There were scenes of unfettered joy and excitement in central London on Thursday as tens of thousands of well-wishers flocked to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday parade which kicked off the four-day nationwide celebration for her platinum jubilee.
Royal fans of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities crammed into the streets around Buckingham Palace to experience the party atmosphere and witness a unique event.
There were tears of joy as the monarch, 96, stepped on to the palace balcony to greet the crowds, months after she first appeared frail in public.
“I got emotional,” admitted Maggie Bromham to The National after watching the spectacle from outside the palace. “It’s an absolutely beautiful celebration and it’s the best thing to bring people together.”
The queen was aided by a cane as she took centre stage on the balcony, flanked by senior members of the royal family including Prince William, his wife Kate and their children, and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. Wearing sunglasses, the head of the royal family appeared in good spirits as she surveyed the throngs of flag-waving fans and watched the RAF flypast.
Britain is embracing the special extended bank holiday weekend of pomp, pageantry and star-studded festivities, in which celebrities and the public will gather in their millions in tribute to the monarch.
Ms Bromham, 40, who is originally from Kenya and now lives in Hertfordshire, said the queen holds a special place in her heart due to her connection to her homeland. The then-Princess Elizabeth was on a Commonwealth tour in Kenya when she received the news that her father had died and she had been handed the throne at the age of 27.
“The queen is the epitome of British culture,” said Ms Bromham.
“I brought the kids to be part of history. I dressed my daughters up as princesses. They will see it in the history books and I will be able to show them the pictures of them there.”
Dylan and Linda Jones from Bedfordshire made the 80-kilometre trek to Buckingham Palace with their daughters Lucie, 9, and Summer, 7, to give their children a chance to take part in history.
“I think it’s important for them to understand their heritage and be part of a British celebration,” Mr Jones told The National. “They are the next generation and it’s an opportunity for them to get to know about their heritage and their country.”
His wife said bringing their two little girls to witness the historic occasion would build on what they had already learnt about the monarchy in school.
“They had a little jubilee day and they have learnt about this,” she said. “We admire the queen for her hard work, duty, sacrifice and wisdom. I think she’s one of the last of that sort of calibre.”
Shortly before the Trooping the Colour parade got under way, police arrested several protesters who breached barriers. Pro-vegan, climate and animal rights campaign group Animal Rebellion said 25 of its supporters were involved in the disruption “due to the Crown's inaction on the climate emergency and their continued support for meat, fishing and dairy, a leading contributor to climate breakdown”.
Seventeen members of the royal family joined the queen on the palace balcony to watch the celebrations. Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and Prince Andrew were notable absences, as they are no longer working members of the monarchy.
On Thursday, the palace announced that Andrew, Duke of York, had tested positive for Covid-19 and therefore would not attend the jubilee service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday.
“After undertaking a routine test, the duke has tested positive for Covid and with regret will no longer be attending tomorrow’s service,” said a palace spokesman. It is understood Prince Andrew saw the queen in the last few days but has been undertaking regular testing and has not been in contact with her since he tested positive.
Prince Harry and Meghan were pictured chatting to relatives inside the palace before the show.
The queen was seen chatting animatedly with little Prince Louis, who covered his ears to shield himself from the roar of the planes during the flypast.
He was also spotted resting his chin on his hand and waving towards the sky as planes whizzed past overhead.
More than 70 aircraft including Apache helicopters, Typhoons and The Red Arrows took part in the six-minute platinum jubilee flypast. Planes from the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force soared down The Mall and over the palace as the crowds below erupted into rapturous cheers.
The queen donned a dusky blue coat with pearl and diamante trim by Angela Kelly and a matching hat. She topped off her look with pearls, white gloves and the Guards’ Badge.
The monarch wore the same coat in her official jubilee portrait which was taken at Windsor Castle and released by the royal household on Wednesday in honour of the monarch’s 70-year reign.
On Thursday evening, the queen will lead the lighting of the principal jubilee beacon in a special dual ceremony with Prince William. She will be at Windsor Castle to symbolically touch the Commonwealth Globe of Nations while her grandson Prince William, second in line to the throne, will be at Buckingham Palace.
It will form the focal point of more than 3,500 flaming tributes being set ablaze across the UK and the Commonwealth.
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Atalanta v Juventus (6pm)
AC Milan v Napoli (9pm)
Torino v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Sunday
Bologna v Parma (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Lazio (6pm)
Roma v Brescia (6pm)
Verona v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Udinese (9pm)
Lecce v Cagliari (11.45pm)
Monday
SPAL v Genoa (11.45pm)
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
6pm: Liwa Oasis (PA) Group 2 | Dh300,000 | 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 (PA) Group 3 | Dh300,000 | 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
More coverage from the Future Forum
New schools in Dubai
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Oppenheimer
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
