The British royal family is meeting on Friday for a mass to celebrate 70 years of Elizabeth II’s historic reign, but the 96-year-old sovereign will not participate, seemingly tired from the first day of festivities.
The mass at St Paul’s Cathedral is to mark the first public appearance of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan in the UK since leaving for California two years ago.
Prince Andrew, 62, will not participate in eternal royal office. The palace announced on Thursday that it had acquired COVID-19 and would be missing with remorse of this religious ceremony, organized as part of four days of festivities that marked the platinum jubilee (70 years of reign) of Elizabeth II, a record for a British monarch.
The return of Harry and Meghan, who traveled from the United States with their two young children for the celebration, has already caused a lot of hostile ink to flow.
You are not welcome to the jubileewrote last week on DailyMail Amanda Platell, former spokeswoman for former Conservative leader William Hague. Do not dare to steal the lights focused on the queenalso warned in the tabloid The day the royal photographer Arthur Edwards.
After the family tensions over the past two years, all gestures and looks at this mass are of course examined using a magnifying glass.
Will Harry and William talk? What about Meghan and Kate? For two years, the relationship between Harry, 37, and William, 39, second in line to the throne, was virtually non -existent. They were hardly better than his father Prince Charles, heir to the crown.
Since they left California in 2020 and their sensational American television interview, which was experienced as a betrayal in the United Kingdom, Harry and Meghan have been one of the most infamous members of the royal family, Meghan in 14th place with 23% of favorable opinions, Harry in 11th place with 36%. Only Prince Andrew is worse, at 12% (recent YouGov poll).
The queen’s second son, Andrew no longer has any official duties, due to allegations of sexual assault in connection with the Epstein affair in the United States, which he ended by paying several million dollars.
Last March, his appearance on the arm of sovereignty at Westminster Abbey, for the ceremony in memory of Prince Philip who died last year, was poorly received by part of British public opinion.
Neither he nor Harry and Meghan were invited to the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Thursday, where the Queen was greeted by thousands of Londoners on the first day of her Jubilee celebrations. Meghan and Harry were seen from afar watching the Salute to the Colors military parade from another building, not seeing Andrew.
The Queen, wearing a blue dove, appeared on the balcony smiling, leaning on a cane, along with 17 members of the royal family.
Demonstrations of sovereignty, which ascended the throne at the age of 25 on February 6, 1952, were especially rare.
About 400 people are expected at the religious service on Friday, all recognized for their contribution to the life of the country, including teachers, health personnel, representatives of the armed forces or charities.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church who was supposed to preside, was canceled because he fell ill with COVID-19. He was succeeded by the Bishop of York.
The festivities will continue on Saturday with a big evening concert in front of Buckingham Palace, before thousands of lunches and popular parties between neighbors on Sunday, and a big parade through the streets of London at night, with nearly 10,000 participants.
Source: Radio-Canada
