Prince Philip in hospital, misses Jubilee concert
LONDON, England (AP) — British music royalty was set to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II yesterday with a Buckingham Palace concert featuring acts from throughout her 60-year reign. But the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, missed the concert after being hospitalised with a bladder infection.
Palace officials said the prince, who will turn 91 on Saturday, was taken to the King Edward VII Hospital in London from Windsor Castle yesterday as a precaution and will remain under observation for a few days.
On Sunday, Philip joined the queen and senior royals on the River Thames in cold and blustery weather for a pageant in honour of Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne.
The prince, who married then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, has cut back on official engagements in recent years but still maintains a busy schedule. He spent four nights in the hospital over Christmas after suffering chest pains and underwent a successful coronary stent procedure to clear a blocked artery.
He has been at the queen’s side during engagements across Britain to mark the jubilee, and appeared in good spirits as he travelled down the river on a barge Sunday, despite the harsh weather.
The palace said Philip was “understandably disappointed about missing this evening’s Diamond Jubilee Concert”, as well as a St Paul’s Cathedral service and other Jubilee events planned for today.
Officials said the queen would still attend the concert, which features a full hand of knights — Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Tom Jones — along with Dame Shirley Bassey, Stevie Wonder and younger artists including JLS, Kylie Minogue and Will.i.am.
Younger royals, including Princes William and Harry, are also due to watch the show, on a specially erected stage outside the palace.
The monarch’s own musical tastes are a mystery, and the Press Association news agency reported she brought a pair of earplugs to a similar concert a decade ago. According to The Guardian newspaper, the only song the queen has ever been known to request is “Some Enchanted Evening” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific”.
“It may not be that pop or rock is her favourite music, but she has certainly supported us over the years and in return, of course, we have supported her,” said Cliff Richard, who had his first hit in 1959. “I think she’d probably rather go and see an opera.”
The Jubilee was being marked around the world in members of the 54-nation Commonwealth of former British colonies.
One beacon will be lit in Kenya at the Treetops Hotel, where Queen Elizabeth was informed of her father’s death in 1952, making her the queen.
“We set out to have 2,012 beacons, which would have been the most ever for this type of occasion,” said Bruno Peek, pageant master of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee beacons. “To have reached double that figure reflects the national and worldwide respect and affection for the queen and the desire to celebrate her 60-year reign.”