as the platinum jubilee celebrations get under way. she was joined on the balcony at buckingham palace by members of herfamily — but not prince andrew, nor harry and megan. they watched 70 aircraft take part in a spectacular flypast, which included the world—famous red arrows. cheering. tens of thousands people from around the uk and the world thronged the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of proceedings. if i had one thing to say to the queen, i would say, you've done an amazing job of 70 years on the throne. cheering. god save the queen! enjoying the ride —

george, charlotte and louis made their debut appearance in a royal carriage at the trooping the colour parade. and in other news tonight: england get off to a storming start on the first day of the first test against new zealand at lords. good evening from buckingham palace, where the queen has been cheered on by huge crowds as the first of four days of the platinum jubilee celebrations got under way. it began with the trooping of colour parade and was followed by a spectacular flypast marking her unprecedented 70—year reign. in a message to mark the event, the queen said she hoped the celebrations would create "many

happy memories for people". at 96, her mobility is limited and she restricted her appearance to the palace balcony instead of inspecting the troops in person as is traditional. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. for all that she wants thejubilee to be about communities coming together and creating their own precious memories, in the end, it is all about her. after all, there wouldn't be a platinum jubilee if there weren't a monarchy is served for 70 years, and so, when queen elizabeth came out onto the palace balcony to reveal her troops, the crowds showed their appreciation. this was the first sight of the queen. at 96 years of age now, there are limitations

and riding together in one of the carriages, prince george, prince louis, waving away happily in the middle and princess charlotte. the more the crowd wave, the more louis wave. until his sister decided that that was probably enough. as the procession made its way down the mall, a group of animal rights protesters broke through the police called in and attempted to disrupt one of the marching bands before being dragged away by police. 0n horse guards parade, at the footguards had formed up. plenty to look at for those newcomers to the parade. plenty to get used to for these newcomers. they will see it many times in years to come. absent

from the parade, the duke of york. stripped of his role as honorary colonel of the grenadier guards. the prince of wales led the inspection of the troops in behalf of his mother. it's the first time the heir to the throne has presided over the parade since 1951 when the then princess elizabeth represented her ailing father. keen young eyes were watching from the windows, overlooking the programme. the duke and duchess of sussex for watching from the same building. their presence was caught by photographers. foran presence was caught by photographers. for an hour the guards demonstrated their marching skills, the colour of the irish guards. the spectacle was completed by the household cavalry mounted regiment. at buckingham palace, the

royal standard was being raised to signify that the queen had arrived from windsor, ready for her appearance on the palace balcony. the military parade in horse guards over, the crowds were allowed up towards buckingham palace. they filled the spaces around the victoria memorial. 0n the balcony, the queen and the working members of the queen and the working members of the royalfamily and the queen and the working members of the royal family and their children. one of whom was about to steal the show. 0verhead there was a fly—past, the finest britain's armed services that offer. watching was a four—year—old louis, still waving for all he was worth. fascinated by what he could see one moment, clapping his hands to his is the next. the queen has seen it before and takes everything in her stride, just as she has done throughout her long rain. her70 years just as she has done throughout her long rain. her 70 years on the throne were marked in style. the platinum jubilee celebrations for the reign of queen elizabeth ii are

under way. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. earlier in the day, we had to fight our way through the crowds, who had come from all over the uk and all around the globe. here's a flavour of the atmosphere, and the thoughts of some of those who were here. it was ten deep on the mall as people gathered to watch the parade. those at the back couldn't really see much. but that seemed to bother absolutely no one. it's incredible. i've never seen it like this, and itjust really feels like a very special occasion. we're delighted to be here. you can't see very much from back here. does that matter? no. do you know what's actually really helpful? all of the cameras in front of us. we've been getting some quite good shots of what's going on anyways. some people have travelled thousands of miles to be here. you came from canada? yeah. oh, my goodness! specifically for this? specifically for this. her majesty's platinum jubilee. we came here ten years ago for the diamond jubilee. -

