Platinum Jubilee: Protesters crash Epsom Derby as Queen celebrates Lilibet’s first birthday
Police arrested course invaders attempting to storm and disrupt the Queen’s beloved Epsom Derby, as Meghan and Harry celebrate daughter Lilibet’s first birthday with a private party.
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Vegan protesters were dragged away by police after storming the Queen’s beloved Epsom Derby.
The crowd, gathered in the heart of Surrey to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, cheered as the Epsom Downs Racecourse announcer apologised for the chaotic display.
Animal Rebellion claimed responsibility for the six women crashing the course just before the main race. It’s the same group that stormed the Trooping the Colour parade on the first day of celebrations.
Despite the attempted disruption, the English Classic went ahead with a win by Desert Crown for trainer Michael Stoute.
It was the 76-year-old’s sixth win of the Derby as the 5-2 favourite crossed the line under jockey Richard Kingscote, riding in his second Derby.
Desert Crown crossed the famous finish line two and a half lengths clear of 150-1 outside Hoo Ya Mal with Westover only a head away at 25-1 in third.
The Queen pulled out of the event, one of her favourites, at the last minute due to continued “discomfort” suffered during her busy schedule. Her only runner in the event, “Just Fine”, was also forced to pull out of the World Pool Northern Dancer Handicap.
She has won four of the five flat racing classics, the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, The Oaks, and the St Leger.
With the Derby continuing to elude her, she watched on TV in her “comfy clothes” from the couch of her Windsor Castle home, according to granddaughter Zara Tindall.
“She has a few runners today dotted around the country, so she knows exactly what’s going on,” she told PA.
Tindall was joined at the racecourse her mother Princess Anne, who stepped in to represent the Queen.
Anne, Princess Royal, was presented with a painting of the Queen’s 1977 Epsom Oaks winner Dunfermline, which came on her Silver Jubilee.
The stands cheered as Anne appeared in the royal box while a band played the national anthem. She was joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, son Peter Phillips, and Zara’s husband, former rugby player Mike Tindall.
Stars at the event included Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter, comedian Lee Mack, and tennis coach Judy Murray. Imelda Staunton, who plays the Queen in The Crown
To mark the Queen’s absence, a guard of honour was formed by 40 jockeys, who have all ridden for Monarch, wearing the royal purple racing silks.
Five of her former racehorses were also paraded on display, as were a collection of hats inspired by her 70-year reign.
“It was so nice to see so many faces. It was funny seeing them trying to fit back into the colours again, all the retired ones,” she said.
While the Queen went empty-handed at Epsom, she was a winner elsewhere with her outside chance, Steel A March, winning at Worcester.
Less excited by the event was Orla Coghlan, one of the so-called “Animal Rebeles” who stormed the Epsom racecourse.
She said in a statement horse racing was just the “tip of the iceberg” of animal cruelty in the UK.
“Horse racing took the lives of 220 animals on racecourses in the UK last year,” she claimed. “n this country over a billion land animals are killed for food each year. Exploitation of, and violence against, animals is fuelling the climate emergency and suffering across the globe.
QUEEN WISHES LILIBET ‘VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The Queen has wished her namesake great-granddaughter Lilibet a “very happy birthday” after meeting her for the first time this week.
Little Lilibet, named after the monarch’s own childhood nickname, is in the UK for the first time in her life amid the Platinum Jubilee celebrations as she turns one.
And while she and brother Archie, three, have not been seen in public, according to The Sun the Queen, 96, finally got the chance to meet Meghan and Harry’s little girl as they returned to Britain to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
The family-of-four have been staying at Frogmore Cottage which just is a ten-minute walk from the Queen’s private apartments at Windsor Castle.
🎈Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 4, 2022
No pictures have been released of Archie and Lilibet since they touched down in the UK earlier this week and the family is expected to celebrate the milestone privately.
In a tweet, the monarch sent her well wishes to her great-granddaughter alongside a balloon emoji.
It reads: “Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!”
Wishing a very happy birthday to Lilibet, turning one today! 🎈
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) June 4, 2022
Lilibet’s uncle and aunt Prince William and Kate Middleton also shared a message on the platform, which said: “Wishing a very happy birthday to Lilibet, turning one today!”
And Prince Charles and wife Camilla wrote: “Wishing Lilibet a very happy 1st birthday today!”
