United by love of Queen and country ...crowds celebrate in a sea of flags
THE patriotic fervour sweeping across the country showed no signs of waning yesterday on the third day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Union flag coats, dresses and hats were in fashion as communities gathered for street parties and thousands travelled to London for last night’s star-studded concert in front of Buckingham Palace.
Jane Nelson, 56, said: “She is wonderful. It’s the traditional, loyalty and service which makes us unique.” Barbara Nelson added: “When she said, when she was 21, whether my life be long or short I will serve my people – it’s amazing. She has done it unstintingly.”
Elsie Sissons, eight, and her sisters Martha, five and Hettie, four, fromwhitstable in Kent, came to London dressed as princesses with their mother Ros and grandmother Karen.
As they strolled alongthe Mall, Ros, 31, a NHS worker, said: “I wanted to come and visit for the Jubilee, and I want the girls to show pictures of this day to their children.”
Colonel Simon Doherty from The Royal Lancers, who is currently serving as the defence attache in Khartoum, Sudan, had camped onthe Mall for three days with his teenage sons to not miss a moment of the celebrations at the Palace.
He said: “The Queen is my regiment’s colonel-in-chief. It is quite astonishing that we as a nation have been blessed by having her as our monarch for 70 years.”
Kym Cooper, a physiotherapist from Hull, came to London to celebrate her 29th birthday yesterday, saying: “I just wanted to come to London and join in.”
Moira Smith, 81, a retired nurse from Penrith, and daughter Sally Conway, 57 from Rickmansworth, Herefordshire, dressed in hats and Union flag outfits. Sally said: “The Queen has been a figurehead and a role model. She has always been there for us.”
Moira added “She is a lovely grandma and great grandma and she just loves being with her children – and that’s how we all feel.”