Queen Pulls Out of Friday Jubilee Event at the Last Minute

Queen Elizabeth II lit the first of a series of Jubilee “beacons”on Thursday evening, just hours after she dramatically canceled her appearance at a Friday event, sparking concern that she may not be able to attend further aspects of the Jubilee in person.

The queen, 96, looked cheerful and was leaning heavily on a stick but otherwise walked unaided as she came out of the Sovereign’s Entrance adjoining her private apartments at Windsor Castle shortly before 10 p.m. to trigger the lighting of the beacons, pressing a button to initiate a light display.

Simultaneous to her lighting a beacon at Windsor, Prince William lit, on her behalf, the principal beacon at Buckingham Palace in central London, less than 25 miles away, which in turn set off the lighting of more than 3,500 beacons across the U.K. and Commonwealth.

The lighting of chains of beacons has historically been used to signify moments of great national importance, from royal births to declarations of war. However, the tradition was reinvented by Elizabeth’s hero, Queen Victoria, when a chain of beacons was lit to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Beacons were lit in 1977, 2002, and 2012 to mark the silver, gold, and diamond Jubilees of Elizabeth.

However, the queen’s appearance Thursday evening was overshadowed by the dramatic announcement just hours earlier that she would not be attending a thanksgiving church service in her honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday after experiencing “discomfort” during the celebrations earlier on Thursday.

A source told The Daily Beast that while Her Majesty had “enjoyed” the day “immensely,” the return of her “episodic mobility issues” had caused her to experience “some discomfort.”

The source said the “regrettable but sensible decision” was “based on the journey, length of time involved, and the physical demands a service at St. Paul’s inevitably involve,” suggesting that the proximity of the Windsor event to her home was behind the decision to continue with it.

The source added that it had always been a “hope that she would attend” Friday’s service rather than a firm commitment; however, The Daily Beast had understood from informed sources that Her Majesty had strongly desired to attend the service.

Earlier in the day, Buckingham Palace also announced that Prince Andrew had contracted COVID and would not attend the service. Andrew’s attendance had been controversial due to his recent legal settlement with Virginia Giuffre who had accused him of sexual abuse.

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The cancellation of Friday’s appearance by the monarch has undeniably cast a cloud over the Jubilee and triggered speculation that the queen may struggle to attend further ceremonial elements of the celebration.

Duncan Larcombe, the former royal editor at the Sun and a biographer of Prince Harry, told The Daily Beast, “If she can’t get through a couple of engagements when the entire world is watching, she’s not going to be able to function day-to-day as monarch. It seems she has been clinging on to get through this special weekend—but sadly she can’t even do that.”

The queen, who is celebrating 70 years on the throne, has missed other recent events for health reasons, namely the opening of Parliament in May, a key climate change conference in Glasgow last November, and a long-planned trip to Northern Ireland late last year.

And her health is not the only issue plaguing the Jubilee, with family drama abounding, as has often been the case since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the firm and moved to the U.S. over two years ago.

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A source told The Daily Beast last month that Prince William did not want his brother Prince Harry to attend, and the queen previously said that the exiled couple and their kids would not be allowed to join her on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for Thursday morning’s Trooping the Color celebration. They observed the event from a ceremonial military office nearby, and were noticeably absent from TV screens.

The Trooping the Color celebration was itself brushed with scandal, as six members of the Irish Guard—a regiment of the British Army that typically leads the birthday celebration—were recently arrested over their involvement in an alleged drug ring. Accused of stealing drugs and laundering money as a part of a cocaine operation, the guards are under investigation by Royal Military Police. The police had their hands full during Thursday’s event as well, as two protesters, one of whom donned a mock crown, were escorted away from the birthday parade.

Even the monarch got caught up in drama when flying back to London from her Scottish home this week. A lightning storm forced her pilot to circle London for 15 minutes prior to touching down.

Nonetheless, the Platinum Jubilee has had a notable lighter moment; during Trooping the Color, Kate and William’s youngest son, Prince Louis, could be seen covering his ears during the noisy royal flyover.

The rest of the weekend promises more pomp, though the queen will not bear witness to all of the festivities. In addition to sitting out Friday’s service, Elizabeth, a known lover of horses, will not attend Saturday’s derby race. She had been planning to watch the event with her family, but announced a change of plans earlier this week. A live concert will be held in her honor that evening, which the queen will watch on television. She hopes to be able to attend Sunday’s grand finale performance from the Buckingham Palace balcony, during which singer Ed Sheeran will perform the country’s National Anthem.