Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Harry and Meghan to fly in for the four-day party

The Queen will welcome Harry and Meghan with open arms next week as her entire family gathers to celebrate her historic Platinum Jubilee.

Sources say the 96-year-old monarch is ‘looking forward’ to seeing her great-grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet. She is likely to spend time with them privately next Saturday, when Lilibet celebrates her first birthday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children are set to stay at Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor home – a short drive from the Queen‘s private apartments at the castle.

The sovereign has made it clear she does not want any family dramas to overshadow next weekend’s four-day national celebration.

The Queen will welcome Harry and Meghan with open arms next week as her entire family gathers to celebrate her historic Platinum Jubilee

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children are set to stay at Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor home – a short drive from the Queen’s private apartments at the castle.

The modest monarch wants the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, to be ‘an occasion in which the country, including her own family, comes together’, a source said

One insider stressed: ‘Her Majesty is typically very keen that the Platinum Jubilee be a celebration not of herself and her own longevity, but of the institution of the monarchy and the people that support and sustain it

The modest monarch wants the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, to be ‘an occasion in which the country, including her own family, comes together’, a source said. Harry, 37, and  Meghan, 40, will attend the national Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday. It is understood the Sussexes are likely to attend at least one other public engagement – although sources have strongly warned that the public should ‘not expect them at every event’.

They will also spend time with Royal Family members privately, introducing the Prince of Wales to Lilibet for the first time. He has not seen Archie, three, since he was a baby. It is unclear whether the Sussexes will spend time alone with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children. William is known to have been hit hardest by his brother’s perceived betrayal.

One insider stressed: ‘Her Majesty is typically very keen that the Platinum Jubilee be a celebration not of herself and her own longevity, but of the institution of the monarchy and the people that support and sustain it.

‘It is also a chance for people to come together after a very difficult period for this country. She doesn’t want anything to overshadow it – and that includes any family issues.’

As the nation prepares to celebrate the Queen’s unprecedented 70 years on the throne: 

• Britons are predicted to spend £3 billion over the Jubilee weekend; 
• An estimated 16,000 street parties will be held across England; 
• The Met Office says a ‘plume of warm air’ will bring widespread sunshine for the bank holiday; 
•  But travellers were warned to expect a week of disruption on roads, trains and at airports.

It is understood other members of the Royal Family support the Queen’s magnanimous gesture towards the Sussexes, although, privately, there are nerves about how the week will turn out.

Meghan has not seen most of them since she acrimoniously quit as a working royal two years ago, while Harry has only briefly seen his grandmother, father and brother.

There is also still a great deal of hurt over the couple’s repeated attacks on the family.

The Queen – who is in Scotland enjoying a break at Balmoral as part of attempts to ‘pace’ her diary – has always made clear that Harry and Meghan are ‘much loved’ members of her family, despite the pain they have caused. She chose to invite only working royals – as well as William and Kate’s children – on to the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour on Thursday in a bid to avoid any public family awkwardness, particularly so early in the weekend of celebrations.

But there have been suggestions that Harry and Meghan could be in the VIP section to watch the spectacular military event in Horse Guards Parade. They will definitely be at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s on Friday.

Another issue is where to seat the Sussexes: should they take their place in the Royal Box at events and if so, who will they be next to in terms of family dynamics and body language, bearing in mind the eyes of the world will be upon them?

It is not known if the couple will be accompanied by a camera crew from Netflix or personal photographers to document their trip to England. But they would be given no special treatment if they did.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: ‘The duke and duchess are excited and honoured to attend the Jubilee celebrations.’

On the trail of colossus corgis 

Jubilee visitors to London can follow in the paw prints of the Queen’s most faithful friends.

A trail of 19 giant corgi statues are being installed across the capital, each one in different designs by various artists.

Up to six and a half foot long, they will be located in public spaces, gardens, stations and windows from Victoria station to the Royal Courts of Justice.

Visitors can follow clues, or a special map, to locate each corgi, which will be auctioned for charity in the autumn.

A trail of 19 giant corgi statues are being installed across the capital, each one in different designs by various artists

Red, white and ooh! Union jack blooms

Green-fingered Britons are celebrating the Platinum Jubilee with patriotic planting of red, white and blue flowers.

