An incident occurs in front of Buckingham Palace. Several men run onto the magnificent boulevard The Mall, which is closed for the parade, and disturb the military band. But they don't get far.
Shortly before the start of the military parade in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's 70th jubilee, at least four people disrupted the soldiers' march. Three men ran onto The Mall boulevard and threw themselves on the ground in front of a military band, TV broadcaster Sky News showed. Another man ran a few meters in front of the soldiers and held up a note. What was on it was not initially known.
Police ran over and dragged away the troublemakers, at least one of whom wore a mock crown. The men were arrested. It was obvious that it was a protest by opponents of the monarchy, but the actual background is initially unclear. The Queen enjoys broad approval in Great Britain.
The four-day celebration of the Queen's Jubilee began with the Trooping the Color military parade. More than 1,200 soldiers and bands with around 300 musicians set out in the morning to march through London to Buckingham Palace. The rush of spectators is large: to see the Queen and the parade, numerous people have made their way to the lavishly decorated central London since Wednesday. Some even stayed at the parade route to get a good view.
This year, Elizabeth II entrusted the task of inspecting the parade on horseback to her eldest son, Prince Charles. The Queen herself wants to take the salute of the troops around 12.20 local time (13.20 CEST) from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Later, according to the program, the 96-year-old shows up again in the crowd and watches an Air Force air show. The Queen, who has been struggling with health problems in recent months, will be surrounded by other royals, including heir apparent Prince Charles, 73, his wife Camilla and eldest son William. Trouping the Color is a tradition in the UK that goes back more than 200 years. It usually takes place every year at the beginning of June to celebrate the Queen's birthday in April with the best possible weather.
Other highlights include the lighting of thousands of beacons across the UK and Commonwealth tonight, a major pop concert on Saturday night and nationwide al fresco feasts and a grand parade in London on Sunday.
According to a new survey by the institute YouGov, the Queen continues to enjoy great popularity in Great Britain: her approval rating is 75 percent. Her son Charles does not do as well with 50 percent. In addition, only 39 percent of respondents believe that the British monarchy will still exist in 100 years.
