The age progression video begins with a shot of Lilibet at age 1, looking directly into the camera with her blonde hair curled in multiple directions as she wore a white dress and a pearl necklace. It soon evolves to show her at age five, holding someone’s hand as she smiles softly in a pink dress. By the age of 10, she was pictured looking more stoic as her father, George VI, took flight. From there, the video picks up speed, showing her at age 14 with a barrette holding her hair back as she wears a light-colored dress to show her five years later in her uniform as a Petty Officer in the British forces. hair up under her hat as she looked proud to have served her country. The next photo in the video jumps to a few years later and shows Elizabeth smiling in her crown and jewels as she takes the throne as queen at the young age of 25. It then shows her throughout her seven decades on the throne – at ages 32, 36, 41, 46, 51, 56 and 61, beaming at the camera at every age. She eventually transformed into the old granny everyone loved, still wearing her crown and jewels in the late 80s, smiling big for the camera every time, until the last photo taken just last year, when she wore a violet jacket covering a floral top with a matching sun hat. The video was originally posted on September 8, the date of Her Majesty’s death in Scotland, by an Instagram account dedicated to photos of the royal family. It was captioned: “RIP Her Majesty, Thank you for your service as Queen for 70 years and for all you have done for Britain and the Commonwealth.” But the video made the rounds again on Sunday when it was tweeted by @HrrysGreySuit and shared by BBC presenter John Kay ahead of the Queen’s funeral. A viral age progression video charts the Queen’s life from a 1-year-old living in London in 1927 through her seven decades as monarch, ending with a photo of Her Majesty taken just last year The video comes as dignitaries from around the world head to Buckingham Palace to pay their respects ahead of the Queen’s funeral tomorrow. Newly appointed King Charles III and Queen consort Camilla were seen greeting US President Joe Biden, who arrived in a private car, and French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, for a glitzy but somber event – as not has happened. it emerged from the death of Queen Elizabeth II’s father, George VI, in 1952, more than 70 years ago. Irish President Michael D Higgins was also pictured disembarking from a coach with Spain’s former king and queen husband Juan Carlos and Sofia, as well as Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, before the British monarch. The couple met hundreds of dignitaries, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Prince and Princess of Wales and other working royals, including the Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Rear-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester joined Charles and the Queen Consort in the company of guests including Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and the kings and queens of the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Many dignitaries had already seen the Queen’s coffin in the ancient heart of Parliament, having been given VIP timing, as ordinary mourners queuing through the night paid their respects with the leaders of the free world. Prime Minister Liz Truss and government ministers were also seen heading to tonight’s glitzy state reception held in the picture gallery and state apartments and featuring drinks and canapés. Many also compared the Queen’s state funeral, which will be attended by 1,000s of world leaders, to Nelson Mandela’s 2013 memorial service in South Africa, which had to be staged due to the sheer volume of world mourners. Queen Elizabeth II’s grandchildren (clockwise from front centre) Prince of Wales, Peter Phillips, James, Viscount Severn, Princess Eugenie, Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor and Zara Tindall are keeping vigil President Emmanuel Macron (right) and his wife Brigitte (left) arrive for the glittering state reception which will be held at the Picture Gallery and State Apartments and will include drinks and canapés President Biden and First Lady Jill (both pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace) were seen standing on a VIP balcony looking down at the Queen’s coffin this afternoon, which is under constant guard and draped in flags Guests at the Queen’s funeral were asked to wear suits and morning dress rather than dresses and white tie, as would be expected at a normal state event at the King’s London home. But some were allowed to choose traditional clothes. Reports also say the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “uninvited” to a state reception for world leaders and foreign royalty this evening. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are believed to have received an invitation to the event, hosted by King Charles and the Queen Consort, earlier in the week. But the couple are now unlikely to attend after officials at Buckingham Palace insisted the reception was for working royals only, it is understood. The confusion over Harry and Meghan’s invitation suggests communication problems between the California-based couple and the royal family, according to the Daily Telegraph. After an apparent reversal of Harry’s right to wear military uniform despite not working royally. The Palace appears to have stepped in to allow Harry to wear his reggae to a 15-minute vigil at Westminster Hall yesterday. Harry had previously said he would wear a morning suit to all funeral events. The funeral of the only monarch most Britons know involves the biggest security operation London has ever seen. Authorities face the challenge of keeping 500 world leaders safe, without ruffling too many diplomatic feathers. Presidents, prime ministers and members of the right will gather outside before being bussed to the abbey – although an exception is being made for Biden, who is expected to arrive in his armored limousine known as The Beast. Another challenge is the sheer size of the crowd expected to gather around Westminster Abbey and along the route the coffin will travel after the funeral, past Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park. From there he will be taken by hearse about 20 miles to Windsor, where another 2,000 police officers will be on duty. Mayor Sadiq Khan said tomorrow’s state funeral was an “unprecedented” security challenge, with hundreds of thousands of people packing central London and a funeral guest list of 500 emperors, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and others leaders from around the world. “It has been decades since so many world leaders were in one place,” Khan said. “This is unprecedented … in terms of the different things we’re juggling.” “There may be bad people who want to harm individuals or some of our world leaders,” he told The Associated Press. “So we are working incredibly hard – the police, the security services and many, many others – to make sure this state funeral is as successful as it can be.” Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cuddy said the “hugely complex” police operation was the biggest in the history of the London force, surpassing the 2012 London Olympics. “Our response here in London will be proportionate, it will be balanced and officers will only take action where absolutely necessary,” he said. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley also said the aim was to keep the event safe, “and try to do it as discreetly as possible, because it’s obviously a formal occasion”. Metropolitan police officers are seen patrolling around Buckingham Palace on Sunday ahead of the Queen’s funeral Some members of the public camped out on The Mall near Buckingham Palace ahead of the funeral on Sunday Heads of state arrive at Buckingham Palace by coach to meet King Charles III in London – the only world leader believed to be arriving by other form of transport is US President Joe Biden who was allowed to come by presidential car – the Beast More than 10,000 police officers are scheduled to be on duty on Monday, with London officers joined by reinforcements from all 43 of Britain’s police forces. Hundreds of volunteer marshals and members of the armed forces will also act as stewards along the procession route. It’s just the most visible part of a security operation run from a high-tech control center near Lambeth Bridge, not far from Parliament. Street drains and rubbish bins are investigated and sealed. Tomorrow there will be police trackers on the rooftops, sniffer dogs on the streets, marines on the River Thames and mounted police on horseback. The flight of drones over central London has been temporarily banned and Heathrow Airport is grounding many flights so that aircraft noise does not disturb the funeral. The Queen is to be buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99. The service, which will be shown live on the BBC and ITV, as well as in 150 UK cinemas, is expected to be seen by up to 4.1 billion people worldwide. After the service at Westminster Abbey, the Queen’s coffin will be taken to Windsor, where a ceremony will take place tomorrow evening.