extraordinary. thank you. and why, why have you come all this way? because her majesty the queen has been faithfully serving us _ and the commonwealth for the last 70 years. i "claire was there." yeah. claire, why are you here? well, i think it's a very special occasion. we're never going to see this again, are we, really? not with our queen, bless her. and i just feel it's very special, and you've got to be part of the atmosphere. for others, this was the tonic needed after the last long two years. incredibly proud to be part of this, and this sense of togetherness, which we haven't really felt in a long time, especially due to the pandemic. it's really special. and why are you here? oh, i'm here celebrating the occasion. _ you know, it's nice bringing communities together. - and we're all here. you know, that's why i'm here. where have you come from today? all the way from, you know, - southport, england's classic resort. so, yeah, just soaking it all up,

making the most of it. - we were just chatting, and you were saying you thought these days are very special for a particular reason. just tell me again. i just think it's great that all the good things about our country are exhibited today. cos, like, all the people come out, and there's a sense of togetherness and it's just a great event. i was here 20 years ago, it's just great to be here again. it's the atmosphere... it's the atmosphere, especially the community, all together, all for the country and for the queen. it's great. you sounded emotional. i am a little bit! a great tow it out for so many people. and our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is here with me now. an important moment for the monarchy? it is, this is about our head of state, a record—breaking head of state, a record—breaking head of state who has been receiving the warmest tributes today from

president biden, president macron, who has talked about profound admiration and deep friendship. but i'm in amongst all of this, there are subtle messages about the transition. 0ne are subtle messages about the transition. one by one, the queen is handing over these major public events to prince charles. the cenotaph a few years ago, the state opening of parliament a few weeks ago and now trooping the colour. she is handling being head of state, the red boxes and so on, but the messages, both visual and written is about the future, even as we celebrate the past. a written message last night talked about her confidence in the future and i think we can assume that it is a reference to her confidence in the future of the monarchy, as it will be in the hands of prince charles and then of course, prince william. they think it is important to use thejubilee to reinforce the message. fix, it is important to use the jubilee to reinforce the message. a brief messaue to reinforce the message. a brief message about — to reinforce the message. a brief message about the _ to reinforce the message. a brief message about the duke - to reinforce the message. a brief message about the duke of- to reinforce the message. a brief| message about the duke of york? to reinforce the message. a brief - message about the duke of york? he: will not message about the duke of york? he will not be at the service of

thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral, because according to buckingham palace he has tested positive for covid and we are told he has not seen the queen since he tested positive. seen the queen since he tested ositive. : ~ seen the queen since he tested ositive. w ., ~ seen the queen since he tested ositive. w' :, ~' ,, , seen the queen since he tested ositive. w ., ~ i. , . positive. nick, thank you very much. nicholas witchell, _ positive. nick, thank you very much. nicholas witchell, there. _ the queen has recognised more than 1,000 people in her birthday honours list. numerous previously unsung men and women working for charities and their communities have been recognised, along with household names from the worlds of entertainment and sport, as lizo mzimba reports. in the world of entertainment... rebus made three circuits driving slowly. ian rankin, author of the multi—million selling rebus novels, says he's honoured to be knighted for services to literature and charity. damian lewis has been made a cbe for services to drama and charity. together with his late wife helen mccrory, who died of cancer just over a year ago, he helped raise over £1 million to provide food for nhs workers during covid. in a statement, he said,

"she and i are both thrilled." music. fashion designer stella mccartney is, too, made a cbe. while actress pauline quirke, coronation street star helen worth and singer bonnie tyler all become mbes. in the world of politics, arlene foster rose to the top, becoming northern ireland's first female first minister. she's been made a dame for political and public service. obviously i was thrilled. i've been a representative here for 18 years, and then as the first female first minister in northern ireland as well. so, it's really northern ireland's award as well. in the world of sport, broadcaster clare balding becomes a cbe. i'm really... i'm amazed, and, yeah, - just completely overwhelmed by it, to be honest. but i do think it's a reflection . of how much people love sport, and i hope it's also a reflection.

