World News: Queen thanked… for being ‘in the saddle’ for 70 years – Gulf Digital News

World News: Queen thanked… for being ‘in the saddle’ for 70 years – Gulf Digital News

LONDON: Horse-loving Queen Elizabeth was thanked for being “in the saddle” for 70 years as head of state at a service yesterday to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, an event she missed due to her “mobility issues”.

Other senior members of the royal family joined a congregation of politicians, charity figures and groups the queen has supported for the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to pay tribute to the sovereign’s record-breaking reign.

Four days of celebrations began on Thursday when a beaming Elizabeth waved to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after a military parade and Royal Air Force flypast. She later led the lighting of the Principal Platinum Jubilee Beacon at her Windsor Castle home near London.

The 96-year-old, who has been forced to cancel a series of engagements recently due to an “episodic mobility problem”, reluctantly pulled out of yesterday’s service after experiencing “some discomfort” the previous day, the palace said.

Elizabeth, who is a devout Christian and also the titular head of the Church of England, watched the service on television at Windsor Castle.

Her son and heir Prince Charles, 73, represented her, while much attention was focused on her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan,