Queen sends symbolic message in big balcony finish

By Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondent

Image source, POOL Image caption,

The Queen returned to the balcony with the next generations of her family

The Queen was there on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the closing moment of the Jubilee weekend – as she had been there as it started.

In between there had been worries about her health – so there was a sense of surprise and excitement in the big crowd, who roared with anticipation when the windows on the famous balcony began to open.

It was a spontaneous shout of support and affection when the Queen appeared, in a weekend that otherwise had been choreographed and stage managed to the last royal detail.

Only a few hours before it had been unclear whether the Queen would be there for another balcony appearance.

In a display where nothing is accidental, she stood on the balcony beside those who would follow her, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Catherine and their children. It framed the dynastic moment.

They were standing together, in the same place that the Queen as a child had stood with her father and grandfather. She has been appearing on that balcony for more than 90 years.

This appearance by the Queen provided an uplifting end to the jubilee’s grand finale.

The Red Arrows had to cancel the flypast because of the weather. But the Queen had made it. It seemed appropriate for such a tenacious monarch.

Image source, POOL Image caption,

A pen of Peppa Pigs took part in the Platinum Pageant

If the first days of the Jubilee weekend had been about pomp and splendour, and serious state ceremonies, the final push on Sunday had been a festival of the friendly and the quirky.

The pageant around the streets of central London was a mind-bending Jubilee cocktail of music, giant puppets, dance troupes, classic cars and veteran famous faces.

The crowd cheered the open-top buses representing the decades of the Queen’s reign and tried to remember who those celebs used to be.

As a spectacle it was baffling, brilliant and bonkers.

Earlier in the day Prince Charles and Camilla had gone to the Oval in south London for the Big Jubilee Lunch, a mini-street party celebrating the work of grassroots organisations that bring local communities together.

It was a post-pandemic call for greater neighbourliness and cohesion, with the royal couple going around the tables chatting to the guests.

By all accounts they still had Sweet Caroline echoing from Sir Rod Stewart strutting his stuff at the Platinum Party the night before.

Image source, PA Media Image caption,

Charles and Camilla encouraged community togetherness at an event at the Oval

After the big names at the glitzy concert, the Big Jubilee lunch was a good humoured cake-fest honouring the unsung heroes and heroines of local communities.

As the celebrations ended on Sunday, the Queen made her own thank-yous.

Her message was a reminder that this was a one-off event, there had never been a Platinum Jubilee before and it’s unlikely that many of us will ever see one again.

“There is no guidebook to follow,” she said in her message.

But her comments picked out a note that might have resonated with the crowds in The Mall, or those showing support for local community groups at the Oval, that was a “sense of togetherness”.

The windows of the balcony closed. The music stopped. The long bank holiday was ending. The headlines are unlikely to be about “togetherness” in the days ahead.

The last image projected was of the Queen, defying the odds to turn up despite the concerns about her age and frailty, flanked by the next generations.