London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Feb 26, 2026

Royals feeds penguins as Jubilee celebrations continue

Royals feeds penguins as Jubilee celebrations continue

Princess Anne visited Edinburgh Zoo on the second day of celebrations to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Street parties were also held across the country to honour the first monarch to reach the milestone.

On Thursday the festivities got under way with a Royal gun salute at Edinburgh Castle, before beacons were lit across the country.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led tributes in Scotland and hailed the Queen's "selfless commitment to duty".

The Queen was also praised for "staying the course" as royals joined dignitaries at a thanksgiving service for the Platinum Jubilee at St Paul's Cathedral.

Referring to her love of horse racing, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said the 96-year-old monarch was "still in the saddle", even though she was not able to attend.

The Queen, who experienced "discomfort" during Thursday's events, watched the service from Windsor Castle.

Afterwards Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence travelled to Scotland where they fed penguins and met young Ukrainian refugees at Edinburgh Zoo.

The couple were in the Scottish capital as members of the royal family visited the nations of the UK over the long weekend to celebrate the Queen's milestone.

They visited the Penguins' Rock enclosure - which is home to gentoo, rockhopper and king penguins - and fed the residents with blue whiting from a bucket.

HMS Albion is in Edinburgh for the Jubilee weekend

Princess Anne pats an armadillo during her zoo visit


Earlier, the princess met children from Ukrainian orphanages who were taking part in an animal handling session with a snake and an armadillo in the zoo's Rainforest Room.

The children were rescued from the war-torn country and brought to Scotland with the help of the charity Dnipro Kids, formed by supporters of Hibernian Football Club.

While in Edinburgh, the couple will also visit HMS Albion and inspect a Guard of Honour before boarding the ship.

On the flight deck of the amphibious assault vessel, the princess will meet members of the ship's company and representatives from charities across Scotland supported by the Queen and Anne as patrons, before cutting a commemorative cake.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

Residents in Glasgow's Kelvindale held a street party in the sunshine


To mark the Platinum Jubilee, the traditional bank holiday on the last Monday in May was moved to Thursday.

It has been followed by an extra bank holiday on Friday.

On the first day of celebrations beacons were simultaneously lit across the UK at 21:45.

The focal point in Scotland was Edinburgh Castle but teams from Walking With The Wounded also lit beacons at the summits of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike in England, Mount Snowdon in Wales and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland.

Beacon events were also held at locations including Greenock in Inverclyde, Saltcoats in North Ayrshire, Dunnottar Castle at Stonehaven and at RAF Lossiemouth, where the celebrations featured a Military Wives Choir.

Among the notable local weekend events is a re-enactment of the Queen's 1953 Coronation in Kelso in the Scottish Borders on Saturday, featuring members of the local Scouts and Guides.

Musselburgh Race Course will top off a weekend of Jubilee racing with a special corgi derby on Sunday.

A distant relative of one of The Queen's own corgis, named Paddy from Port Seton, will take part.

And in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, about 2,000 people are expected at a street party on Sunday which will see the town's St Cuthbert Street closed to traffic.

The main highlight in Edinburgh will be an open-air concert in West Princes Street Gardens on Sunday.

Members of the public are being encouraged to bring their picnic blankets for the free event, which starts at 12:30.

It will feature music by the HM Royal Marines Scotland band, Love Music Community Choir and a special Edinburgh Festival Carnival parade.


