Star-studded concert to take place as street parties erupt across UK on third day of Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations

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People gather on The Mall ahead of the Platinum Party at the Palace concert outside Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee celebrations, in London on June 4, 2022.TOM NICHOLSON/Reuters

The UK celebrated the Queens Platinum Jubilee with picnics, street parties and concerts on Saturday, even as the honoree herself was absent from the festivities, after reporting discomfort on the first day of the four-day holiday.

Britains longest-ever serving monarch will not make appearances at either of the major events on Saturday: the Epsom Derby, an annual horse race held in Surrey, and the Platinum Party at the Palace, a star-studded concert outside Buckingham Palace that will feature Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, and a special recorded appearance by Elton John. Princes Charles and William are set to pay tribute to the Queen at the concert.

Of the two events, it is likely the Derby that the Queen will be the most disappointed to miss. An avid fan of horse racing, she has only missed the Derby four times since 1952 the year she was crowned and has often entered her own horses in the race. Her daughter, Princess Anne, attended in her place, while the event itself featured 40 jockeys who have ridden for her, along with several of her former racehorses.

Queen Elizabeth IIs Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service goes ahead despite monarch pulling out

The 96-year-old Queen was also absent from a special Thanksgiving service on Friday at St. Pauls Cathedral, where the Archbishop of York thanked her for being still in the saddle. After years of relentless appearances, the monarchs pace has slowed sharply in recent months due to mobility issues. In May, her heir, Prince Charles, stood in for her to read the Queens Speech to open Parliament. She has only missed the speech twice before, both times because she was pregnant.

On Saturday, preparations were still being made for the concert outside Buckingham Palace, which will be attended by more than 20,000 peoplemany of them charity and health workers who have been awarded ticketswith millions more expected to watch the event at home or on open-air screens set up across the country.

A cardboard cut out of the Queen can be seen on a balcony as residents hold a parade and street party in honor of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on June 4, 2022 in Belfast, United Kingdom.Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Across the capital, Union Jack-themed bunting and banners were strung up across buildings and streets in London on Saturday, and businesses have jumped on the occasion to tweak their branding. Tea company PG Tips added corgis to its boxes of tea, while Marks & Spencer was selling royal-themed spins on its popular cakes. Meanwhile, McDonalds tweaked its trademark Im lovin it to say, Ones lovin it. (The Queen, famously, refers to herself as one.)

Parties, too, were not limited to palace-sanctioned events. On Saturday afternoon, The Folly, a bar and restaurant in central London, hosted a Jubilee edition Drag Queen Brunch featuring Drag and West End performers, celebrating the Queens of Pop.

To raucous cheering, flag waving, and the P!nk song Get The Party Started, Drag Queen Ruby Murry AKA Tom Lee led a toast for our Queen and all queens! Immediately after, a singer belted out Somebody to Love by, of course, Queen.

Taking a break outside the restaurant between sets, Ruby Murry said shed been booked solid through the Jubilee weekend, from an event in Brighton on Thursday to a street party in the small town of Mortimer, population 3,622, on Friday.

Everyone in town turned out for it, she said. Its probably the most exciting thing that has happened in that town for a very long time.

Despite not identifying as a royalist, Murry said she drew inspiration from the Queens colorful dress sense, and expressed admiration for her resilience.

I can certainly see the Queen specifically as someone who has been stoic and consistent, and constantly on the side of the public, she said, wearing a sequined gown and a white bob wig. That has been her role for 70 years.

People attend a Jubilee-themed community lunch in Eton, near Windsor, UK on June 4, 2022.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters

Sunday will mark the final day of the Jubilee festivities, and will include Big Jubilee Lunches held in communities around the country, as well as a pageant that will end outside Buckingham Palace. The pageant is expected to represent key moments over the last 70 years, plus appearances by celebrities like Ed Sheeran and a wild selection of floats and puppets, including an enormous dragon, a six-metre high recreation of her wedding cake accompanied by the British South -Asian dance company Nutkhut, and a pack of puppet corgis.

Ruby Murry will be traveling up to Liverpool to host yet another Jubilee-themed party. After that, she said, it would be time for a Royal rest.

A sideshow to the Jubilee celebrations has been Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who made their first public appearance as a couple in the UK since leaving royal duties and moving to the US On Saturday, the official Twitter accounts for the monarch, Charles and William all sent messages to mark the first birthday of Lilibet, the couples daughter who is named after the queen.

With files from Reuters

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