Ed Sheeran is to perform his love song ‘Perfect’ at the Jubilee Pageant in a moving tribute to the Queen and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
At the finale of the carnival procession through the streets of London on Sunday, before the National Anthem, Sheeran will sing the romantic ballad.
As he performs, footage featuring images of the Queen and Philip will fill the giant screens around the stage.
The Queen and Philip were married for 73 years and spent much of his years devoted to royal duty.
The Queen has described him as her “strength and stay”.
He died at the age of 99 in April last year during the pandemic.
Other tributes to Philip will appear in the pageant, with a Bollywood-inspired interpretation of the Queen and the duke’s wedding day.
A 20ft (6m) wedding cake, housing a sound system playing classic Bollywood anthems and accompanied by 250 Bollywood dancers, will process down The Mall in a reimagining of their 1947 marriage celebration.
A representation of Philip’s beloved sailing boat Bluebottle will feature in the section devoted to the “Queen’s Favourites”, which will also include puppet corgis and horses.
The celebration of the Platinum Jubilee is the first major milestone the Queen has celebrated since his passing, having been with her since she became queen at just 25 years old.
It was Philip who broke the news to Princess Elizabeth that her father had died and she had acceded to the throne as Queen while they were away in Kenya on a tour.
At the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Philip was with the Queen for the river pageant in extremely wet and windy conditions, joining a flotilla of 1,000 boats along the Thames.
But the next day he was admitted to the hospital with a bladder infection and missed the Jubilee concert and service of thanksgiving.
In her most recent Christmas Day broadcast, the Queen poignantly reflected on a year of personal grief, saying there was “one familiar laugh missing” as she acknowledged the death of her husband.
She gave a personal tribute to her “beloved Philip” and remarked how his “mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him”.
After Philip retired from royal duties in 2017, he was said to have spent much of his time at Sandringham, enjoying the sanctuary as he painted and read.
But in the final period of their marriage the couple found themselves living together as they shielded from the coronavirus pandemic at Windsor Castle.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article