Good morning from The Telegraph's newsroom.
We are within shouting distance of Buckingham Palace, where crowds have been gathering all morning on The Mall as the first day of the long-anticipated Platinum Jubilee begins.
With the Trooping the Colour parade under way, make sure you follow our live commentary from The Telegraph's Dominic Nicholls and Christopher Joll, Regimental Historian of Household Cavalry, above.
The bunting is flying and the Pimm's is on ice as the country embarks on a four-day weekend full of spectacular pageantry and entertainment to mark 70 years of the Queen's reign.
We will be steering you through the latest updates throughout the day.
It's not one to miss, so stay tuned...
Follow the latest updates below.
Three carriages have left the forecourt of Buckingham Palace carrying members of the royal family down the Mall.
The Duchess of Cornwall was riding alongside the Duchess of Cambridge and all three of her children in the first carriage, followed by the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their son James, Viscount Severn, and finally the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in the third carriage.
Who's riding with whom in the carriages leading to the Hose Guards Parade?
Details below...
Muhammad Anwar, 29, who has lived in London for five years and works in finance, told my colleague Phoebe Southworth it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Queen celebrate 70 years on the throne.
"I didn't get to see her last Jubilee so I wanted to celebrate this one. The Queen is an amazing woman, and her longevity is so impressive," he said.
"I'm going to be here all day, watch the Trooping the Colour and fly past. I can't wait."
Muzul Syabril, 38, a maths and economics teacher in Malaysia, said he travelled thousands of miles across the world because he could not bear to miss the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
"I love London and this is my fourth time here, it's my passion," he said.
"The Queen has loved a long life and is a superb figurehead of the UK. I love her spirit and how she has lived through so many challenges in her life."
A number of arrests have been made of people who attempted to enter the ceremonial route in The Mall this morning, Metropolitan Police have said.
You can watch the video below:
My colleague Phoebe Southworth is on The Mall, speaking to various members of the public.
Richard and Allison Dymond, both 44 and investment managers, who live in Marlow, Bucks, told Phoebe that they have travelled down to London with their two children - Hugo, nine, and Holly, seven.
Mr Dymond said: "We really came down because we wanted to see the fly past. The Queen is an incredible and amazing woman and this is a once is a lifetime chance for us to celebrate this - 70 years on the throne, incredible."
Hugo and Holly said they think the Queen is "very cool".
Singer Katherine Jenkins has praised the Queen for being a "great role model", saying her nearly seven-year-old daughter is a fan of the monarch.
The classical singer, 41, will be taking part in celebrations over the Platinum Jubilee weekend as the nation pays tribute to the Queen's 70 years as sovereign.
Welsh star Ms Jenkins will be seen in Sunday's Songs of Praise: Platinum Jubilee Special airing on the BBC and will also perform during a special outdoor concert being held at Sandringham on June 3.
On Sunday, she will be among the celebrities to travel in decorated open top double decker buses for the decade-by-decade celebrations as part of Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
She told ITV's Good Morning Britain of the Queen: "She's so sort of stoic and yet elegant, and when I look at her I'm always impressed with her work ethic. She works so incredibly hard. She's put everything before herself.
"I think she's a great role model. You know, my daughter is nearly seven and she's already a fan of the Queen."
The Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have arrived at Buckingham Palace.
The Duchess of Cornwall is wearing a blue ribbon effect outfit by Bruce Oldfield and a hat by Phillip Treacy.
Army veterans Ronny, 54, Banffy, 59, and Robert, 46, all of the Gordon Highlanders, said they had travelled down from Aberdeenshire to celebrate the jubilee. The group said they won tickets after putting their name in a ballot to sit in the stands by Buckingham Palace.
Pointing to the palace, Ronny said: "A wee wifey that lives in that house there and she has had that job for 70 years, and she needs a wee bit of celebration and we Highlanders are here to wish her well."
Asked what they are most looking forward to, he indicated towards the lunch box they had been given, joking: "The snuff box for a start."
"The whole event", he then added. "It's a historic celebration of Her Majesty."
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news if you're heading down to central London's viewing areas to get a glimpse of the Trooping the Colour parade... they are now full.
The Metropolitan Police Events account tweeted: "The viewing areas in central London for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations are now full.
"To avoid the disappointment of not being able to enter the viewing areas please avoid the area."
The Telegraph's Associate Editor Camilla Tominey is outside Buckingham Palace as the Trooping the Colour parade begins.
She shared a selfie of her view...
Police have been seen tackling several members of the public who ran out onto The Mall from the crowd.
Officers were seen restraining and taking away a group of men who climbed over the barriers and stormed The Mall.
My colleague India McTaggart is on The Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace speaking to members of the public, some of whom have travelled hundreds of miles to attend the celebrations.
Moira Ammosse, who travelled from Northampton at the crack of dawn this morning, described it as a “once in a lifetime” experience.
Catharina Brecht, 56, travelled all the way from Munich on Thursday to be in England for the special occasion.
She said this was her first Jubilee, adding: “I thought I’d go for the big one”.
It’s the same for her daughter, Julinka, who has just graduated from university in Cardiff.
They are also being joined by Julinka’s brother, who studies in London, and moving to Taunton to continue the celebration in various pubs and restaurants with family friends tonight.
With the Trooping the Colour parade about to begin, make sure you're tuning in to our live commentary from The Telegraph's Dominic Nicholls and Christopher Joll, Regimental Historian of Household Cavalry.
But it's not just on The Mall that prosecco is flowing and faces are painted today.
Across the country, many are hosting huge, patriotic street parties while live music, light projections and life-size cut outs of the Queen herald the historic occasion.
The largest party celebrating the Queen's record-breaking 70-year reign is set to be Morecambe Bay's Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday, which is hosting around 5,000 people at over 500 tables overlooking the sea.
