PM urges councils to allow jubilee parties
‘Anyone who has yet to submit their application should contact their council as soon as possible’
BORIS JOHNSON has urged council officials to grant last-minute requests for Platinum Jubilee street parties after it emerged that up to four million people could end up holding illegal celebrations.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said councils should be “as accommodating as possible” where party organisers have missed deadlines for submitting their applications.
After Mr Johnson’s intervention, the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, suggested some authorities might be prepared to rush through lastminute applications. James Jamieson, the LGA chairman, said: “Councils are pulling out all the stops to help communities celebrate a historic day... anyone who has yet to submit their application should contact their council as soon as possible.”
Research suggests four million people are intending to attend an official street party but another 3.8 million plan to go to an unofficial party, meaning police face having to break up illegal gatherings if they are blocking traffic.
The Government would rather avoid the unedifying spectacle of police confronting revellers on what should be a joyous national occasion. Chris Philp, a culture minister, urged councils to “show flexibility” and grant permission “even if they are technically after the deadline”. Some councils imposed a March deadline for organisers of street parties to submit applications for road closures, meaning thousands of applicants put their requests in too late.
Other local authorities faced fresh accusations that they were acting as “killjoys”. Glasgow city council refused to relax a local ban on drinking alcohol in public places and in Hereford and Worcester, the Fire and Rescue Service has asked people not to set up tables in the middle of the street because they could stop rescue vehicles from getting through.
Downing Street said: “We recognise it is important for councils to be able to plan around events but we want them to accommodate short-notice requests where they can.”
The comments from Downing Street put Mr Johnson at odds with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which oversees local authorities, and which has advised residents to hold informal pavement “street meets” rather than street parties, if they missed deadlines for road closures.
Their habit of making surprise appearances has led to concerns of a ‘circus’ following their every move
It was arguably one of the most awkward moments in modern royal memory – a strained engagement at Westminster Abbey that came to symbolise a family divided.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex carried out their final duty as senior royals by attending the Commonwealth Day Service in March 2020, the tension between the couple and the Cambridges could not have been more marked.
William and Kate were even forced to back out of the traditional royal procession at the last minute after 2,000 orders of service were printed without any mention of La-bound Harry and Meghan at all.
As the cameras panned in on the so-called “Fab Four” shifting uncomfortably in the pews, it appeared to signal the end of an era.
Little wonder, then, that nerves behind palace walls are once again being rattled as the House of Windsor prepares to welcome the erstwhile royals back into the fold.
Amid fears that another “Sussex bomb” is about to be dropped on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, after their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview and news of Harry’s forthcoming warts-and-all autobiography, courtiers have been doing everything in their power to defuse any potential flash points.
It has been announced the couple will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony if they attend Trooping the Colour on Thursday because, along with the Duke of York, they are no longer “working” royals.
Yet while the palace remains in control of the “official” engagements the couple plan to attend – with them also on the guest list for Friday’s Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral (although not, presumably, in the royal procession) – the powers that be appear to have little knowledge of any of their “unofficial” plans.
Their habit of making unannounced appearances has led to concerns of a “circus” following their every move during the four-day bank holiday weekend. The prospect of a Netflix film crew also making an appearance is said to be causing consternation. This month, Page Six, the US celebrity gossip website, reported Netflix was filming an “at-home with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex-style docuseries”.
So is Harry and Meghan’s presence likely to be explosive as feared, or more of a damp squib?
The couple’s people have been playing down any suggestion that they will upstage the Queen as she marks 70 years on the throne. A source said last week they will stick to the script by “avoiding visits elsewhere”.
The palace also appears unaware of any potential competing engagements, with one insider saying: “I don’t think they’re doing much. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just do Trooping [the Colour] and the Service and that’s it.”
Though they will have Archie, three, and Lilibet, who turns one on Saturday, in tow, talk of the couple seeking to christen Lilibet while she is in Britain and meeting her great-grandmother and namesake for the first time appear wide of the mark. One source said: “It’s already an incredibly busy weekend for the Queen, I don’t think anyone would also want to wish a christening on her.” The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, testing positive with Covid also appears to have put paid to that rumour.
Intriguingly, it seems the couple will not be accompanied to the UK by any of their own PR representatives after Toya Holness, their former spokesman, left Archewell this month.
Liaison between the Sussexes and the Palace is being handled by Herlihy Loughran, an “advisory partnership” comprised of former palace aides Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy. The duo handled the communications for the Invictus Games and are said to be Harry’s “eyes and ears” in Britain.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph understands that conversations have taken place to establish what Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are attending in an attempt to match them up with their American cousins. As such, none of them is expected at the thanksgiving service – with the jury still out on their presence at Trooping, the Party at the Palace on Saturday night or the Pageant in the Mall on Sunday. Security remains a key concern for Harry, who is suing the Home Office over its decision to strip his family of their Metropolitan Police bodyguards, although it is thought they will be enveloped into the policing provision for all the Royals while they are here.
For one weekend only, then, it is hoped the Sussexes will be the team players The Firm once loved, and lost.