of the growth of women's sports and the added reward and recognition there is for women's sports _ and women in sports broadcasting. cricket star moeen ali says he's proud and happy to be made an 0be. it's curling gold! the olympic gold medal—winning curling team are also recognised. captain eve muirhead is made an 0be. the rest of the team, mbes. most honours, though, go to people not in the public eye, people like patricia husselbee, recognised for 65 years of volunteering for the poppy appeal. it makes you feel special. it makes you feel all our hard work has been, you know... brought you a reward. and as i said, ijust delighted about it, delighted, absolutely delighted. she's just one of many honoured for their work in the community. lizo mzimba, bbc news. let's take a look at some

of today's other news. ukraine's president zelensky says russian forces are now in control of 20% of ukrainian territory. russia's army is trying to break ukraine's defenses in the eastern region of the donbas. meanwhile, the us treasury has announced a round of new sanctions against russian individuals. tomorrow will mark 100 days since the conflict began. the actor amber heard is planning an appeal after losing a defamation trial against her former husband johnny depp over allegations of domestic abuse. yesterday, jurors in a virginia court ruled in favour of depp's claim of defamation on three counts, awarding him £10 million. he's currently in gateshead, where he's expected to make an appearance at a concert alongside his friend jeff beck. the bbc has been told that the transport secretary has rejected a request by the aviation industry to allow them to recruit workers from overseas. companies asked for special immigration visas for overseas workers at a government meeting

yesterday. thousands of holiday—makers have seen their travel plans disrupted this week after flight cancellations and delays at airports. the industry says understaffing is to blame. the government declined to comment. england's cricketers have dominated on day one of the first test against new zealand at lord's. but they soon faced challenges of their own — the visitors won the toss and chose to bat first, but were bowled out forjust 132. a short time ago, england were 100 for 4 in response. our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. at lord's, old father time has overseen countless fresh starts, and some fresh new dawns barely make lunch, but here was james anderson, 40 lunch, but here was james anderson, a0 next month, building to defy age to dismiss young. look at the left hand ofjonny bairstow to clutch

that catch. england's fielding was excellent and so was anderson, but you have seen him take wickets before, about 6a0 times. this is new. this is matthew potts. he made an instant impact on his debut, largely on the stumps. four wickets for him in total. all seemed perfect. 0f for him in total. all seemed perfect. of course, nothing ever is. jack leach making a brave dive in the field. he was able to walk away, but suffered symptoms of concussion and will play no further part in this match. while new zealand's first innings ended like this, 132 all out, about as good as the captain and the new coach would have dared to expect. but remember the context. months of disappointment for england, unprecedented upheaval, changes in every key role, so now, could they bat? an emphatic yes hear from zach crawley, who made a3. but he fell, and so, like this, did 0llie pope for seven. and so, like this, did 0llie pope forseven. remember, new zealand

and so, like this, did 0llie pope for seven. remember, new zealand at world test champions and joe root is still england's best batter. gone for seven. still england's best batter. gone forseven. it's still england's best batter. gone for seven. it's day one. still lots of time for things to go wrong. joe wilson, bbc news, lords. later this evening, more than 3000 beacons will be let across the uk and the commonwealth to end the first day of the jubilee celebrations. the queen will be at windsor castle to take part in the ceremony. 0ur correspondent elaine dunkley has been watching preparations. it will be a majestic sight in honour of her majesty. along hadrian's wall, this ancient border will be illuminated with beacons. for many here, the queen has been a rock during her 70—year reign. this wonderful beacon lighting tonight and the fireworks, you know, it's just wonderful. i don't think the younger generation will ever see a monarch that's been around for 70 years for a long, long time. i'll sing the verses. you all do the choruses. at the local village school in brompton, children have been practising the jubilee song. fold over... and making lanterns

for tonight's special event. she's the oldest queen that has ever lived. she's been crowned for the longest time as well. have you noticed that the queen always carries her bag around? what do you think�*s in the bag? she's got lipstick in it. further on the wall at coalfield quarry, a command by hadrian. by day, dave works in it. but tonight, all eyes will be on his flaming arrow as he lights the beacon. very excited to be involved in the event like this. it'll be a tricky shot, having a lake in the middle. going to be a challenge. and it will be dark. so we'll give it our best shot. in the provinces, celebrations were held everywhere. - lighting beacons is a tradition which stretches back centuries. this is one of many built to mark the queen's grandfather george v's silverjubilee in 1935. beacons have already been lit across the commonwealth. new zealand was one of the first, followed by australia and fiji.

