500 Horses, 1000 Performers, and a Standing Ovation: What the Queen Saw at This Year’s First Jubilee Pageant

Queen Elizabeth Technically, has marked her Platinum Jubilee since celebrating the 70th anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6. But it won’t be until this weekend that the monarch really begins the beginning of the celebration. On Saturday, the queen appeared outside Windsor Castle for the first time since late March for the Royal Windsor Horse Show, where she watched some of her own horses compete. On Sunday, she returned to watch a contest called “A Gallop Through History,” one of many large-scale shows planned over the next few months in honor of the Jubilee.

Wearing a gray crystal-encrusted shawl, comfortable black shoes and a set of pearl earrings, the queen watched an equestrian arena show featuring more than 500 horses and 1,000 performers, including the military bands from as far away as Trinidad and Tobago. She was driven to the arena in a Range Rover and was greeted with a standing ovation as she made the rest of the way to her seat. The contest was also televised and introduced Helen Mirren and Tom Cruise as presenters.

“A Gallop Through History” is just the first of several planned for the holiday year, but the queen may not be present at all of the events that honor her historic reign. In the end “nothing is certain,” one royal told Vanity Fairadded that so far she is expected to attend Thanksgiving at St. Paul and Trooping the Color over four weekends in early June.

Last Tuesday, the queen withdrew from her usual duties at the Opening Ceremony of the National Assembly of State, sending Prince Charles to deliver the government agenda-setting speech on her behalf. A palace statement at the time said that she “continues to experience intermittent mobility issues”, which has prevented her from attending some of the more traditional events on her calendar. . When the queen appeared at the memorial service for her late husband, Prince Philip, she made the decision on the morning of the event.

The Queen rarely misses the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which takes place just 500 meters from her flat in the nearby castle. However, her presence this year is not guaranteed after she canceled a planned appearance on Thursday. A source told Sun that she chose to meet her other horses privately that day, adding that “She simply changed her mind.” On Friday, she came to see her horse, a five-year-old gray dun mare named Balmoral Leia, win the category and eventually be awarded as one of the supreme champions.

Other members of the queen’s family also attended the performance. On Wednesday, Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, drove through the ring in their Range Rover during a dress rehearsal for Sunday’s show. Lady Louise Windsor, ‘s 18-year-old daughter Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, competed in several chariot events over the course of the weekend, and her parents were there to watch.

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