Official celebrations will begin at 1pm with a Samba dance down the promenade, before Lord Shuttleworth - the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire - cuts a replica cake of the kind the Queen cut at the G7 Big Lunch at Eden last year.
We'll bring you the best pictures from these events as they come through.
Spirits are high among the crowds as members of the public chat and joke with police maintaining the perimeter.
Several handmade signs hung over the barriers, with one simply saying, "thank you".
Cheers can be heard from the delighted revellers, some of whom had travelled from overseas just to get a glimpse of the Queen.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has praised the Queen for her "stoicism" at her husband's funeral, adding that he wishes there were "more of us" who had "quite that sense of just going to do the right thing".
Reflecting on a photograph of the Queen alone at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April last year, in compliance with Covid rules at the time, the Most Rev Justin Welby said people would have to be "quite warped" not to "feel that 'there is someone who does what is right, whatever it costs"'.
He told Sky News:
Today's official celebrations will see the Queen and her family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a six-minute fly-past of more than 70 aircraft.
Many Royal fans have queued for hours – some camping out overnight – to get a glimpse of the fly-past and the balcony.
Here are some of the things we can expect to see in the fly-past:
You can find more details on our complete visual guide here.
My colleague Gordon Rayner is reporting live from outside Buckingham Palace.
Earlier this morning he found himself among tourists queuing just to get into Green Park, as thousands gathered to watch the festivities.
Royal fans young and old are lining the streets outside Buckingham Palace as the atmosphere builds ahead of the Trooping the Colour parade in 45 minutes.
The Mall is full of smiles, Union flags, Royal memorabilia... and corgis, of course.
A new photograph issued on Wednesday to mark Britain's first Platinum Jubilee shows the Queen smiling from a cushioned window seat at Windsor, wearing a dove blue coat with shiny pearl and diamante scalloped beading.
The image - more relaxed than previous jubilee photographs, in which the monarch has been dressed in full regalia complete with a crown or tiara and sash - captures the Queen looking comfortable and content, with her hands folded in her lap.
Watch our live stream as we wait for the Trooping the Colour parade to begin at 10am.
As the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend gets under way, we have drawn up your indispensable visual guide to the highlights each day.
Today, the Royal family will be out in full force for Trooping the Colour. The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Princess Royal will be on horseback, with other members of the family in carriages.
The crescendo will see the Queen and her family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Duke of York will not be on the balcony. In the evening, more than 3,000 beacons will be lit around the UK and Commonwealth.
You can find the visual guide here.
French President Emmanuel Macron has congratulated Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee, calling her "the golden thread that binds our two countries" going back to World War II.
"During the past seventy years, the President of the French Republic has relied on very few constants... your devotion to our alliance and to our friendship has remained," Mr Macron said in English in a video message to the Queen.
He recalled "the dark days when your family welcomed General de Gaulle in your home" during World War II, when the leader of the Free French and later founding president of France's Fifth Republic took refuge in London from the Nazi German occupation.
Since then, in "a lifetime of devotion to our alliance", the Queen had "shared our joys, and seen the deep affection and admiration that the people of France have for you," Mr Macron said.
Switching to French - in which the Queen is fluent - the recently re-elected leader told the monarch that "celebrating you today is celebrating the sincere and deep friendship which unites our two countries".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make their public return to Britain on Thursday for a royal reunion at Trooping the Colour, watching from a window as non-working members of the Royal family.
The Sussexes and their two children are invited to view the Queen’s Birthday Parade, joining the monarch’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren to view the spectacle from the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade.
Senior and working members of the Royal family will travel in carriages in the traditional fashion, with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal on horseback.
The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge will be among those making the journey from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade by carriage.
On Wednesday night, Kensington Palace would not confirm whether three Cambridge children would be travelling in a carriage with their mother for the first time.
My colleague Hannah Furness has more details.
The Queen has launched her Platinum Jubilee celebrations with a message to the nation that it can look to the future with “confidence and enthusiasm”.
As she expressed gratitude to the UK and the Commonwealth, the Queen said the occasion was a chance to reflect on what has been achieved during her 70-year reign, as well as for new “happy memories” to be created by all.
Bunting, corgis, and dedicated royal fans are already lining the streets in eager anticipation of today's events, with many having camped out overnight to get a prime spot outside Buckingham Palace.
Here are the details of the official Platinum Jubilee festivities taking place today.
The Queen will take a salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour this year. More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will come together in the traditional Parade to mark The Queen’s official birthday. They will proceed down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, joined by members of the Royal family on horseback and in carriages.
The event will end with an RAF flypast, watched by members of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the UK's long-running tradition of celebrating Royal Jubilees, weddings and coronations with the lighting of beacons will also take place today.
Following Trooping the Colour, the Queen will return to Windsor for a night-time ceremony during which she will symbolically light the principal jubilee beacon, as part of a dual ceremony with her grandson the Duke of Cambridge.
Beacons will also be lit in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth nations for the first time ever.
Crowds are already gathering on The Mall as the first day of the long-anticipated Platinum Jubilee begins today.
With the sun already shining in London, millions of people are preparing for street parties to mark 70 years of the Queen's reign today.
We will be steering you through the latest updates throughout the day, with the Queen's birthday parade - Trooping the Colour - beginning at 10am.
More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will come together in the traditional Parade to mark The Queen’s official birthday. They will proceed down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, joined by members of the Royal family on horseback and in carriages.
The event will end with an RAF flypast, watched by members of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make their public return to Britain today for a royal reunion at Trooping the Colour, watching from a window as non-working members of the Royal family.
You can find a breakdown of the planned bank holiday celebrations here.
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