Crowds cheer Queen at historic jubilee marking 70 years on throne

Online desk: Tens of thousands of people cheered Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday as she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the first day of celebrations marking the British monarch’s 70 years on the throne.

The 96-year-old queen’s appearance at the Platinum Jubilee, a milestone never previously reached by any British monarch, had been in doubt due to illness and recent mobility problems, AFP reports.

But dressed in dove blue, her hands clasped on a walking stick, she took a salute from the centuries old Trooping the Colour military parade in central London as the royal standard fluttered in bright sunshine.

After gun salutes and a fly-past of military aircraft, she made a second appearance with her immediate heirs, princes Charles, William and George, and close family members.

The Mall below was awash with red, white and blue union flags, with some die-hard royal fans camping for days to be in prime position for the display of pomp and pageantry.

But many acknowledged the coming end of an era in what some feel could be the last major public event of her long reign.

“We know it’s a special occasion because it might be the last day we’ll see Her Majesty in a public event,” ambulance service worker Gilbert Falconer, 65, told AFP after travelling from Scotland.