Over 70 aircraft celebrate the Queen’s birthday with a 6-minute Platinum Jubilee flypast

Dozens of Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force aircraft will hover over Buckingham Palace on Thursday June 2, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said.

The Queen’s birthday will be celebrated this year as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations with a six-minute flyby of more than 70 aircraft.

Dozens of Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force aircraft will hover over Buckingham Palace on Thursday June 2, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said.

The Queen is expected to watch the flyby from the palace balcony along with other members of the royal family.

The monarch has limited Trooping The Color’s balcony appearance to working members of her family, with the Duke of York and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex absent.

Although they won’t be on the balcony, Harry, Meghan and their children will be attending the celebrations, but it’s unknown what elements of the four-day anniversary weekend they might appear on.

Joining the Queen on the balcony of Trooping The Color will be the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of, his Kent, Princess Alexandra and Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

Also appearing on the historic occasion are Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as well as the Wessexes’ children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

The Ministry of Defense said more than 70 aircraft, including the Red Arrows and aircraft used by the UK armed forces in operations around the world, would take part in the flypast.

It takes six minutes to fly above the crowds and more than three times that number of planes are expected to have attended the Queen’s last birthday parade in central London in 2019.

The exhibition includes Royal Navy and Army helicopters and RAF aircraft seen recently in response to events in Kabul and Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.

The flypast will also include highlights from RAF history, including aircraft from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The flypast parade follows the Queen’s Birthday Parade known as Trooping The Color – a display of military pageantry featuring 1,500 officers and men and 250 horses from the Army’s Household Division at Horse Guards Parade.

Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said: “I am proud to have the Armed Forces leading the nation’s celebrations with such a spectacular performance.

“During the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, we will all enjoy the expertise, skill and talent of our Armed Forces as we celebrate Her Majesty’s 70th anniversary on the throne.”