Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee 2022: Queen says she is 'deeply touched' by jubilee celebration

Queen Elizabeth II will be absent from a second Platinum Jubilee event after missing Friday’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The 96-year-old queen, who is marking 70 years on the throne, will not attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The queen is instead expected to watch the horse race on television at Windsor Castle, according to the palace.

Elizabeth attended Thursday’s Trooping the Color and a beacon lighting ceremony later that night, but decided not to attend Friday’s service after experiencing "some discomfort" during previous events.

The palace has previously said the queen suffers from “episodic mobility problems.”

St. Paul’s Cathedral, where royals and invitees gathered Friday for a National Service of Thanksgiving, is a familiar location for the royal family.

On Friday, they attended a church service at the cathedral for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years on the throne.

Though the 96-year-old queen was not able to attend, other members of the royal family were there, including Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge; and Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Take a look at these now and then pics from the queen’s Golden Jubilee service in 2002 at St. Paul’s Cathedral -- which marked the 50th anniversary of her reign -- and her service on Friday.

The queen’s Silver and Diamond Jubilees were also celebrated at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1977 and 2012, and marked her 25th and 60th anniversaries, respectively.

"For her silver jubilee in 1977, the queen rode in the Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to the cathedral.

The National Service of Thanksgiving has concluded after nearly an hour.

Following the service, the bells at St. Paul’s Cathedral will be rung for a continuous four hours with no breaks in between.

According to a press release, members of the St Paul’s Cathedral Guild of Ringers "will ring 'Stedman Cinques'" and "will be joined by Great Paul, the largest church bell in the UK," which weighs in at more than 16 tons.

The Great Paul bell was restored in 2021 and this will be the first time it has been rung for a royal occasion.

Royal family members will now head over to a reception at Guildhall, hosted by Vincent Keaveny, the Lord Mayor of the City of London and the City of London Corporation.

Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have entered St. Paul’s Cathedral to attend the service.

Several minutes after their arrival, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, also made their way into the central London cathedral.

Once inside the cathedral, Charles and Camilla joined William and Kate to form a royal procession before they took their seats for the service.

Other royal family members who already arrived include the queen's daughter, Princess Anne, and her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; their children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, and Zara's husband Mike Tindall; and Elizabeth's youngest son Prince Edward and his family.

Prince Andrew's children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, were also in attendance.

The royal family is attending the National Service of Thanksgiving -- which includes Bible readings, prayers and hymns intended to give thanks for the queen's 70-year reign -- without Elizabeth herself. Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that the queen would not attend in person after experiencing “some discomfort” at the Trooping the Color parade earlier in the day.