Five ‘areas of search’ in the Celtic Sea could be developed and offered to businesses by 2023
Floating windfarms could be built off the coasts of Cornwall and Pembrokeshire after the Queen’s property manager identified a clutch of sites in the Celtic Sea that could host them.
The crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, has published five “areas of search” that will be narrowed into development plots to host wind power generation.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales says at summit any move by members to become a republic can be ‘without rancour’
The Prince of Wales has told Commonwealth leaders that keeping the Queen as head of state or becoming a republic is “a matter for each member country to decide”.
Charles made the comments during the opening ceremony of a summit of Commonwealth prime ministers and presidents in Rwanda. He said he believed such fundamental changes could be made “calmly and without rancour”.
Continue reading...British crown estate portfolio rises in value by 8.3% to £15.6bn
The value of rights owned by the Queen’s property company to exploit the seabed around Britain’s coastline has swelled to £5bn after a record-breaking auction of plots for offshore windfarms.
Profits for the crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, jumped by £43.4m to £312.7m in the year to the end of March.
Continue reading...‘While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all,’ Queen’s statement says
Grant Shapps has said people are “over-interpreting” the boos directed at Boris Johnson when the prime minister attended a service on Friday for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
People are gathering for a Big Jubilee Lunch on Windsor’s Long Walk as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations.
Continue reading...Guardian photojournalists share their jubilee experiences – including beach, street and park parties from Glasgow to Cornwall
Driving around Cornwall on Saturday, you’d have thought the Queen’s Jubilee had been cancelled. Bunting was hard to find, fancy dress was nowhere to be seen and, due to the grim weather, only a smattering of people braved the street lunch in Falmouth where free Cornish pasties were being doled out.
Continue reading...Analysis: The Queen’s age means a reduction in duties, and succession planning is well under way
As the bunting comes down after the long weekend of platinum jubilee celebrations, many in Buckingham Palace will breathe a sigh of relief that the increasingly frail 96-year-old Queen made it to the extra bank holiday declared in her honour.
But behind the scenes, succession planning is well under way. It was ever thus. There are few other jobs in public life where the incumbent knows who will replace them before they even start, but that has been the Queen’s reality since she gave birth to Prince Charles in 1948.
Continue reading...In Africa, celebrations in honour of the Queen stir nostalgia in some, resentment in others
The jubilee has met with a muted response in much of sub-Saharan Africa, with commentators evoking the troubled history of the British empire, London’s diminished influence and the distraction of deepening economic problems on the continent to explain the apparent apathy.
Buckingham Palace listed 18 official beacons lit in commemoration across Africa last week, and Seychelles president Wavel Ramkalawan described the Queen as “a remarkable global personality whose legacy transcends national borders” who was “loved and respected by the entire world”. But such sentiments are not universal.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales praises his mother’s ability to ‘bring us together’ at Platinum Jubilee Party at the Palace
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to the Queen – and environmental activists across the world – in speeches at a concert at Buckingham Palace.
Speaking on the third day of a four-day celebration to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee at the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace, Prince Charles began his address “Your Majesty, Mummy”.
Continue reading...Monarch recalls ‘little pond’ in Parliament House during newly released video call made in May
The Queen displayed a “cheeky” sense of humour when she met virtually with several Australians of the Year and the country’s governor general as part of her platinum jubilee celebrations.
During the Zoom call with the six Australians, which included the recently retired wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott, the 96-year-old monarch remarked on the “splendid” technology which enabled the virtual meeting to take place.
Continue reading...Saturday’s festivities will culminate in an open-air concert for 22,000 people headlined by Diana Ross
Members of the royal family are attending events as the UK marks its third day of platinum jubilee celebrations, with Princess Anne attending the Epsom Derby on the Queen’s behalf.
Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that the monarch, 96, would pull out of attending the Epsom Derby, where she is being officially represented by her daughter. The Queen is expected to watch the event on television instead.
Continue reading...Charles stands in for his mother at St Paul’s Cathedral in ceremony that pays tribute to her seven-decade reign
The symbolism of a great state service of thanksgiving for an absent Queen was not lost beneath the imposing dome of St Paul’s Cathedral. All the more so as the country was paying tribute to her seven decades of public service as Britain’s now longest-reigning monarch.
The Prince of Wales was in her stead for the formal procession through a 2,000-strong congregation of prime ministers past and present, parliamentarians, diplomats, a full squad of other royals and 400 members of the public honoured for their community work.
Continue reading...Latest updates: monarch misses service after experiencing ‘some discomfort’ during trooping the colour
The Archbishop of York has thanked the Queen for “staying the course”.
Stephen Cottrell said he assumed she was watching the service on television and said he was sorry she couldn’t attend.
Now we all know that the Queen likes horse racing. And, Your Majesty, I’m rather assuming perhaps you’re watching this on the television.
