The Queen beamed kicked off her Platinum Jubilee celebrations by joining her family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour.
She chatted to her great-grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as she stood alongside Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other senior royals to watch the RAF flypast.
The famous balcony moment followed an impressive military parade, which Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were spotted watching through a balcony window having returned to the UK for the celebrations.
The Queen wore a dusky dove blue Charmelaine wool dress with pearl and diamante trim by Angela Kelly. She joined her cousin Duke to Kent to inspect the military parade before being joined by the rest of the family.
She used a walking stick and wearing the Guards' Badge on her coat.
Thousands of well-wishers have lined the Mall to mark the historic occasion, with some camping out overnight to secure the best seats in the house. The famous street is a sea of Union Jack flags, party hats, plastic tiaras and handmade signs bearing messages to the Monarch.
Follow live updates from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations here.
The Duchess of Cambridge looked stunning in a white coat dress by Alexander McQueen and a hat by Philip Treacy. Her children were dressed in a blue and white colour scheme, with Louis donning a sailor outfit.
Trooping the Colour is the Monarch's annual official birthday celebration, however it's been cancelled for the past two years due to the Covid pandemic. Today's event kick starts a bumper four-day Jubilee celebration.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis made their carriage debut when they joined their mum Kate and step-grandmother, Camilla, in a carriage for military procession earlier today.
The young Cambridges and the duchesses’ carriage, known as a barouche, was followed by another carrying the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Mountbatten Windsor and Viscount Severn.
They were later seen watching the parade through a window with their second cousins, with Louis performing an adorable salute.
Princess Eugenie was among the first to pay tribute to her grandmother, praising her "grannie's" 70 years of service.
In an article for The Spectator magazine, she said she hoped her one-year-old son August would grow to have the Queen’s “patience, her calmness and her kindness while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye”.
A new official photo of the Queen was released last night to mark the occasion, along with a message from the woman of the hour.
She said: "Thank you to everyone who has been involved in convening communities, families, neighbours and friends to mark my Platinum Jubilee, in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth.
"I know that many happy memories will be created at these festive occasions.
"I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last seventy years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm."
The beautiful photo showed the Monarch at her Windsor Castle home, sitting on a cushioned window seat with the historic residence’s famous Round Tower visible in the distance.
Her hands are resting on her lap and her hair curled in its familiar style, while dressed in a dusky dove blue Angela Kelly coat made of wool Charmelaine.
The shiny pearl and diamante scalloped beading, embroidered around the collar and cascading down front trim, is perhaps seemingly a nod to her historic Platinum anniversary.
The image was taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie in the Victoria Vestibule in the Queen’s private apartments at Windsor.
