“The queen felt nostalgic being back at Buckingham Palace yesterday. While Windsor Castle is now her primary residence, returning there with her family brought back so many fond memories,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly about the 96-year-old monarch’s Thursday, June 2, appearance on the palace balcony for the Royal Air Force flypast.
Us confirmed in March that the royal matriarch moved to Windsor Castle full-time. To celebrate her 70 years on the throne, the queen was joined by her loved ones in London. Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla were by Elizabeth’s side following the parade. Prince William and Duchess Kate also appeared at the palace with their three children: Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle showed their support by watching the event from the Major General’s Office, alongside other members of the royal family. The couple, who traveled to the U.K. with their son Archie, 3, and daughter, Lilibet, 11 months, were later in attendance at the service of Thanksgiving on Friday, June 3.
The Duke and Duchess , however, did not reunite with William, 39, and Kate, 40, inside the chapel. According to a second source, the decision was made by the palace. “Senior members of the royal family were seated in the front row and non-senior members in the second row,” the insider explained to Us, noting that the arrangement was meant to help “avoid any unwanted attention.”
The queen, for her part, chose to not appear at St. Paul’s Cathedral following the excitement of her birthday parade. “The Queen greatly enjoyed today’s Birthday Parade and flypast, but did experience some discomfort,” a statement from Buckingham Palace read on Thursday. “Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, Her Majesty with great reluctance has concluded that she will not attend.”
According to the palace, “The Queen is looking forward to participating in tonight’s Beacon lighting event at Windsor Castle and would like to thank all those who made today such a memorable occasion.”
That same day, the queen led the lighting of the Principal Platinum Jubilee Beacon at Windsor Castle, while William represented her at Buckingham Palace.
Ahead of her jubilee, which marked her milestone 70 years on the throne, Elizabeth experienced a series of health concerns. She was briefly hospitalized in October 2021 on the advice of her doctors, returning home after just one night. Earlier this year, she contracted COVID-19.
“Of course, she has a team of doctors to lean on whenever needed and a support staff that’s second to none,” a source exclusively told Us in February. “But thus far Her Majesty has been handling this without any fuss or need to involve too many others in her recovery.”
At the time, the insider revealed that the queen felt “extremely thankful” for those around her who were providing “emotional and practical support” throughout her coronavirus battle.
Eventually, Her Majesty recovered and returned to work. However, concern continued to grow in May when she missed the annual opening of British Parliament for only the third time in her 70-year reign. Prince Charles and William, 39, attended in her absence.
The queen’s jubilee will be celebrated through Sunday, June 5, and Her Royal Highness was encouraged to take it easy before kicking off the busy weekend. “The Queen has been advise by her loved ones and trusted advisors to go a lot easier on herself, even if it means missing more functions than she would like,” a source exclusively told Us last month. “Her attendance at these events is being handled on a case-by-case basis, so if she isn’t 100 percent on any given day that she’s due to be somewhere in person then she turns the duties over to someone else, be that Prince Charles or another serving senior royal who’s available to handle matters in her stead. … By not [overexerting] herself, it’s giving her more energy to participate is as many of the events as possible.”
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