Wishing Lilibet a very happy 1st birthday today! 🎂
— The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) June 4, 2022
Harry and Meghan opted out of a reception at the Guildhall in London after the St Paul’s thanksgiving yesterday to head back to Windsor where the Queen was resting.
As Lilibet turns one, royal commentator Omid Scobie, author of Finding Freedom, said Harry and Meghan will spend the day in Windsor together privately as a family.
Scobie told BBC breakfast this week that people shouldn’t expect “some sort of big birthday extravagant event” for the soon-to-be one-year-old’s celebrations – nor should they anticipate any photos.
He said: “From what I’m told, we shouldn’t expect anything.
“Those moments with Lilibet are very much private between them and the Queen and of course we know how much she’s been looking forward to it.
“They’ve been held back by a pandemic. And so this really was the first time.”
It comes as the Queen’s hopes of winning the Epsom Derby were dashed after she and her only horse pulled out of her favourite event, raising concerns over the Monarch’s future attendance during her Platinum Jubilee.
As Great Paul, the largest bell cast in the British Isles, rang for four hours after the Service of Thanksgiving, the Queen cancelled her second appearance due to continued “discomfort”.
Also appearing to experience some discomfort were Prince William and Prince Harry who haven’t given any public indication of reconciliation.
According to The Sun, palace aides worked behind the scenes for months to choreograph the Jubilee service so Harry and William wouldn’t come face-to-face.
The brothers sat on separate sides of St Paul’s and arrived with their wives at different times. The couples did not make eye contact or acknowledge each other.
The ceremony marked the Sussexes’ first royal engagement with senior members of the family since Megxit.
Harry and Meghan were relegated to the second row as non-working members of the royal family. They were also snubbed in the official Order of Service, which made no mention of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
After the Service of Thanksgiving, Charles paid tribute to his mother in a statement: “Thank you, Your Majesty, for 70 years of unwavering and dedicated service.”
The future king of England gathered with senior royals and government ministers at London’s Guildhall to celebrate the “once-in-our-history” occasion and proclaim: “God Save the Queen”.
Asked about the Queen’s health, Kate Middleton — who was blown a kiss by Charles in a sweet church greeting — told attendees that the Trooping the Colour parade was exhausting for the 96-year-old.
“She was fine, it was just very tiring yesterday,” Kate told guests, adding the Queen “had a lovely, lovely time.”
While most attendees of the church service joined the reception, Prince Harry and Meghan were notable absences.
British media reported they snubbed the event to avoid ‘hobnobbing with the family’.
Just minutes before arriving at St Paul’s Cathedral, they were spotted leaving Clarence House ahead of Charles and Camilla, leading to speculation of a secret meeting between the family.
The church service was the Sussex’s only official duty during the four-day calendar of events, with the private birthday of daughter Lilibet to be held behind closed doors.
It was set to be the first official meeting between the Queen and Lilibet, though they were said to have met by chance following the Trooping the Colour.
After the service, Harry and Meghan returned to Frogmore Cottage to prepare for the party.
Parties raged across the United Kingdom as Britons revelled in the unseasonably warm and sunny day, which caused five members of the Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, Household Cavalry and Coldstream Guards to faint and collapse during the church service.
Knowing the Queen was watching from Windsor, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell addressed her directly to praise her “staunch constancy”.
“Your long reign reflects the distance of Aintree rather than the sprints of Epsom,” he said, referring to Queen’s love of the Derby she will now miss.
“We are sorry that you are not here with us this morning but we are so glad you are still in the saddle and … that there is still more to come.”
Among the 2000 guests were 400 who received honours, including teachers, soldiers, and nurses who worked through the Covid pandemic.
They were joined by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was booed during his entrance to the cathedral.
While the Sun never sets on the British Empire, fears are growing that a storm warning could dampen celebrations over the weekend.
Slow-moving thunderstorms stoked concerns of lightning strikes, flooding and power outages as Buckingham Palace prepared for the Jubilee’s main events.
There are questions about whether the Queen will be there to see it after she pulled out of the Epsom Derby, which she has only missed three times — once due to Covid.
The Derby is the only race of the five Classics the avid horse breeder is yet to win, and with her only runner, Just Fine, also pulling out of this year’s event, she’ll need to remain in the saddle for at least one more year before she can complete the clean sweep.
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Originally published as Platinum Jubilee: Protesters crash Epsom Derby as Queen celebrates Lilibet’s first birthday
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