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Priyanka BoghaniJune 2, 2012 15:54
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee kicks off at the races (PHOTOS)
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations kicked off at the races on Saturday.
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations kicked off at the races on Saturday.
Celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee began at the races on Saturday, where the 86-year-old monarch greeted tens of thousands of well-wishers at the Epsom Derby, Reuters reported.
At least 130,000 were gathered at the Epsom racecourse to greet the royal motorcade and watch the races. She was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, her sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The festivities of the weekend were kicked off with a 41-gun salute fired by the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery at a Horse Guards Parade in London, said the Associated Press.
The races mark the beginning of a four-day celebration of her 60 years on the throne.
More on GlobalPost: The Diamond Jubilee: 5 Things to Know
The queen, a horse enthusiast, went to the paddock to inspect some of the horses, reported the BBC. The favorite, Camelot, won the Derby and the queen awarded the cup to trainer Aidan O'Brien.
Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins sang the national anthem and later said, "This is definitely a day I will never forget," according to the BBC.
According to Reuters, only one monarch before Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated a diamond jubilee, and that was the current monarch's great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria in 1987.
More on GlobalPost: Why so many Brits want to have high tea with Queen Elizabeth
Later in the weekend, she is scheduled to make a trip down the River Thames and attend a concert, all while accompanied by tens of thousands of her subjects, reported the AP.
CNN said dragon boats, a floating belfry as well as the royal barge will be among the 1,000 vessels floating along the Thames on Sunday.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/120602/queen-elizabeth-iis-diamond-jubilee-kicks-at-the-
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