Crowds cheer Queen saluting Jubilee from palace balcony as historic festivities kick off

Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Thursday to a rapturous response from the tens of thousands of people gathered to see her, kicking off four days of public celebrations by millions in Britain and around the world to mark her historic Platinum Jubilee.

Honoring the 70-year reign of this beacon of constancy at the head of the British state, this four-day extravaganza got going on Thursday with the Trooping of the Colour, an annual military review that has marked the sovereign’s official birthday since 1760.

Accompanied by her cousin Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Her Majesty appeared on the balcony to take the salute from the Trooping of the Colour.

Despite mobility issues over the past year, Her Majesty is expected to appear once again on the balcony of Buckingham Palace along with the working members of her family at the end of the event, when 70 aircraft are set to roar overhead.