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

Boris Johnson tweets a “thank you” to the Queen for “unwavering duty and service”.

 The Met Office could issue a thunderstorm weather warning for London on Saturday night as crowds are expected to attend the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace.

Forecasters are predicting heavy, possibly thundery, showers during performances from the likes of Craig David and Alicia Keys outside Buckingham Palace.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: “It’s being monitored but at the moment there’s not enough confidence to issue any warnings, but it’s one that’s going to be reviewed tomorrow morning as to whether or not we do require a thunderstorm warning simply because of the number of people we’re expecting in the capital on Saturday night, so that’s one area of slight concern in terms of weather causing some issues for festivities.”

The weather held out in London today for Trooping the Colour and the flypast.

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Harry and Meghan have been spotted in London during their visit to take part in jubilee events this weekend.

The couple were seen with the Duke of Kent watching the flypast from the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade, and also together in a black car in central London.

Former President Barack Obama has paid tribute to the Queen in a video message which was broadcasted by the BBC.

The former president reflected on his memories with the Queen during his presidency: “Her Majesty put us at ease with her grace and generosity, so much so that I walked away thinking she actually reminded me a little bit of my grandmother and in the years since I would like to think Her Majesty and I have formed a special relationship of our own.”

The Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince Andrew has tested positive for Covid and will no longer be attending the jubilee service of Thanksgiving for the Queen.

The Duke of York was set to make an appearance at the service on 3 June, which was the only official platinum jubilee event that he was set to attend.

Although Prince Andrew saw the Queen in the last few days, he has been doing regular testing and has not met her in person since testing positive.

Crowds have gathered with picnic blankets and bottles of prosecco in Trafalgar Square for the Queen’s jubilee celebrations Thursday morning.

Since gates and access points to the Mall and St James Park were closed off, thousands questioned why the ticket system hadn’t been extended for more people to witness the parade.

“They had TVs here [in Trafalgar Square] for the cricket,” said Veronica Davies. “But they don’t have them for the queen? What’s that about? Outrageous.”

The Queen’s platinum jubilee is a much-needed “moment of unity” after years of political division, said spectators as royal celebrations got off to a rousing start in London.

Thousands of people draped in Union Jack flags, party hats and plastic tiaras lined the Mall on Thursday to catch a glimpse of the Trooping the Colour parade and military flypast, which kicked off a four-day weekend to mark 70 years since Elizabeth II’s coronation.

Royal appearences at the ceremony included the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony, flanked by members of her family - Charles, Camilla and Anne to her right, and the Cambridges to her left - while rapturous cheers of “hooray” erupted from the royal fans watching on below.

Click here for the full story as we speak to royal fans who turned out to the celebrations in London on Thursday.

It may be the Queen’s Jubilee but the attention of some royal watchers was firmly on three other members of the family - Andrew, Harry and Meghan.

For very different reasons, the trio have proved divisive figures in recent years and in the build up to the celebrations there were questions over whether they would attend at all.

None of them made the cut for the all-important ‘balcony moment’ after Trooping the Colour.

The Queen limited that group to the so-called working royals, her Cambridge great-grandchildren and two youngest grandchildren - a move she took after “careful consideration,” the Palace said.

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Princess Eugenie has shared a touching photo of her family waving at the Queen’s platinum jubilee flyover.

Eugenie, 32, is pictured standing with husband Jack Brooksbank, 36, who is holding their one-year-old son August.

The smartly dressed trio are standing on a London rooftop waving to the aircraft, at what appeared to be a jubilee celebration party.

The images posted to Instagram, which include a video of the Red Arrows flying over as cheering can be heard in the background, is captioned: “The most perfect day to celebrate 70 years.”