Queen Elizabeth to miss platinum jubilee Epsom Derby

Queen Elizabeth II will not be at Saturday's Epsom Derby, Buckingham Palace has said. The monarch's ongoing mobility issues flared up on the first day of her platinum jubilee celebrations on Thursday, meaning she had to watch Friday's jubilee thanksgiving service on television rather than attending in person. The palace confirmed she would be watching the derby on television as well. “It is a rare occasion that the queen is unable to join us at Epsom Downs but we are delighted she plans to enjoy Derby Day on television,” said Phil White, London regional director for The Jockey Club. “We have big plans to celebrate her majesty's contribution to horse racing and the nation, and these will continue in full tomorrow. “The derby is a unique race and we are looking forward to welcoming people in their thousands to help us create a spectacular carnival atmosphere.” Another jubilee event the queen may not attend is the star-studded concert taking place after the derby on Saturday evening. Two members of the family who will definitely be present are the Prince of Wales and his son, the Duke of Cambridge. Both will take to the stage to pay public tributes to the queen. The future kings will speak separately towards the end of the Party at the Palace , which will be set on three stages in front of Buckingham Palace. Diana Ross, Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, George Ezra and Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder are among the celebrity acts preparing to entertain a live crowd of 22,000 people and a television audience of millions. Soul legend Ross will close the two and a half-hour show with her first live UK performance in 15 years. Stars including Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham and Stephen Fry will also feature, and there will also be a specially recorded performance by Sir Elton John. The evening will highlight global themes that have developed during the queen's reign, including British and Commonwealth contributions in the fields of fashion, sport, the environment and pop music. A somewhat younger member of the UK royal family is also marking a milestone this weekend as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet turns one on Saturday.. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's second child, born at 11.40am on Friday June 4, 2021 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, was named in honour of the queen. Lilibet - the queen's family nickname - was first used when Princess Elizabeth was just a toddler and unable to pronounce her own name properly. Her grandfather, King George V, would affectionately call her "Lilibet" imitating her own attempts to say Elizabeth. The sweet nickname stuck and she became Lilibet to her family from then on. One-year-old Lilibet, known as Lili, has the middle name Diana, which was chosen in memory of her late grandmother. Neither Lilibet, nor her older brother three-year-old Archie, have been seen in public at any of the Jubilee celebrations so far. The Sussexes were not on the Buckingham Palace balcony as jubilee celebrations kicked off, but instead were seen only in a few photos, taken through a window at Horse Guards Parade during Trooping the Colour, showing them interacting with some of the royal children. On Friday, they were present at the service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral, but did not go to a reception afterwards at the Guildhall which was attended by most of the other royals.

Queen Elizabeth to miss platinum jubilee Epsom Derby

Long-serving monarch suffers from periodic mobility problems which flared up on Thursday

Lilibet turns one

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