Elizabeth II marks 70th year as Queen with four-day Jubilee extravaganza

Queen Elizabeth II has a busy few days ahead of her. The 96 year-old monarch will attend a number of events to mark her Platinum Jubilee - 70 years on the throne and a milestone in British royal history. More than 50 member states of the Commonwealth from New Zealand to South Africa, will also partake in the festivities.

The British government has invested 28 million pounds (€33 million) to mark the occasion and announced a four-day bank holiday from Thursday 2 June so Britons can join in the festivities.

Although Elizabeth II became Queen on 6 February 1952, her coronation wasn't until 2 June 1953. Celebrations are held each year in June to coincide with clement spring weather.

This Thursday, 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will gather in central London for the traditional “Trooping the Colour” military parade.

The cortege will start at Buckingham Palace and end up at the Horse Guards Parade on the other side of The Mall where members of the royal family will join in on horseback or in a carriage.

According to British media, for the first time in 70 years, the Queen will not attend the royal salute and the review of the troops in person.

Neither has it been confirmed whether she will stand on her balcony at Buckingham Palace to observe the Royal Air Force flyover at the end of the parade.

At 96, the Queen has only just begun showing signs of slowing down. Earlier this year, she contracted Covid, and has spent the occasional night in hospital for checkups.

She missed the opening of parliament at the beginning of May, and Buckingham Palace has released statements referring to the Queen's "mobility issues."

International media will be present to broadcast the festivities, and several channels in France have organised live shows, special programming and documentaries.

France pulls out the stops

France 2 is planning a running commentary with royal history expert and host Stéphane Bern, who also commented on the diamond jubilee in 2012 and even had an audience with the Queen. He will be joined by experts and live crosses to correspondents in London.

Only 18 members of the royal family who have been closely associated with public engagements will be in attendance. The Queen's eldest son Charles and his wife Camilla, his son Prince William, his wife Kate and their three children are among them.

Prince Harry, his wife Megan and their two children, will not be at Buckingham Palace for the ceremony having separated from the royal family in February 2021.

They will however present their daughter Lilibet Diana, born 4 June 2021 to the Queen separately.

The Queen's son Andrew, facing accusations of sexually abusing a minor in connection with the Epstein affair has also not been invited having retired from public life in 2020.

Gossip and scandal

The Queen has certainly had her fair share of family scandal and gossip throughout her time on the throne, but interestingly, she has always remained at a safe distance from the melee. Public opinion tends to be harsh towards her family and politicians, but not her personally.

This is probably because she is obliged by law to remain neutral, leaving political wrangling up to her Prime Minister and her parliament. Most people - even those close to the royal family - admit they do not know exactly what she thinks of any given topic.

She suffered a significant dip in her popularity after the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997, when her delay in making a public announcement was interpreted as cold-hearted.

But come 2020, the Queen found her place again as grandmother to the masses, notably delivering a comforting speech to the nation during the height of the Covid pandemic.

In February, she extended an olive branch to Charles' wife Camilla, by offering her a formal title of queen consort when Charles will become King, in recognition of services rendered to the throne.

The Crown

Perhaps some of the recent fervour around the royal family can be attributed to the award-winning Netflix series “The Crown” inspired by Queen Elizabeth's ascension to the throne and the inner workings of her personal life.

The series got tongues wagging thanks to the “imagined” conversations between the Queen and her prime ministers (she has had 15 during her reign). Creator Peter Morgan has had to publicly remind people however that his dialogues are “inspired” by real life and not verbatim.

Throughout the series, the public get an insight into the Queen's schedule, her love of dogs and horses, her time at Balmoral in Scotland, and notably her visits to far-flung corners of the Commonwealth.

There are 54 countries among the Commonwealth of Nations, 52 of which were former colonies.

The Queen reigns as direct monarch in 15 member states known as Commonwealth realms. These include Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The others are independent sovereign states, or monarchies. 19 member countries can be found in Africa.

As part of the celebrations beginning on 2 June the 'Platinum Jubilee Beacons' - reserved for special royal occasions and anniversaries - will be switched on in 1,500 locations around the empire - from the Isle of Man to the Caribbean.

At Buckingham Palace, the beacon set in a 21-metre “tree of trees” will be lit at 9pm.

After the traditional church service at Saint Paul's on Friday, the rest of the Jubilee is dedicated to leisure and fun, with the horse races at Epsom Downs, the Platinum Party with celebrity artists and a concert on Saturday.

On Sunday, it's the big jubilee lunch and the colourful pageant recounting the highlights of Queen Elizabeth's reign.