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

The Queen’s “official” birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, is taking place on Thursday 2 June.

The annual event sees soldiers, musicians and horses parade down The Mall in London, before the royal family appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to a Royal Air Forces flypast.

Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced that only working members of the royal family would join the monarch on the balcony. This means that the Duke of York and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be present.

Saman Javed has the full list of all the royal family members who are expected to appear:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has tested positive for Covid-19, and will therefore miss the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday 3 June.

Archbishop Justin Welby was diagnosed with mild pneumonia last week and has continued to carry out work, but developed symptoms for Covid-19 over the weekend.

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, will preach Friday’s sermon instead.

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The Queen’s favourite dog breed, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, has surged in popularity in the past year, according to new figures from The Kennel Club (TKC).

1,223 corgis were registered in 2021, which is the highest annual figure in nearly three decades.

TKC said the increase in popularity was spurred by the corgi breed’s starring role in the Netflix TV series, The Crown.

Olivia Petter has the details:

There has been much speculation about which events the Duke of York will attend this weekend.

Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019, and was stripped of his honorary military titles and patronages earlier this year.

In February, he paid an undisclosed sum out of court to settle a civil sexual assault case brought against him in the US by Virginia Giuffre. The duke has continuously denied all claims levied against him.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Andrew will not appear on the balcony during the Royal Air Forces flypast because the line-up has been limited to working members of the royal family.

Kate Ng has the full details here:

One of the UK’s biggest pub chains is now offering free pints of its IPA beer to kick off the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.

Greene King previously announced that it would sell pints at 6p, which is the same price an average pint cost during the Queen’s 1952 coronation.

It has now changed its offer, choosing to forgo the 6p price tag altogether. For one day only, staff at more than 400 pubs will be pulling pints free of charge for anyone who uses the secret code word “1952” at the bar.

Joanna Whitehead has the update:

On Friday 3 June, royal family members will gather at St Paul’s Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving in celebration of the Queen’s 70-year reign.

The service will include Bible readings, anthems, prayers and congregational hymns, as well as the ringing of Great Paul – the largest church bell in England.

The bell, housed in the cathedral’s southwest tower, weighs approximately 16.5 tonnes.

The service will mark the first time Great Paul has been rung during a royal event after it was repaired in 2018.

Saman Javed has the full story here:

On 5 June, which also marks National Thank You Day, the public is being encouraged to host street parties as part of “The Big Jubilee Lunch”.

Council across the country have received a “huge number” of applications for residents who are keen to host a street party in their area, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.

A snap poll of a dozen councils by the LGA showed it has approved more than 1,000 street parties so far.

Extrapolated across the country, the LGA estimates there could be more than 16,000 celebrations taking place.

Saman Javed has the details here:

With just days to go until the Queen’s platinum jubilee, we want to know; do you have a favourite royal and if so, who?

We’ve listed all the main – living and adult – members of the royal family as it is at the moment, from the Queen to all her grandchildren and spouses who are most regularly in the public eye, including Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.

We’d like to give our readers the definitive ranking over the weekend, so pick your favourite, or let us know that you don’t have one by voting in our reader poll here:

With 16,000 street parties set to take place up and down the country, you may be feeling inspired to throw your own.

Street parties are a historical fixture during times of celebration in the UK, with the first street parties taking place in 1919 after the First World War.

Earlier today, technology minister Chris Philp encouraged local councils to “show a bit of flexibility and pragmatism in support of Her Majesty’s Jubilee” and approve late applications for street parties where possible.

Fancy throwing your own party? Kate Ng has everything you need to know:

As Britons gear up to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee in a special four-day bank holiday at the end of this week, it’s worth noting that the festivities may require some extra planning.

This is because some supermarkets will operate reduced hours on bank holidays, so you may need to do your grocery shopping ahead of time.

Kate Ng has the full list of opening times here: