<b>Platinum Party at the Palace: Queen and Paddington star at jubilee concert</b>
The Queen made a surprise appearance in a comedy sketch with Paddington Bear to kick off a star-studded Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace.
Paddington joined the monarch in the recorded sketch before pop band Queen opened the musical performances.
The event will also include speeches from Prince Charles and Prince William.
The Queen is not watching the Platinum Party at the Palace in person, however, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also not in the royal box.
Harry and Meghan, whose daughter Lilibet is celebrating her first birthday and who stepped down as senior royals in 2020, have been spending the day privately, a spokesperson said.
The Queen has been experiencing mobility problems in recent months and the palace had warned in advance that the monarch would consider which jubilee events she felt able to attend.
She had to pull out of Friday's thanksgiving service after experiencing "discomfort" during Thursday's events and also missed the Derby at Epsom earlier.
In an echo of the Queen's appearance in a sketch with James Bond for the London Olympics a decade ago, the concert opened with a two-and-a-half minute comedy segment in which she offered tea to Paddington, and showed him a marmalade sandwich she keeps in her handbag.
A Buckingham Palace statement said: "While the Queen may not be attending the concert in person, she was very keen that people understood how much it meant to her and that all those watching had a great time."
The pair then apparently tapped their tea cups to the beat of Queen's We Will Rock You as the regally-themed band, with their US singer Adam Lambert, began performing the hit, accompanied by 34 Royal Marine drummers.
Guitarist Brian May appeared on the Victoria Memorial monument, 20 years after he famously performed on the palace roof for the Golden Jubilee concert.
Speaking beforehand, he said it was "a thrill just to be here, to take up this challenge".
Drummer Roger Taylor added that it was a "hell of a thing" to be back, and said the regally-named band aimed to open the show "with a big oomph and bring some joy".
Diana Ross, George Ezra, Sir Rod Stewart, Craig David, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, Andrea Bocelli and Elbow are among the other big names taking to three stages built outside the palace.
They are being joined by younger pop singers including Mimi Webb, Celeste and Ryder, who recently came second for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest.
A crowd of about 22,000 is watching them in person, plus millions watching on TV.
The three-hour event also includes a celebration of West End musicals featuring the casts of The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, Six, The Lion King and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Sam Ryder said he was on the way home from Eurovision in Italy last month when he heard he might be invited to perform at the Jubilee concert.
"To be part of something like this means so much," he told the BBC.
"There seems to be a stirring of the soul. Everyone's together, everyone's smiling, the vibe in London today and the last few days has been electric, it's just so happy."
Broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, tennis player Emma Raducanu, former footballer David Beckham and comedian and writer Stephen Fry are also involved, and there is a recorded performance from Sir Elton John.
Other royals at the palace concert include the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn, the Princess Royal and her husband Sir Tim Laurence, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.
Anne's son Peter Phillips is there with his children Savannah and Isla, while Zara and Mike Tindall, who spent the day at the Epsom Derby with Anne and Sir Tim, is also there.
The Queen's cousins - the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent - with the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Michael of Kent - and Princess Margaret's daughter Lady Sarah Chatto and her family are also in attendance, along with a number of other extended family members.
Although the Queen was not at Epsom, 40 retired and current jockeys who have ridden for her in the past formed a guard of honour to honour her 70 years on the throne.
The jockeys dressed in her distinctive purple, gold and red racing silks, and the Queen's Stand will be permanently renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Stand.
Princess Anne arrived at the racecourse to cheers as part of a procession with her husband and family.
Zara Tindall, the Queen's granddaughter, said they would have loved the 96-year-old monarch to be with them at Epsom but said the Queen would be watching the Derby - which was won by Desert Crown - at home at Windsor Castle, "in her comfy clothes."
Other members of the Royal Family also attended Platinum Jubilee celebrations across the UK earlier in the day.
Prince William was in Cardiff with the Duchess of Cambridge and two of their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The family arrived at Cardiff Castle to meet the performers and crew involved in a special Platinum Jubilee Celebration Concert taking place in the grounds on Saturday afternoon.
They watched rehearsals and met some of the acts taking part, including Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, who a few days ago was made an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex carried out two engagements in Northern Ireland. Prince Edward - the Queen's youngest son - and his wife Sophie enjoyed events in Belfast and Bangor.
Events taking place in Scotland on Saturday to mark the jubilee included a gathering of 70 corgis - the Queen's favourite dogs - and their owners at Balmoral Castle and a group of children in Kelso re-enacting the Queen's 1953 coronation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61690149