Orkney islanders have been celebrating the Queen's the Platinum Jubilee


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
So, what's happened is, I think, government policy, not just under Labour, but under the Conservatives as well, has driven a lot of small landlords out of business.
Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary, is resigning from Harvard University as fallout continues over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the Dow gaining about six-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 adding eight-tenths of a percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing roughly one-and-a-quarter percent.
From fears of AI-fuelled unemployment to Big Tech's record investment, this is AI Weekly.
Apple just dropped iOS 26.4.
US Lawmakers Seek Briefing from UK Over Reported Encryption Order Directed at Apple
UK Business Secretary Calls on EU to Remove Trade Barriers Hindering Growth
Legal Pathways for Removing Prince Andrew from Britain’s Line of Succession Examined
PM Netanyahu welcome India PM Narendra Modi to Israel
Shadow Diplomacy: How Harry and Meghan’s Jordan Trip Undermines the Monarchy
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, comments on immigration in the UK.
Bill Gates, the UN and the WEF are attempting to construct "a giant digital gulag for all of humanity" via digital ID, CBDCs and vaccine passport infrastructure.
Britain’s Channel Crisis: Paying Billions While the Boats Keep Coming
Downing Street’s Veteran Deception Scandal
UK HealthCare Expands ‘Food as Health’ Initiative Statewide to Tackle Chronic Illness in Kentucky
Leonardo Chief Says UK Set to Decide on New Medium Helicopter Programme
UK Slows Chagos Islands Agreement After Concerns Raised in Washington
European and UK Stock Markets Reach Fresh Highs as Banks and Miners Lead Rally
UK Government Insists Chagos Islands Negotiations Continue After Minister’s ‘Pause’ Remark
No Confirmed Deal for Engie to Acquire UK Power Networks Amid Market Speculation
UK Reaffirms Updated Entry Requirements for Travellers as of February 25, 2026
General Atlantic to sell equity stake in ByteDance, valuing the company at $550 billion
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Secures Pledge from China for Greater Imports of Quality Goods
Lord Mandelson Condemns Arrest as Driven by ‘Baseless Suggestion’ He Would Flee Abroad
Former UK Ambassador Released on Bail Following Arrest in Epstein-Linked Investigation
UK Parliament Orders Release of Former Prince Andrew’s Government Vetting Files
Reddit Fined £14 Million by UK Regulator Over Failures in Age Verification Controls
UK Moves to Tighten Regulation of Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video Under New Media Rules
British Woman Who Reported Rape in Hong Kong Faces Possible Prosecution
'Christianity is the religion that has made this country great.'
Man Receives Parking Ticket 38 Years After Offense: ‘City Officials Said It’s Legitimate’
Woman Receives Gift Card for Christmas – Discovers It Is ‘Worth’ 63,000,000,000,000,000 Pounds
UK Sanctions New Zealand Insurer Maritime Mutual Following Allegations Over Russian Oil Cover
Reform MP Danny Kruger Condemns UK’s ‘Unregulated Sexual Economy’ in Call for Tougher Controls
The Show Must Go On: Prince William and Kate Middleton Shine at the BAFTAs Amid Andrew’s Arrest
UK Sanctions Russian ‘Illicit Oil Traders’ After Email Blunder Exposes Sanctions Evasion Network
Russia Amplifies Baseless Claims That UK and France Plan to Arm Ukraine with Nuclear Weapons
UK Imposes Sanctions on Two Georgian Television Channels Over Alleged Russian Disinformation
United States National Parks See Noticeable Drop in Visitors from Canada, U.K. and Australia
UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand Escalate Sanctions on Russia as Ukraine War Marks Four Years
I Gave Andrew a Nude Massage Inside Buckingham Palace
UK Economy Faces Acute Strain as Trump’s Global Tariff Reshapes Trade Landscape
UK Signals Retaliation Is Possible as New US Tariff Policy Threatens Trade Stability
British Police Arrest Former Ambassador Peter Mandelson in Epstein-Related Misconduct Probe
Australia Officially Supports Proposal to Remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Royal Succession
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan remains silent on ISIS brides' resettlement plans in Melbourne
Former UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson Arrested in Connection with Jeffrey Epstein
Jacob Rees Mogg afraid to talk about Peter Mandelson arrest on “suspicion of misconduct in a public office” (Pedophilia, corruption, etc.)
United Nations Calls for Global Action Against Disinformation and Hate Speech Online
Tucker Carlson warns of an inevitable clash in Western societies over mass migration
×