The queen was hailed with applause as her platinum anniversary celebrations began with a stellar horse extravaganza featuring some of the world’s leading performers.
Hollywood actors Tom Cruise and Lady Helen Mirren – again as Queen of England – led the team of artists who appeared at the first major event marking the Queen’s 70th anniversary.
Lady Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth I. Photo: Steve Parsons / PA
The audience rose to their feet, applauding and applauding as the monarch arrived at the arena near Windsor Castle for a musical and theatrical entertainment over the centuries called the Gallop Through History.
The event was organized by the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which has welcomed spectators for the past three days, including the Queen, who spent part of Friday touring the exhibition grounds after previously missing the state opening of Parliament.
Despite continuing mobility problems, the queen went to her place in the royal lodge after being ushered into the castle arena, escorted by cavalry divisions of the cavalry.
She was joined by the Earl and Countess of Wessex for the show, which reflects her lifelong passion for horses. An honor guard of three services, including the Coldstream Guard, the RAF Regiment and the Royal Navy, was on the scene of her arrival, which was signaled by the national anthem performed by military musicians.
Among the celebrities who took part in the show were Damien Lewis, Omid Jalili and Catherine Jenkins, in the star cast of British and international talent for Sunday’s performance, which was broadcast live by ITV.
Tom Cruise presented part of the show. Photo: Steve Parsons / PA
Cruz, best known for the action movie franchises Top Gun and Mission Impossible, told ITV presenters Philip Schofield and Julie Echingham that the queen “is a woman I admire a lot.”
Cruz said: “What she has achieved is historic. She has met with presidents, world leaders, people from all walks of life.
“Not only Americans, but the world knows dignity, devotion and kindness, I’ve always felt that way about her. Someone who understands her position and has endured it through a story that is simply exceptional for the last 70 years.
The queen sat in the royal box with a blanket on her knees and a scarf over her shoulders, while Jalili, the herald and narrator of the show, guided the audience through key historical moments.
Mirren, who won an Oscar for her role as queen in the film of the same name, played Queen Elizabeth I as the show began with a chronicle of events from the first Elizabethan era, from the Spanish Armada invasion to leading figures of the day such as William Shakespeare.
Highlights include the Royal Cavalry of Oman, filling the arena with a riding demonstration that makes the Queen smile, and the Royal Guard of Norway’s precision marching and rifle skills.
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