Queen (the band), Paddington kick off Jubilee show
London — Queen Elizabeth II may have to miss a star-studded London concert in her honor Saturday, but she brought the house down when she appeared in a surprise video recorded with another British national treasure: Paddington Bear.
The 96-year-old monarch revealed she shared Paddington’s love of marmalade sandwiches in a comedy skit that was shown to open a Platinum Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace, delighting thousands who gathered for the third day of festivities marking her 70 years on the throne.
Rock band Queen and Adam Lambert kicked off the open-air show outside the palace, followed by performances from Duran Duran, Rod Stewart and opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
The queen has had problems moving around lately, which the palace describes as “episodic mobility issues,” limiting her public appearances in recent months. But her absence at the concert didn’t dampen the party atmosphere among the crowds.
The sovereign also opted not to attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday. Instead, she was represented at the prestigious annual horse race by her daughter, Princess Anne, who appeared in the royal box with her family as crowds cheered.
The queen is widely known as an avid horse lover, and she has only missed the Epsom Derby a handful of times. On Saturday, five of her former racehorses were paraded, and 40 jockeys who have ridden for the queen formed a guard of honor before the national anthem was played.
“She’s been breeding horses for over 60 years. She knows all the blood lines and she’s won lots of races and she’s very knowledgeable,” Frankie Dettori, who lined part of the course with fellow jockeys, told the BBC.