THE Queen has freed up her diary to attend a possible first birthday party for Lilibet — Harry and Meghan’s daughter named in her honour.
Her Majesty, 96, is likely to miss her favourite sporting event, the Derby, on Saturday — the day her great granddaughter turns one.
The monarch has never met the tot whose first anniversary is set to be marked by Harry, 37, and mum-of-two Meghan, 40, at Frogmore Cottage a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle.
The couple, who caused upset when they “told, not asked” the Queen they were calling their daughter Lilibet, will spend the four-day Platinum Jubilee over next weekend at the residence.
Aides are making every effort to manage Her Majesty’s diary so as not to tire her.
She has been suffering “episodic mobility problems” for six months and uses a walking stick.
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Last week, she was chauffeured around the Chelsea Flower Show in a £62,000 buggy.
She has been at Craigowan Lodge, her Highlands bolthole with its own wheelchair-friendly lift on her Balmoral Estate.
Sources close to the Queen say it is becoming “increasingly unlikely” she will travel to Epsom for the Derby after all three of her horses pulled out of the race.
Efforts had been made to ensure she could get to the royal box on the big day but palace sources tell The Celeb Report it will be called off.
The Queen, who will remain in Scotland until the middle of the week, will also miss Thursday’s official Trooping the Colour salute.
She will instead appear twice on the Buckingham Palace balcony — once to receive a salute from returning guardsmen and then with family for the RAF flypast.
The Queen hopes to attend Friday’s Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in which she will appear with Meghan, Harry and disgraced son Prince Andrew, 62.
Before Covid-19 struck, the Queen had only missed the Derby twice — on a state visit to Sweden in 1956 and the 40th anniversary of D-Day in France in 1984.
It is the one major race in which she has never owned the winner during her 70-year reign.
Plans for a parade of her current and former jockeys, wearing the Queen’s purple, red and gold racing silks, along with a display of her racehorses, is still set to go ahead to the delight of spectators.
It is possible the Queen, whose pet name as a child was Lilibet, will meet Harry and Meghan’s daughter on the day.
She and Prince Philip first saw the couple’s son Archie, now two, at Windsor Castle in May 2019.
It is believed Lilibet, who was born in California, has yet to be christened.
Buckingham Palace did not want to comment on the Queen’s diary plans.
Other royals, meanwhile, will be joining community events to mark the Her Majesty’s 70-year reign.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will meet guests at a feast at The Oval in South London, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex will join members of the local community in Windsor.
JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
The shindigs are part of the Big Jubilee Lunches, which include events ranging from world record bids for the longest street party to back garden BBQs, organisers say.
More than 85,000 people will host the lunches, the official community celebration for the jubilee.
Images of Platinum Pudding and Scotch eggs will feature on a 20ft felt work by artist Lucy Sparrow that Charles and Camilla will view at the cricket ground. It will be displayed at Buckingham Palace.
Charles, 73, and Camilla, 74, will also celebrate with the EastEnders cast in a special of the BBC soap.
They will be seen attending a Big Lunch in an episode on Thursday.
Edward, 58, and Sophie, 57, will join Berkshire residents for their special lunch on the Long Walk close to Windsor Castle.
The route is being reinvented as “The Long Table” in celebration of the jubilee.
More than 600 Big Jubilee Lunches are planned in the Commonwealth and beyond — from Canada to Brazil, New Zealand to Japan and South Africa to Switzerland.
Brits will flood to Platinum Jubilee events nationwide and millions will be making getaways.
Drivers are being warned to expect delays on popular routes and the RAC reckons there will be 19.5 million leisure trips by road between Wednesday and Sunday.
TRAVEL CHAOS
A poll of 1,460 drivers’ travel plans revealed Friday will be the most congested day as day-trippers head out and families return from half-term breaks.
Traffic information supplier Inrix advised drivers to set off either before 6am or after 3pm to avoid the worst of the traffic.
Almost four in ten drivers told the RAC they will not be driving long distances.
Some 11 per cent blamed high fuel prices.
RAC traffic guru Rod Dennis said: “Drivers clearly see a double bank holiday this close to summer as a gift with so many millions eager to make the most of it.”
UK airports will also be busy with more than 10,000 flights departing between Thursday and Sunday — three times last year’s figure for the period when Covid travel restrictions were in place.
Thousands have seen half-term holidays disrupted as easyJet axed more than 200 flights to or from Gatwick over a ten-day period. Tui has also scrapped some flights.
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Network Rail, which often carries out engineering work at bank holidays, says most major lines will remain open during the jubilee.
Boss Andrew Haines said: “All routes into London’s major stations will be open. Demand will be high as people travel into the capital to celebrate this special occasion.”