I don’t have any great tips for the Derby tomorrow, but since the scriptures describe life as a race set before us, let me observe that your long reign reflects the distance of Aintree rather than the sprint of Epsom, certainly less dressage than most people imagine.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Continue reading...Archbishop of York says monarch is ‘still in the saddle and we are all glad there is still more to come’
It was a service of thanksgiving for an absent Queen, a St Paul’s Cathedral celebration to mark the longest reign of any British monarch. But the person to whom it was dedicated was far away at Windsor Castle, forced to watch on television, indisposed by the mobility problems that have plagued her jubilee year.
Senior royals, parliamentarians and diplomats joined 400 members of the public honoured for key roles they have played in their communities in the 2,000-strong congregation to celebrate the 70-year reign of the Queen, a lover of horses whose time on the throne, they heard, reflected “the distance of Aintree more than the sprints of Epsom”.
Continue reading...Queen, Kate, Camilla, Meghan and younger Cambridges wear harmonious shades of blue
Most of the jubilee audience tuned in not for the trooping the colour, but to watch the royal family observe the proceedings. While the bunting and high-stepping horses trumpeted an official message of unity, the optics of the royal family were closely scrutinised for what they tell us of fraught Windsor family dynamics, of the health of the 96-year-old Queen, and of the messaging “the firm” plans to broadcast during their weekend in the spotlight.
Watching the military flypast from a Buckingham Palace balcony, the Queen wore blue and white, two of the three colours of the union flag. At the Royal Windsor horse show last month, she had dressed for comfort in a woollen shawl in place of a coat, but here she was in her customary crisp, no-nonsense, boxy tailoring.
Continue reading...Thousands turn out in sunshine to watch trooping the colour parade kick off long weekend of celebrations
It has been 70 years since Brenda Dalton, 81, last caught a glimpse of the Queen. As a schoolgirl in Northolt, west London, she won the school ballot to watch the Queen’s coronation and saw her ride past in a golden carriage.
Standing on the Mall on Thursday morning, the retired factory worker was hoping for a second chance. “That’s why I wanted to come. I was there that day when she was crowned and I think she’s done marvellous,” Dalton said.
Continue reading...Monarch and Prince Edward attend event at London’s Paddington station before public opening of line named in her honour
The Queen has marked the completion of London’s Crossrail project by attending the opening ceremony of the Elizabeth line.
Accompanied by the Earl of Wessex, she was welcomed by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the commissioner of Transport for London, Andy Byford, at Paddington station.
Continue reading...Celebrations to be spread out across country during extended bank holiday weekend but royal family urge more to get involved
The UK is preparing to celebrate the platinum jubilee weekend in style, with 1,458 public events and 1,775 street parties or private events officially registered to take place from 2 to 5 June.
The celebrations are spread out across the country, with 240 in and around London, 208 around Manchester, 133 near Birmingham, 98 in Scotland – including four in the Orkneys and one on the Isle of Lewis – 21 in Northern Ireland and two in Guernsey.
Continue reading...UK is ‘haven for dictators’ says critic after Queen invites ruler who outlawed political opposition in Middle Eastern state to the Royal Windsor horse show
The king of Bahrain is expected to attend the Royal Windsor horse show on Sunday after a personal invitation from the Queen, prompting anger from campaigners who claim the UK is “sportswashing” what they say is an increasingly repressive regime.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has been invited as a guest of the Queen, demonstrating a warmth of official ties despite the Middle Eastern state’s outlawing of political opposition, and human rights violations including torture.
Continue reading...Brexit, Covid and Black Lives Matter have highlighted divisions in society. But we have more in common than we sometimes realise
In fragmented times, there is a public appetite for things that can bring us together. The jubilee is seen as the most important event of the year, ahead of the football World Cup, though that vote of confidence in the monarchy comes with future challenges. Support is rock-solid among older people in England’s home counties but only a minority of those in Scotland, of ethnic minority Britain and of the youngest adults are in favour.
The monarchy should resist all attempts to turn it into a symbol of tradition to see off “woke” younger generations – and instead respond to the public appetite for a Crown that bridges divides. In this year of welcoming, the royal estates should be part of Homes for Ukraine, celebrating both hosts and guests, and how those welcomed to Britain from Hong Kong and Afghanistan today, join new Britons from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Vietnam over the decades.
Continue reading...Analysis: But while Charles stood in at Queen’s speech, sources say she has no plans to relinquish head of state duties
The Queen is likely to perform more virtual engagements and any future official physical engagements will continue to be jointly diaried with other members of the royal family as part of ongoing adjustments due to her “episodic mobility problems”.
While she will continue to perform her constitutional role as head of state, her role as head of nation, which is not part of her formal constitutional duties, is increasingly being shared amongst other senior royals.
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