghan to watch Trooping the Color with royal family
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will join royal family members to watch Trooping the Color from a Buckingham Palace office that overlooks the parade ground, a spokesperson for the duke and duchess told ABC News.
The Sussexes look forward to watching from the Major General’s Office, the spokesperson said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan visit One World Observatory on 102nd floor of One World Trade Center in New York, Sept. 23, 2021.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press via ZUMA Wire, FILE
Senior working members of the royal family, including Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his wife Kate, along with their three children, will watch Trooping the Color, also called the Queen’s Birthday Parade, from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside Queen Elizabeth II herself.
Because they are no longer senior working royals, Harry and Meghan are not part of the traditional balcony appearance, a decision made earlier this year by the queen, according to Buckingham Palace.
