How The Rehearsals For The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Went Terribly Wrong
It's a big year for Queen Elizabeth II. In fact, it's the biggest year for the monarchy ever. This year marks the queen's 70th year of service for the Crown, which means everyone in Britain gets to celebrate with the Platinum Jubilee. Like, we really mean everyone. Not only does the entire country get a few days off work, but there's also a big parade where all the queen's horses and all the queen's men parade around the park. Because it's such a huge event, there is a lot of practice that needs to be done. Unfortunately, the first practice didn't go so well, as noted by People.
Any jubilee is a time for celebration in Britain. Each one marks a decade of service, but the Platinum Jubilee is the biggest in the country's history. This is the first time that a British monarch has made it to 70 years of service, which means this is the first Platinum Jubilee there has ever been. Needless to say, there are probably some nerves for the men performing in the event. According to the Evening Standard, 170 horses and men are involved in the parade, which are a lot of nerves in one place.
Unfortunately, there are still some kinks to work out. The final inspection of the men and horses went terribly wrong, which honestly is pretty fitting for the year that Queen Elizabeth has had so far.
One of the queen's men took a tumble
The Platinum Jubilee is far from just a weekend long event. In fact, since her official 70th year marked on February 6, Queen Elizabeth and the family have been participating in events to celebrate. But it all culminates into one, four-day long weekend event that celebrates not only the queen's service, but also her birthday. According to Royal UK, the culminating event is the queen's Birthday Parade where 170 soldiers and horses parade around in celebration. That means lots of practice.
However, during General Officer Commanding the Household Division, Major General Christopher Ghika's final inspection, one of the men ended up on the ground (via Evening Standard). Yes, the queen's soldier ended up falling off his horse and onto the ground during the performance. It looks like they still have a bit of practice left to do.
The tumble doesn't come as a total surprise, considering how rocky the queen's year has been so far. After being put on "light duty" after contracting COVID-19 during the early months of the year, she didn't actually have her first public appearance of the year until March 25. There's also the little fact that the Caribbean countries in the commonwealth are trying to remove her as Head of State. So it seems fitting that there would also be a tiny mishap during practice for the event.
This isn't the first Jubilee practice mishap
It's not totally uncommon for something to go astray during jubilee practice though. After all, 170 men and horses leave quite a big margin for error. According to the Evening Standard, a trumpeter and horse took a tumble in 2015 when the horse slipped on a patch of mud. The past fall also took place during the final inspection by the General, according to the publication. In 2017, during the annual Trooping the Colour honoring the queen's birthday and service, as many as five guards passed out due to exhaustion, per People. It's fair to say that not all royal events go off without a hitch.
While the men are not necessarily punished for the mishap, the Evening Standard does report that people that fall during the practice are not able to participate in the official event. There's no word on who the man who fell off his horse this year was, although we're hoping he's given a bit of grace as it's been a rocky year getting back to normal for everyone — including the queen herself.
The Trooping of Colour Parade is set for June 2 this year to kick off Platinum Jubilee weekend, if you're interested in seeing how all the hours of practice worked out for the group.