Platinum Jubilee in pictures: Celebrating 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II

For the first time in British history, a monarch has been celebrated for their 70 year reign. To mark this historic anniversary, Platinum Jubilee celebrations have been taking place all across the United Kingdom.

If you missed out on watching the events for yourself here is a gallery roundup of some of the best captured moments of the festivities as the events unfolded.

Massive crowds on The Mall watch, as Queen Elizabeth II and other senior family members, make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour. The atmosphere was wild as gatherers crowded around for a highly-anticipated glimpse of the Royal Family as they experienced the exciting festivities of the Trooping of the Colour.

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, waves during a carriage procession alongside her mother-in-law Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duchess of Cambridge looked breath-taking in a stunning crisp white blazer dress and statement wide brimmed millinery hat, looking as poised as ever. The Duchess of Cornwall looked lovely in a baby blue striped dress and matching wide-brimmed blue hat as she sat alongside Kate in the carriage.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s carriage was joined by her three adorable children, Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7 and Prince Louis, 4, all dressed in various shades of blue as they made their way through the procession. Footage showed a mature young Princess Charlotte cheekily slapping her brother Louis’ arm down as he continued to wave.

While their wives ride the carriage, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, and his father Prince Charles, ride horseback side to side through the parade, fully decked out in their official military uniforms. The pair looked the picture of duty and honour as they represented both the Monarch and the country for the pivotal annual event.

The Queen was also honoured with an impressive 124-gun salute for her outstanding leadership, as well as a number of other grand celebratory gestures – in particular the spectacular fly-over which certainly got both royals and royal watchers excited for the day.

The Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne, Colonel of the blue and Royals, also rode horseback through the procession in full uniform before she was joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge. The Princess Royal was an icon to women all over the world as she represented her duty to the country and her mother, The Queen.

The Trooping the Colour event involved 1,500 soldiers and officers, 400 musicians, 250 horses and 70 aircraft, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Thousands of people flocked to central London on Thursday, June 3, to be a part of their nation’s historical event. Many fans were dressed for the day as they donned the colours of the UK flag and cheered on the Monarch.

Fighter jets from Britain’s Royal Air Force fly in formation to form the number ’70’ during a special flypast over Buckingham Palace. The planes released red, green and yellow smoke as they shot through the sky in a special tribute to Her Majesty and her much-deserved Platinum Jubilee celebration.

The Queen’s great-grandson Prince Louis, hold his hands over his ears for the six-minute flypast as it makes its way over Buckingham Palace. The Monarch beamed as she was pictured enjoying intimate moments alongside close family members on the famous Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the highly-anticipated annual fly-by.

While in previous years up to 40 people were present on the balcony, this year only a curated selection of Royal Family members were to stand alongside the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were absent for the intimate balcony gathering after it was revealed last month that the Queen had forbid the ex-royals from the this year’s balcony appearance at Trooping of the Colour.

Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch kicked off her four-day celebration with the Trooping of Colour and ended the first day’s celebration with a special duel beacon lighting ceremony with the help of Prince William.The Queen initiated the iconic beacon lighting ceremony as she touched the Commonwealth of Nations globe, looking the picture of grace and duty as she donned a long-sleeve aqua-coloured dress and crisp white gloves to perform the special command.