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As it happenedended

Royal family news – live: Sussexes release photograph of daughter Lilibet after arriving in US

Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter turns one during her first trip to the UK

Queen makes balcony appearance to mark end of platinum jubilee

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a picture of their daughter Lilibet after celebrating her first birthday.

The photograph of Lilibet, who celebrated the occasion with family and close friends of the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor on Saturday, is understood to have been taken by family friend Misan Harriman.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s second child, born on 4 June 2021 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.

The couple have been “incredibly touched” by the birthday wishes that have flooded in for Lilibet.

More than 100,000 dollars (£79,800) in donations to the World Central Kitchen were made in her honour by people around the world, for which the Duke and Duchess have also expressed their gratitude.

It follows reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had returned to the US following a short trip to the UK for the jubilee celebrations.

The early departure means the Sussexes missed the finale of the festivities, which saw the Queen make a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the royal standard flag was raised above the residence during the pageant.

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Laura Hampson31 May 2022 13:25

Will the Platinum Jubilee Pageant be really, really embarrassing?

Alan Titchmarsh, Tony Blackburn and Torvill and Dean are on the list of usual suspects, plus the cast of Mamma Mia! celebrating those national treasures, Abba. Oliver Keens finds himself already gripped by a very British emotion.

Read here:

The Queen’s Jubilee Pageant could be really, really embarrassing

Alan Titchmarsh, Tony Blackburn and Torvill and Dean are on the list of usual suspects, plus the cast of Mamma Mia! celebrating those national treasures, Abba. Oliver Keens finds himself already gripped by a very British emotion

Laura Hampson31 May 2022 14:08

Knitters create life-size woollen Queen ahead of Jubilee celebrations

Here’s something you don’t see every day — a life-sized knitted version of the Queen.

The knitted monarch and a pet corgi were installed in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, at the weekend and villagers have already been stopping to pose for pictures with Her Majesty ahead of the celebrations.

Read more here:

Knitters create life-size woollen Queen ahead of Jubilee celebrations

The figure, accompanied by a pet corgi, was made by Holmes Chapel Community Yarn Bombers

Laura Hampson31 May 2022 14:51

Queen returns to London ahead of platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend

The Queen has returned to London ahead of her platinum jubilee celebrations this weekend, after spending a short break at her Balmoral home in Scotland.

Her Majesty was spotted arriving at Aberdeen Airport today to fly back to London, after arriving in Scotland on Thursday.

Laura Hampson reports:

Queen returns to London ahead of platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend

The Queen is expected to attend several events to mark her platinum jubilee

Kate Ng31 May 2022 15:14

Lego models of royal family unveiled to celebrate Queen’s platinum jubilee

A miniature display of the royal family – including a Lego replica of the Queen which took 15 hours to build – has been unveiled at Legoland Windsor to mark the platinum jubilee.

The display took Legoland Windsor’s model makers around 282 hours to build, using more than 18,000 individual bricks.

See the royal models below:

Lego models of royal family unveiled to celebrate Queen’s platinum jubilee

More than 18,000 bricks were used to create the display and the models took a total of 281.5 hours to finish

Kate Ng31 May 2022 16:00

Life-sized Queen cake created for platinum jubilee celebration

A life-sized cake of the Queen has been baked to mark her platinum jubilee, containing 400 eggs, 20kg of flour and 20kg of butter.

Social media star Lara Mason, whose Cake Anything account has 2.7 million followers and more than 70 million likes on TikTok, took five days to complete her creation using Victoria sponge.

Check out the cake version of Her Majesty here:

Life-sized Queen cake created for platinum jubilee celebration

The 5ft 3in Victoria sponge was made for Buzz Bingo players in Birmingham

Kate Ng31 May 2022 17:00

How to get a free Greggs sausage roll this bank holiday weekend

Greggs is giving away free sausage rolls in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The popular bakery chain will offer customers one sausage roll or vegan sausage roll when they order more than £10 of food or drink from 2-5 June.

Find out how to claim your free sausage roll below:

How to get a free Greggs sausage roll this bank holiday weekend

Claim the offer through the Just Eat app or website

Kate Ng31 May 2022 18:00

Thanks for joining us today. Come back tomorrow for all the latest updates on the Queen and the platinum jubilee bank holiday, which is just two sleeps away!

Kate Ng31 May 2022 18:30

Good morning, and welcome back to The Independent’s liveblog following the latest updates on the Queen and her platinum jubilee. Just one day to go before the festivities get underway!

Saman Javed1 June 2022 08:03

The Queen is back in Windsor after enjoying a short break in Balmoral ahead of her platinum jubilee celebrations.

The monarch’s journey back on Tuesday afternoon faced some difficulties after her 13-seater jet arrived in London during a storm.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the flight had aborted its initial landing due to lightning, but added that there had been no safety concerns for the Queen.

Zaina Alibhai has the details:

Queen arrives in Windsor for Jubilee after storm forces her plane to abort landing

Stormy weather saw the Queen’s private jet circle the capital for 15 minutes before making a safe landing

Saman Javed1 June 2022 08:15

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