One of England’s most well-known historic landmarks joined the celebration of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with the projection of eight portraits of the monarch onto its stones ahead of the highly anticipated Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The prehistoric monument Stonehenge, which dates back over 5,000 years, is meant to show the 96-year-old queen across each of the decades of her reign, including the one starting now, according to organizers of the display.
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“We wanted to show different aspects of the Queen — of her personality, of her interests, and really show what a special lady she is,” English Heritage, which organized the display, told Sky News.
The images include the queen during her coronation in 1953, the queen riding a horse in the 1960s, and the queen wearing the color yellow during a trip to Mexico in 1975. A more recent image shows Elizabeth in 2017 at the Windsor Horse Show.
In a similar move, the National Portrait Gallery partnered with London’s Marble Arch to showcase six portraits of the queen, including one of her with her famous corgis, the monarch’s favorite breed of dogs. The queen’s love of corgis inspired the creation of 19 statues of corgis across London in honor of the Jubilee. The images on both monuments will remain every night until the end of the Jubilee weekend on Sunday.
Stonehenge is a top tourist destination in Wiltshire, England, and is widely believed by archaeologists to have been constructed as a burial ground between 3,000 and 2,000 B.C.
Elizabeth’s 70th Jubilee begins Thursday, June 2, with the Trooping of the Color, a military parade thrown every year for the queen’s birthday. Although she is expected to watch the parade from inside the palace, Elizabeth will not be receiving the royal salute or inspect the troops as she has done in years past. That responsibility will pass to the crown prince, Charles, along with his eldest son, Prince William, and Charles’s sister Princess Anne. There will also be a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday and a concert outside of Buckingham Palace on Saturday.
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It is not clear what ceremonies and events the queen will be present for this weekend, as she has been experiencing episodic mobility problems that have required her to use a cane in public. However, she is expected to make an appearance after Thursday’s parade by stepping out onto the balcony as tradition dictates, with the rest of the senior working royals. Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, will not be joining the queen on the balcony but will be present for the ceremony and parade.
The festivities are predicted to bring in over £3 billion and will include over 16,000 street parties across the country.
