London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Platinum Jubilee: An unspoken transition has begun

Platinum Jubilee: An unspoken transition has begun

For raw symbolism this Jubilee weekend, it will be hard to beat the gold State Coach.

The gold State Coach will be the centrepiece of the Jubilee pageant - but without its famous passenger

This notoriously uncomfortable vehicle will be the ceremonial centrepiece of the climax of the Jubilee weekend - the pageant that will travel the coronation route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace on Sunday.

Weighing in at four tons, ornately carved and luxuriously gilded, the 250-year-old coach is a reminder of long-passed riches and glory, of Britain's one-time dominance of oceans and continents.

The Queen rode in it to her coronation and in her Silver and Golden Jubilee processions. But this Jubilee it will be empty.

Drawn by eight Windsor Grey horses, the only reason to gawk at it will be its magnificent carvings, and the newsreel footage of the coronation that will be projected onto its windows.

As with so much of this Jubilee year, the Queen will be unseen.

In 1977, the year of her Silver Jubilee, she visited 36 different counties of the UK, as well as nine Commonwealth countries.

A quarter of a century later, national and international tours marked her Golden Jubilee. A decade afterwards, in 2012, the international travel was left to other members of the Royal Family, whilst the Queen toured the UK.

The Queen was represented at the opening of Parliament by her heir, Charles, and her crown


This year is very different. All the Palace will say is that the Queen "hopes" to attend the various ceremonies and celebrations being held in her honour.

The mobility problems that now bedevil her after a long lifetime of activity have ruled out participation in most events. And she has barely been seen in public for the last six months.

When the Queen is seen at all this Jubilee, it will be mostly on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who begrudges her absence from the celebrations; in more than seven decades of service, she has given so much.

Hers will not be the only notable absence; her husband, Prince Philip, who quietly supported her throughout her reign, has gone. This is the first grand royal ceremonial to happen without him.

Prince Andrew, tarnished by his friendship with a convicted sex offender and subsequent legal battles, will not be seen beside his mother on the Palace balcony. Nor will Prince Harry, who dramatically departed for the US a couple of years ago.

Instead, front and centre will be her son and heir.

Prince Charles was the most senior member of the Royal Family at the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday late last year.

It was Prince Charles who led the Royal Maundy Service in April, one of the oldest royal-religious ceremonies, when by tradition the monarch gives money to the needy.

And it was Prince Charles who read the Queen's Speech at the state opening of Parliament earlier this month.

In the past six months, three of the great ceremonies of monarchy - military, religious and constitutional - have been led by the Prince of Wales.

In the most British way possible - undeclared, unwritten and unspoken-of - transition has begun


In the most British way possible - undeclared, unwritten and unspoken-of - transition has begun.

The 1977 Silver Jubilee was a chance to pause, with much of the reign to come, to look both back and forward. The 2002 Golden Jubilee was a reset after a storm-tossed decade of scandal, divorces and missteps.

In 2012, the Diamond Jubilee was a reaffirmation of the Queen's place in the nation's affections.

This Platinum Jubilee will be different. Because this is farewell.

Not to the Queen herself. She is, insiders say, except for her mobility problems, in good health. Nor to the Queen as sovereign. There is no suggestion of any formal change in constitutional role.

But this weekend is a farewell to seven decades of public service to the nation, of her presence at the formal events each year that mark out the public sphere.

A return to the ceremonies of state seems unlikely. When the Queen is seen now, it is at events that are closer to her private affections than her public duties.

An era is drawing to a close. And with this Jubilee, the nation has a chance to mark it with celebration and with thanks.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×