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By James Crawford-Smith
Royal Reporter
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The queen will start her Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Thursday by taking a special Trooping the Colour salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace said that while the 96-year-old monarch will miss the annual Trooping the Colour parade, which marks the sovereign's official birthday, the queen will "take a salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace" after the event.
The queen will be represented at the Trooping the Colour parade by Prince Charles, who will be joined by Prince William and Princess Anne.
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It will take place at Horse Guards Parade at the end of The Mall a short distance from the palace and Kate Middleton, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward, Sophie Countess of Wessex and the queen's cousins the Duke of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are also expected to attend.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not been included in the list of royal attendees released by Buckingham Palace, though the statement reads that the listed royals will: "join other members of the royal family to watch the Parade from the Major General's Office."
As Harry and Meghan previously announced their intention to attend at least some of the planned jubilee events, this means they could potentially still be in the stands for Trooping the Colour.
The royals will travel behind Charles, William and Anne in carriages from the palace to the parade ground where the 1st Battalion Irish Guards will troop their colour and where Charles will carry out a military inspection.
After the parade, the royals will return to Buckingham Palace followed by the Household Cavalry Mounted Division and the Guards who will salute the queen marking her official birthday and jubilee, who will receive them from the palace's balcony.
After the salute has been made, the members of the royal family who undertake official duties on behalf of the monarch have been invited to join her on the balcony for the traditional flypast staged by the Royal Air Force.
This will mark the first year that the queen will not attend the Trooping the Colour parade in her 70 year-long reign, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The only exception was in 1955 when the whole event was canceled due to a national rail strike.
However, the news from Buckingham Palace confirming that the monarch will make a balcony appearance comes as a relief to many who feared she may be kept out of sight owing to "episodic mobility problems."
The parade is the most important annual event that the queen undertakes in her position as Head of the Armed Forces, a role she is known to take very seriously.
Until the 1980s, the queen rode on horseback sidesaddle from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and in 1981 was subject to what was initially seen as an assassination attempt where a man in the crowd lining The Mall fired a gun in the queen's direction. The queen's horse was spooked but she went on with the rest of the event. It was later revealed that the man had fired blanks.
The decision for the queen to alter her decades-long form of undertaking duties came as a result of a series of health and mobility problems which began last fall. After pulling out of a planned visit to Ireland it was announced that the monarch spent a night in hospital. Later in the year she was told by doctors only to undertake light duties which saw her cancel her appearance at the Remembrance Sunday service in London.
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In 2022, the queen was diagnosed with COVID-19 and also had compounded mobility issues which again saw her cancel a number of public appearances such as the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey and the Royal Maundy service at Windsor. For these major royal engagements, Prince Charles was asked to fill in for the queen.
This was again the case in May when the queen was unable to attend the State Opening of Parliament owing to what Buckingham Palace officially called: "episodic mobility problems."
The new form of royal engagements for the queen does not see her diary published in advance, instead she decides on the day in question whether she feels able to attend events.
What this means for the planned jubilee events, including the Platinum Party at the Palace pop concert and Epsom Derby horse racing events, is that the queen could ask more of the royals to attend in her place as has been announced with Trooping the Colour.
In a statement released to mark the start of the jubilee celebrations the queen said:
"Thank you to everyone who has been involved in convening communities, families, neighbours and friends to mark my Platinum Jubilee, in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth. I know that many happy memories will be created at these festive occasions.
I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last 70 years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm."
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