in wales, a beacon in the brecons. in northern ireland, ballymena promises a spectacular display. and a flame will be lit at edinburgh castle in scotland. the queen will lead the lighting of the principal jubilee beacon at windsor. the flames represent hope, a guiding light. and tonight, in honour of the queen, the beacons will be a symbol of communities and people coming together. elaine dunkley, bbc news. that's it for now, we're back with the late news at 10:00pm. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are — but before we go, let's look back at some of the memorable images from the first day of the queen's jubilee celebrations.

hello. this is bbc news with me, luxmy gopal. let's return to our main story this evening, the platinum jubilee celebrations. tonight, the main focus will be on beacons being lit around the uk and the commonwealth. robert hall is injersey, where ceremonies will also take place to light beacons. the most southerly spot in the british isles to have a beacon event this evening. a bit more about the beacon, but take a look at this view.

what a spot to have that event! if you don't knowjersey, that is elizabeth castle in the distance. the port of st helier in front of me here. and this area is actually part of victorian fortifications that were built in the napoleonic times to protect the town and, indeed, the island. and another great tradition is that jersey has a bailiff, the head of the civic community. tim le cocq, you are now — as of today — sir timothy le cocq. lam. many congratulations. thank you very much. i wanted to just talk a little bit aboutjersey�*s special place, before we talk about some of the practicalities of what you're going to do. becausejersey�*s always had this special link with france. very proudly part of britain, but there is a link, isn't there? well, yes, very much so. until very recently, all our laws were written in french. and french is still a permitted language in our courts and in our states assembly, so we have real current links with our french roots, definitely. and the queen, of course, here is the queen, but she's also jersey's duke. can you tell me about that?

yes, well, when william the conqueror invaded england in 1066, jersey and the other channel islands were also, even then, part of the duchy of normandy. so, in effect, we were part of william's possessions. so the queen's right is following on from william's right, and william's right was as duke of normandy, so she's our duke. so, you drink toasts to her. we do. jersey dares to be different an awful lot and you're different tonight with your beacon. tell me about that. well, the beacon — as you can see, hopefully, over my shoulder — is a virtual beacon. and it will be lit at the normal time when all the other beacons are lit throughout the british isles, but it will be virtual and it will be followed by a laser show. so there won't actually be any fire. it will be ecologically sound, environmentally friendly. and we hope it's going to be spectacular. we're certainly expecting it's going to be. it has been a little bit of a rolling celebration here. because of covid, you weren't able to mark your traditional liberation.

all the islands mark their liberation from the german occupation at the end of the second world war. 77 years this year. for the first time, you were able to mark that in some style. and in a way, that sense of celebration has rolled on, hasn't it? well, it has. we had a marvellous liberation day, which we celebrate in may. and we had, at the same time, a visit from the earl and countess of wessex, which made it a particularly special occasion for us. so they came over and delivered a message from her majesty the queen. and we had a liberation day of the type that we had hoped to have. everybody together, thousands of people, beautiful weather, and a marvellous occasion. and in a sense, they came over, in part, because it's her majesty's platinum jubilee year. so that sense of occasion has, i think, continued and rolled into these platinum jubilee celebrations that we're having over the next couple of days — starting now, of course, with the lighting of the beacon. i think in all the islands... i was talking to organisers in guernsey and in alderney and in sark, there is this sense that, we are definitely... that we can pull out all the stops, finally.

because it's been tough, in a way. the islands had to almost shut themselves down for a brief period, like so many other places. yes, i don't think it was any worse for us than it has been for many people throughout the united kingdom and, indeed, in great britain. but it was tough and people did have lockdown, and we weren't able to celebrate, as you say, liberation day, for the last two years. so really, islanders welcoming the opportunity to come out on a particularlyjoyful occasion like this, an amazing achievement on the part of her majesty the queen, and to come out and celebrate it. and i'm very much expecting they're going to come out in significant numbers. tim le cocq, sir timothy le cocq, thank you very much indeed for talking to me. great pleasure. as i say, this beacon is special. special island, special group of islands, and we hope that we'll be getting those pictures into the national and international picture of that beacon event this evening. that was robert hall from jersey. events are also taking part around the commonwealth to mark the queen's

