Jubilee - live: Platinum Party at the Palace begins with surprise sketch of the Queen and Paddington

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two eldest children arrive at Cardiff Castle

Queen Elizabeth plays ‘We will rock you’ on a tea cup with Paddington for Jubilee party

The Platinum Party of the Palace has begun with a surprise pre-recorded sketch featuring the Queen and Paddington bear.

Kicking off the performances is Queen + Adam Lambert with a rousing renditon of “We Will Rock You” - with the Queen joining in via teacup.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will miss the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace concert on Saturday evening, as they celebrate their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday “privately” in Windsor.

Other royal family members are attendance of the star-studded performance include the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn, the Princess Royal, and others will also be there.

Amongst this weekend’s celebrations, the Queen did not attend the Epsom Derby today after also missing the platinum jubilee thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that her Majesty watched the major sporting event on television at Windsor Castle, after experiencing “discomfort” following a busy first day of festivities on Thursday.

Key points

• Lilibet turns one
• Full schedule for platinum jubilee
• Prince George and Princess Charlotte make appearance in Wales with their parents
• Harry and Meghan will not attend jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace with senior royals
• Platinum Party at the Palace kicks off with surprise sketch of the Queen and Paddington Bear

[31 May 2022 13:25 · Laura Hampson]

Who’s your favourite member of the royal family?

There’s still time to vote in our poll on who your favourite member of the royal family is.

Are you a Camilla fan? A Harry loyalist? Or is the Queen your favourite?

Let us know here:

[31 May 2022 14:08 · Laura Hampson]

Will the Platinum Jubilee Pageant be really, really embarrassing?

Alan Titchmarsh, Tony Blackburn and Torvill and Dean are on the list of usual suspects, plus the cast of Mamma Mia! celebrating those national treasures, Abba. Oliver Keens finds himself already gripped by a very British emotion.

Read here:

[31 May 2022 14:51 · Laura Hampson]

Knitters create life-size woollen Queen ahead of Jubilee celebrations

Here’s something you don’t see every day — a life-sized knitted version of the Queen.

The knitted monarch and a pet corgi were installed in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, at the weekend and villagers have already been stopping to pose for pictures with Her Majesty ahead of the celebrations.

Read more here:

[31 May 2022 15:14 · Kate Ng]

Queen returns to London ahead of platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend

The Queen has returned to London ahead of her platinum jubilee celebrations this weekend, after spending a short break at her Balmoral home in Scotland.

Her Majesty was spotted arriving at Aberdeen Airport today to fly back to London, after arriving in Scotland on Thursday.

Laura Hampson reports:

[31 May 2022 16:00 · Kate Ng]

Lego models of royal family unveiled to celebrate Queen’s platinum jubilee

A miniature display of the royal family – including a Lego replica of the Queen which took 15 hours to build – has been unveiled at Legoland Windsor to mark the platinum jubilee.

The display took Legoland Windsor’s model makers around 282 hours to build, using more than 18,000 individual bricks.

See the royal models below:

[31 May 2022 17:00 · Kate Ng]

Life-sized Queen cake created for platinum jubilee celebration

A life-sized cake of the Queen has been baked to mark her platinum jubilee, containing 400 eggs, 20kg of flour and 20kg of butter.

Social media star Lara Mason, whose Cake Anything account has 2.7 million followers and more than 70 million likes on TikTok, took five days to complete her creation using Victoria sponge.

Check out the cake version of Her Majesty here:

[31 May 2022 18:00 · Kate Ng]

How to get a free Greggs sausage roll this bank holiday weekend

Greggs is giving away free sausage rolls in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The popular bakery chain will offer customers one sausage roll or vegan sausage roll when they order more than £10 of food or drink from 2-5 June.

Find out how to claim your free sausage roll below:

[31 May 2022 18:30 · Kate Ng]

Thanks for joining us today. Come back tomorrow for all the latest updates on the Queen and the platinum jubilee bank holiday, which is just two sleeps away!

[1 June 2022 08:03 · Saman Javed]

Good morning, and welcome back to The Independent’s liveblog following the latest updates on the Queen and her platinum jubilee. Just one day to go before the festivities get underway!

[1 June 2022 08:15 · Saman Javed]

The Queen is back in Windsor after enjoying a short break in Balmoral ahead of her platinum jubilee celebrations.

The monarch’s journey back on Tuesday afternoon faced some difficulties after her 13-seater jet arrived in London during a storm.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the flight had aborted its initial landing due to lightning, but added that there had been no safety concerns for the Queen.

Zaina Alibhai has the details: