London, May 16 (PTI) Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was all smiles as she attended the first of a series of events planned to commemorate 70 years of her reign for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations over the coming weeks.
The 96-year-old monarch, who has recently skipped some ceremonial events over age-related mobility issues, was greeted with a standing ovation as she arrived in the arena close to her Windsor Castle residence for the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Sunday.
A show entitled “A Gallop Through History” — an equestrian extravaganza — had a celebrity line-up including Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Helen Mirren.
“What she has accomplished is historic,” Cruise told the ITV channel.
“She has met presidents, world leaders, people from all walks of life. Not just Americans, but the world knows the dignity, devotion and kindness —that is what I have always felt about her.
Someone that understands her position and has held it through a history that’s just been extraordinary the past 70 years,” he said.
There had been concerns for the monarch’s health after she missed the State Opening of Parliament earlier this month, an event she has missed in the past only when she was pregnant.
But she seemed in good spirits as she walked to her seat in the royal box on Sunday, past a guard of honour featuring the Coldstream Guards, RAF Regiment and Royal Navy, as the national anthem was played. She sat with a blanket over her knees and a shawl over her shoulders.
Buckingham Palace has elaborate plans for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which are scheduled over a four-day bank holiday weekend in the first week of June starting on June 2.
Among the events include a 15 million pounds carnival featuring a huge puppet dragon and a Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which will see performances by some of the world’s well-known stars including singers Ed Sheeran and Sir Cliff Richard. PTI AK RUP RUP RUP
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