Queen’s Palace Rocks for Jubilee
Buckingham Palace rocked Monday night with screaming guitars, cheering fans and pop stars led by Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton in a concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 50 years on the throne.
An estimated 1 million people thronged the parks and roads around the palace, including thousands who waved the Union Jack flag in the plaza below.
The crowd cheered wildly, starting with the opening act of “The Party at the Palace”--guitarist Brian May of the group Queen, who stood on the palace roof and sang “God Save the Queen.” The audience was still hollering when the queen came out to address the crowd at the end of the concert, which closed the third day of the four-day jubilee.
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin went straight into “The Cup of Life” and then sang “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”
More than three hours later, the concert ended with McCartney singing a medley of Beatles classics. He sang some of the songs alone, some with rock stars from his generation, such as Clapton, Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker, and two at the finale with the many other performers from the gala.
When the music ended, the queen led the royal family on stage to thank the performers.
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