Garden centre bosses said floral displays in the colours of the Union Jack are proving popular as families prepare for jubilee garden parties. Commemorative Queen Elizabeth II and jubilee roses are also selling well. Horticultural Trades Association president Boyd Douglas-Davies said: ‘Red, white and blue plants are flying out.’

Green-fingered Britons are celebrating the Platinum Jubilee with patriotic planting of red, white and blue flowers

Revellers to soak up right royal sunshine

A plume of warm air is set to bring widespread sunshine for the Jubilee bank holiday.

Forecasters predict ‘plenty of dry weather with sunny spells’ and it will ‘feel warm in the sunshine’, with temperatures likely to reach the low 20s Celsius. There will be a chance of showers in some parts of the UK.

Richard Miles, of the Met Office, said: ‘The interaction between (warm air) and an area of low pressure moving north from the Bay of Biscay is what could cause the showers.

‘It looks as if we might have a west/east split. Our modelling… favours drier conditions in the west, with the east and north receiving the slightly showery weather.’

The mostly upbeat forecast comes after northerly airflow brings chilly, cloudy and showery days for the end of May.

The Met Office’s Dan Rudman said: ‘What we’re keeping an eye on is how a plume of warm air behaves later in the week, which… could also bring some showers as it moves in from the south and travels north on Thursday and Friday.’

Britain’s long bank holiday bash to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will bring £3billion to the economy

Britain has been gripped by a Platinum Jubilee frenzy with spending predicted to reach £3billion over the extended bank holiday weekend.

Gloom at the cost of living crisis is being pushed aside with millions keen to relax, have fun and participate in special events – as the four-day break brings back the ‘feel good factor’.

The retail sector, pubs and hospitality, including tourist attractions, are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries.

Britain has been gripped by a Platinum Jubilee frenzy with spending predicted to reach £3billion over the extended bank holiday weekend

Our one-mile street party 

Two neighbouring villages hope to stage what could be Britain’s longest jubilee street party on June 5.

Goring and Streatley, in Oxfordshire and Berkshire respectively, want to welcome up to 5,000 people for a mile-long celebration, said organiser Ron Bridle.

The villages previously united to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Goring and Streatley, in Oxfordshire and Berkshire respectively, want to welcome up to 5,000 people for a mile-long celebration, said organiser Ron Bridle

An estimated 90million pints will be sold, resulting in a £105million boost for the pub trade – around 50 per cent more than a regular bank holiday – according to the British Beer & Pub Association.

On Monday, brewery Greene King will kick off celebrations by selling customers a pint of IPA for just 6p – the same price as in 1952 – at its 408 sites.

Millions will enjoy street parties and other events from Thursday to Sunday, with spending predicted to be around 40 per cent higher than for the Diamond Jubilee ten years ago.

Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, appears to be Britain’s street party capital with 331 events approved by the council, up by 99 on the Diamond Jubilee.

Booming sales forced the Royal household’s online shop to temporarily halt taking orders after it ran out of memorabilia.

Supermarkets are selling out of Jubilee ranges. Marks & Spencer is offering everything from Corgi-themed cakes to patriotic cheeseboards, supersize HRH sausage rolls, ales and liqueurs.

Tesco predicts it will sell 60,000 rolls of bunting – enough to wrap around Windsor castle 10 times – and 50,000 Union Jack plates. The retailer has ordered in an extra 4million bottles of gin, 150,000 bottles of champagne and the same of Pimm’s. The extended bank holiday is particularly good for hospitality, the third largest private sector employer in the UK.

Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, Emma McClarkin, said: ‘Pubs are looking forward to leading celebrations in their communities.’

A consumer survey said average spending per person over the bumper bank holiday is set to reach £52 – which equates to £2.8billion as a nation.

Separate estimates by the Centre for Economics and Business Research suggest extra spending across the four days would be £1billion – 80 per cent to retailers and 20 per cent to hospitality.

Pictures provided by Ron Bridle showing the 2012 Jubilee street party between Goring and Streatley

One in five (19 per cent) will mark the event at the pub and more than one in seven plan to host or attend a street party.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of Britons planning to celebrate said they would do so on Saturday, with 28 per cent on Sunday and 9 per cent on Monday. The survey was commissioned by TopCashback, whose spokesman said: ‘Many of those choosing to celebrate are picking lower cost activities such as spending time with family and friends, going to the beach or having a picnic.’