Golden age
The Queen wore a dress embroidered with golden flowers to the Royal Albert Hall last night for a concert to celebrate her 92nd birthday, attended by most other senior members of the Royal family
On the day she turned 21, Princess Elizabeth pledged to dedicate her life to serving the Commonwealth in what has become one of her bestknown and most moving of public declarations.
And in introducing an evening concert at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the occasion of her 92nd birthday, the Prince of Wales wrote: “Tonight we pay tribute to her devotion to duty, her steadfastness in times of uncertainty, and her vital role in uniting people from all walks of life through her enduring strength and humanity. I join you in wishing my mother, the Queen, a very happy birthday.”
Surrounded by her family at the close of a week that sealed her Commonwealth legacy, it was not just, as Her Majesty put it, “another birthday”, but the climax of a lively week which brought all corners of the family of nations to London.
The Royal family were out in force after a week in which they had lent their support to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The Queen was accompanied by her son, who was secured as the next head of Commonwealth, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who wore an £1,148 navy Stella McCartney cape dress, with matching dark blue heels. The Prince of Wales, Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor also opted for navy ensembles.
The Duchess of Cambridge, expecting her third child, stayed at home with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
As the Duke of Cambridge whispered in the Queen’s ear, perhaps explaining who each performer was, she clapped enthusiastically after songs from Luke Evans, singing Oklahoma, Sting and Shaggy, and Kylie. The undoubted stars of the show, though, were the George Formby fan club, led by Frank Skinner, Harry Hill and Ed Balls, who played a cheery rendition of When I’m Cleaning Windows.
As footage of Formby played, the Queen was seen nodding along in time.
In a speech, Prince Harry wished his grandmother a happy birthday, announcing the official launch of her Queen’s Commonwealth Trust as a gift. Addressing her from the stage, he joked she was not always “easy to buy gifts for” but the Trust and its work with the future of the Commonwealth would be the perfect present.
As the concert drew to a close, the Queen made a surprise appearance on stage to rapturous cheers. The Prince of Wales joked she would not have imagined she would be there at 92, accompanied by her nearly 70-year-old son, adding he was “just able still to raise a small ‘hip hip’” in her honour.
“Would you all give Her Majesty three unbelievably rousing cheers?” he asked, and the Albert Hall obliged.
As for the concert, critics will form their own opinion, but the Commonwealth visitors were of one mind: the performers were all very well, but it was the Queen who rocked.