Prince Charles has paid tribute to the Queen, telling those gathered at the Platinum Jubilee concert that “what really gets my mother up in the morning is all of you”.
Speaking at the end of the Buckingham Palace gig, the Prince of Wales said Her Majesty has been “with us in our difficult times”.
More than 30 members of the Royal Family gathered for the party, although the Queen was unable to attend due to mobility issues.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who attended the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday – were also absent.
Diana Ross, Queen and Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys and Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder performed to a crowd of 22,000 people and a television audience of millions.
The event began with a surprise sketch showing the Queen having tea with Paddington Bear, and included video messages from global stars and images of the monarch projected onto Buckingham Palace
In his speech at the end of the concert, Prince Charles addressed the Queen as he said “You have met us and talked with us.
“You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, you have been there for us, for these seventy years.
“You pledged to serve your whole life – you continue to deliver. You continue to make history.”
In a poignant moment, he noted that Her Majesty’s “strength and stay” – Prince Philip – is “much missed this evening but I am sure he is here in spirit”.
In a reference to the paperwork a monarch must do, Charles spoke of the “red boxes, filled with government papers, at the end of the day”.
As he addressed the audience, pictures from notable moments of the Queen’s seven-decade reign were projected onto the palace, chosen by the prince himself.
There was the carriage ride down The Mall when Nelson Mandela made a state visit to the UK in 1996. Her Majesty’s historic handshake in 2012 with the former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuiness, also featured.
An image of the coronation, in 1953, was included too. Charles was just four at the time – the same age his grandson Prince Louis is now.
And there was a photograph of Her Majesty’s address during the pandemic, when she said: “We will meet again.”
“These pictures on your house are the story of your life – and ours,” Charles said.
The “scale of this evening’s celebration” and the “outpouring of warmth and affection over this whole jubilee weekend” are people’s way of “saying thank you”, Charles told the audience.
“Your family now spans four generations. You are our head of state. And you are also our mother. How things have changed. We think of all you have done to make the Commonwealth such an important force for good.”
William – my grandmother has been ‘alive for nearly a century’
Earlier, Prince William hailed the Queen’s commitment to the environment, telling those there: “Like her, I am an optimist.”
The Duke of Cambridge was speaking during the Our Green Planet part of the Platinum Party at the Palace.
Noting that his grandmother has been “alive for nearly a century”, he said that “decades of making the case for taking better care of our world has meant that environmental issues are now at the top of the global agenda”.
During her Christmas message in 1989, Her Majesty said the “future of all life on earth depends on how we behave towards one another and how we treat the plants and animals that share our world with us”.
Jubilee live: Stars including Diana Ross perform at Platinum Party at the Palace
Footage and audio from the Queen’s COP26 message was projected on to the palace, alongside images of the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales.
Her Majesty said last November: “It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet lives on through the work of our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William. I could not be more proud of them.”
William said that he, too, was “so proud” of his father and grandfather.
The duke added: “And I’m in awe of people like the great Sir David Attenborough who look at the beauty and power of our earth and then work to celebrate and preserve it.
“While no one’s grandmother thanks them for talking about their age, my own grandmother has been alive for nearly a century. In that time, mankind has benefited from unimaginable technological developments and scientific breakthroughs.”
The second in line to the throne continued: “And although those breakthroughs have increased our awareness of the impact humans have on our world, our planet has become more fragile.
“Today, in 2022 – as The Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee – the pressing need to protect and restore our planet has never been more urgent.
“But like her, I am an optimist.”
William said that “more and more businesses and politicians are answering the call” on climate change, which is “spearheaded by an amazing and united generation of young people across the world”.
He went on: “Together, if we harness the very best of humankind, and restore our planet, we will protect it for our children, for our grandchildren and for future generations to come.”