Queen will find Jubilee 'very difficult without Philip,' says her former secretary

Queen Elizabeth had personal requests when it came to her Platinum Jubilee Concert. Alicia Keys, who performed at Saturday’s Platinum Party at the Palace, revealed in an Instagram post that the 96-year-old monarch requested the songs she sung at the royal-studded event.

Australian-born British gay activist Peter Tatchell revealed that he had refused an invitation from the organisers of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations to join the event as a ‘national treasure’.Tatchell, in a piece in The Guardian, cited his opposition to the monarchy, the royals’ history of “war, colonialism and slavery” as well as the Queen’s refusal to acknowledge her LGBTQI “subjects” as the reason for refusing the honour. Tatchell said that he was surprised to receive a letter from the organisers inviting him to join the pageant outside the Buckingham Palace on June 5 on the final day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations “as one of a select group of ‘National Treasures … celebrated, respected and admired people’.”The activist, who is a supporter of the campaign group Republic, said he turned down the invitation for a number of reasons. “While I doubt that the Queen is a raging homophobe, she doesn’t appear to be gay friendly.

Queen Elizabeth made a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, marking the official end of the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The 96-year-old monarch was dressed in a green coat with a matching hat as she surprised the crowd.The royal -- who has not been spotted out in person since Thursday -- held on to a cane as she smiled and waved to the crowd. Her Majesty was joined on the balcony by her son, Prince Charles, daughter-in-law, Camila, Duchess of Cornwall, and her grandson, Prince William, his wife, Kate Middleton, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Prince Charles and his son Prince William will pay tribute to the Queen on Saturday night during special concert as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.The senior royals will enter the stage towards the end of the concert, which is being held outside Buckingham Palace. Members of the public will be able to attend if they were among the lucky few to grab a ticket but if you missed out then worry not as the BBC will be screening the whole event.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJohn Lydon — a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. — has written a brief and to-the-point editorial for the U.K.’s Times that ranges from his thoughts on the royal family to his wife’s struggle with Alzheimers, from Danny Boyle’s new biopic “Pistol” (which he fought legally) and his early struggles with fame.While the London-born Lydon, who has lived in Los Angeles for decades, courted controversy in recent years with statements in support of former President Trump, the editorial finds him as direct and unsentimental as ever.Yet the most striking statements are him effectively contradicting the world-shattering statements he made in the Sex Pistols’ first two singles, which laid the template for much of punk rock’s ethos: In it, he says “anarchy is a terrible idea” (defying the group’s first single, “Anarchy in the U.K.”) and “God bless the Queen,” which reverts the withering sarcasm of the group’s second single, “God Save the Queen” (“and the fascist regime”) as Britain observes Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.

Platinum Jubilee flyover will go down in history. The 4-year-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, became instant meme-worthy gold for images of him covering his ears and making “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin-inspired faces while standing next to his great-grandma. Twitter immediately erupted with the photo of a stone-cold Elizabeth alongside a screaming Louis with a variety of hilarious interpretations.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall made a special appearance in BBC soap EastEnders on Thursday evening. 

celebrating 70 years as the British empire’s monarch with much pomp and circumstance right now — but that hasn’t drowned out the UK’s noisy fight for political change.If #AbolishTheMonarchy trending on Twitter the same day the four-day Platinum Jubilee launches is any indication, some Brits would like to see Elizabeth be the last monarch.The anti-monarchy group Republic has declared it would like to replace the royals with an elected head of state, especially as the unpopular — in some circles — Prince Charles would take over the throne once his mother dies.In January, Reuters reported that polls indicate the vast majority of people in Britain support the monarchy, and the queen herself is hugely popular. However, there is just not as much support for her eldest son and heir, Charles, and surveys suggest there is growing desire to “ditch the monarchy” among younger Britons.One wannabe activist tweeted on Thursday: “#AbolishTheMonarchy trending during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday is beautiful.”Other users called it “nice” and “very refreshing” to see the phrase trending during the queen’s celebratory festivities.

Barack Obama is virtually joining the Platinum Jubilee celebration. Obama sent a video message to Queen Elizabeth II to congratulate her on her 70th anniversary as a queen.“May the light of your crown continue to reign supreme,” Obama said during the BBC broadcast of Trooping the Colour. “When you’re president of the United States, you meet a lot of remarkable people, and you try under all circumstances to retain your composure,” the 44th president began his message.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee with a sweet #TBT snapshot.The Beatles legend, 79, posted a classic photo Thursday of himself and the 96-year-old monarch posing together at the royal opening of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in 1996.⁣The beloved rock icon captioned the image: “70 beautiful years of Queen Elizabeth the second. Congrats ma’am! And thanks.”In the smiling pic, the queen is seen looking on as she sports a bright baby-blue hat and dress while carrying a bouquet of white flowers.McCartney donned a dark suit and a blue-and-yellow patterned tie for the occasion.The pair had met decades prior to the ’90s event, having crossed paths in 1965.During the swinging ’60s, McCartney and his bandmates — Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison — were awarded with Member of the Order of the British Empire medals, better known as MBEs, by the sovereign at Buckingham Palace.McCartney was later knighted in 1997.The British queen celebrated 70 years since her coronation on June 2 with parties celebrating her Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this weekend, marking 70 years of her reign. While the event is bound to be full of plenty of joyous moments for the longest reigning monarch in British history, it will also be the first milestone the Queen is celebrating without Prince Philip by her side.The Queen became a widow last year when Prince Philip died aged 99 after 73 years of marriage. She previously paid tribute to her beloved husband calling him her “strength and stay” over the years.

Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this weekend in recognition of her 70-year rule over the United Kingdom and its 14 Commonwealth nations. She will be the first-ever British monarch to reach a seven-decade milestone, after already becoming the country's longest-reigning monarch in 2015. On Wednesday, the palace released a new portrait of the queen in honor of her milestone. Her Majesty The Queen, the first Monarch in British history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arrived in the UK ahead of the Queen’s highly anticipated Platinum Jubilee celebrations, according to reports. Meghan, 40, hasn’t been in the UK since leaving her husband’s home-country in early 2020, while Harry’s first time back on British soil was last year for his late grandfather’s Prince Philip’s funeral.

Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, which begins on June 2 and runs through the weekend, concluding on June 5.There will be days full of celebration and one man is helping to kick off the festivities. Bruno Peek is the Queen’s beacon pageant master who participated in the monarch’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

Millions of people in the UK and across the world will come together for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this week. Her Majesty the Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years on the thrown.