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image source, Getty Images
The royal gold carriage will be the centerpiece of the Jubilee, but it will parade without its famous passenger.
Among all the symbolism that we will see this weekend, when Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee is celebrated, there will be one piece that will stand out from all the others: the monarch’s golden carriage.
The vehicle will be the centerpiece of the parade that will follow the same route it took when she was crowned, from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.
Weighing four tons, the 250-year-old carriage is a reminder of the past wealth and glory of Britain’s former rule of the oceans and other continents.
The queen rode in it to her coronation and in her Silver and Golden Jubilee processions.
This year, however, it will be empty. Isabel, 96, will be absent this Friday from the tour. The Royal House reported that she experiences discomfort following Thursday watching a parade in her honor from Buckingham Palace.
Given this, the only reason to admire the carriage, which is pulled by eight Windsor Gray horses, is its magnificent carving and the images of his coronation that will be projected on the windows.
image source, WPA Pool
There are those who say that, although a change in the throne is not expected soon, the Jubilee activities are a sign that a transition has begun with the heir, Prince Charles, who has replaced the queen publicly in several engagements.
The difference with previous jubilees
Contrary to this year, when the queen has hardly been seen at her anniversary activities, in 1977, the year of her Silver Jubilee, she visited 36 different counties in the UK, as well as nine Commonwealth countries.
A quarter of a century later, national and international tours marked their golden anniversary. A decade later, in 2012, international travel was left to other members of the Royal Family, while the queen toured the United Kingdom.
image source, Getty Images
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during the royal parade in 1977.
This year is very different. All that the Palace will say, it affirms Jonny Dymondthe BBC’s royal correspondent, is that the queen “looks forward” to attending the various ceremonies and celebrations held in her honour.
The mobility problems that now plague her following a long life of activity have made her refuse to participate in most events. And she has hardly been seen in public for the last six months.
The beginning of the transition
When the queen is seen throughout this Jubilee, it will be mostly on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, Dymond continues.
But his will not be the only notable absence. Her husband, he prince philip, who quietly supported her during her reign, passed away last year. This is the first big royal ceremony she won’t be at.
The prince andrewfor his part, will not be seen with his mother either because he is away from the royal family due to the links he had with Jeffrey Epstein, the late millionaire accused of sexual exploitation in the US.
Nor will it be seen Prince Harrywho dramatically departed for the US with his wife Meghan Marklewhen they decided to leave the royal family.
Instead, front and center will be his son and heir.
image source, Getty Images
The Platinum Jubilee will be the first major royal ceremony that Prince Philip will not be at.
The Prince carlos He was the oldest member of the Royal Family in London at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony, the day on which the United Kingdom honors its citizens who have fallen in military conflict and which is celebrated in November.
His eldest son also led the Royal Holy Service in April, one of the oldest religious ceremonies of the British royal family, in which, by tradition, the monarch gives money to those in need.
And it was Prince Charles who read the queen’s speech at the opening of Parliament earlier this month.
In the last six months, three of the great ceremonies of the monarchy -military, religious and constitutional- have been headed by the Prince of Wales.
“In the most British way possible, unstated, unwritten and unspoken, the transition has begun,” says Dymond.
image source, WPA Pool
The queen was represented by Prince Charles during the State Opening of Parliament.
A goodbye
The 1977 Silver Jubilee was an opportunity to pause, with much of the reign to come, to look both back and forward. The 2002 Golden Jubilee was a reset following a decade rocked by scandals, divorces and missteps.
In 2012, the Diamond Jubilee was a reaffirmation of the queen’s place in the affections of the nation.
“This Platinum Jubilee will be different. Because this is a farewell,” says Dymond.
Not the queen herself, the journalist advanced, adding that she is, according to experts, “in good health”, although she has mobility problems. Nor would there be a change of her as her sovereign.
image source, Max Mumby/Indigo
“But this weekend is a farewell to seven decades of public service, of his presence in the solemn acts that impact the public sphere every year,” he adds.
Dymond understands that his return to state ceremonies seems unlikely. Isabel is seen increasingly closer to her personal affections than at her public events.
An era is coming to an end. And in this Jubilee, the nation has an opportunity to mark it with celebration and thanks.
image source, Getty Images
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