70 years on the throne. beacons have already been lit in many countries already, including singapore. nick marsh told us more. this is one of the sa beacons - being lit in every commonwealth capital city to commemorate - queen elizabeth's platinum jubilee. now tonight here in singapore, we saw bagpipes playing, - there were traditional dances, there were speeches, - there was music, and then finally, after a quick blast of the bugle - and an official proclamation, the beacon was finally lit. i and it was by the chieftain of - the st andrew's society singapore. that's a scottish society dating back all the wayl to the 18305 here in singapore. of course, singapore was under british rule for 140 years. - it got its independence from britain in 1965, l and the historical ties do go deep. the educational system, | the legal system, they're based on what things _

were like during the british rule. and you just have to take i a look at the place names, the colonial buildings, the statues you see, i particularly in the central part of town, to see the legacy - of colonialism all around. but it does have to be said i that the relevance of perhaps the importance of the monarchy is not what it once was. - this, after all, - was a private event. the platinum jubilee wasn't - something that the average person in the street was talking about, there was hardly any mention l l in local media, but nevertheless, . there was enough pomp and ceremony l for a colourful and lively event. to match all the others taking place right around the globe. the queen will be at windsor castle later. a beacon is being lit in windsor park. 0ur reporter charlotte gallagher has been watching the preparations there. at the moment, as you can probably see behind me, the final finishing touches are being made to one of the jubilee beacons. this is in the grounds of the castle. the wood's been loaded in now,

and that's going to be lit on fire and about a quarter to 10pm this evening. the queen herself, she's going to be inside the castle grounds. she's going to be starting the ceremony for the lighting of the beacons, and obviously people here in windsor are very excited, very many of them, because the queen lives here for most of the year. this is her official residence, really, now for most of the year, and the town has been done up completely for the jubilee. you can't fail to realise it's thejubilee. there is miles of bunting, union flags draped in the windows of pubs, restaurants, shops. even dogs here have been decorated. i've seen so many dogs withjubilee bowties and bandannas. lots of children in fancy dress, and i have to tell you the pubs are already very busy. so, i think the people of windsor are ready to celebrate with the queen. time for a look at the

weather with ben rich. hello. sunny spells and scattered showers covered it for most of us today. parts of northern ireland had some more persistent rain, and that will be pushing across the irish sea into north wales, northern england, southern scotland as we go through the night. at the same time, a lot of mist and murk and low cloud will affect the northern isles, the north east of mainland scotland. elsewhere, mainly dry, some clear spells, not quite as chilly as it was last night. so, tomorrow will start with outbreaks of ran across parts of north wales, northern england, southern scotland. this will break up into showers, some heavy and thundery, good evening. it has been a sunny day of celebrations and royal pageantry is. the next two or three days are looking a little mixed, and this will be the classic great british weather. we cannot have it any other way. if you scattered showers, but for most of us, tomorrow is looking bright or sunny, so a fine day on the way, and one for many of us too, at least for many of us in london. here's a look

at saturday's one word forecast, and gathering to the south, this is where the best weather will be. glorious across northern ireland, into northern england took a bit of the south, showers will start together, so a possibility of one or two hit and miss downpours already in southern areas on saturday. then on saturday night into sunday, oh, dear. storm is looming in the south, some of which could be torrential through saturday night into early sunday. thundery, lightning, thunder and lightning possible too, but a breeze along these north sea coast as well, and through the day, this band of rain could be a bit further north or south and into the south of that, we could see showers developing,

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the platinum jubilee celebrations have got under way with the traditional trooping the colour ceremony. prince charles took the salute on behalf of the queen. the queen was joined on the balcony at buckingham palace by herfamily, but not prince harry and meghan. thousands lined the mall to watch the ceremony, which was being broadcast around the world. the ceremony was marked with a special fly—past to celebrate the queen's 70 years on the throne. prince andrew will miss tomorrow's service of thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral, after testing positive for covid. now on bbc news, though, it's time for sportsday.