enjoying the ride george, charlotte and louis made their debut appearance in a royal carriage at the trooping the colour parade. more than 3,000 beacons have been lit up around the country and the commonwealth to mark the queen s reign. but it s been announced that after experiencing some discomfort the queen now won t attend a service of thanksgiving at st paul s tomorrow. also tonight: ukraine urges the west to step up the delivery of weapons as fighting intensifies in the east of the country. and 17 wickets fall on the first day of the first test between england and new zealand at lords the match is finely balanced. good evening from buckingham palace, which as you can see is lit up with images of the queen throughout her long reign. it s been a momentous day here, with huge crowds cheering for her majesty as the first of four days of the platinum jubilee celebrations got under way. it began with the trooping the colour parade and was followed by a spectacular fly past
general election comes into view. this is in every respect a momentous day. in the house of lords, look at the magnificence of the chamber. such expectation. the peers and guests have already started to arrive to secure their seats for the biggest event in the parliamentary calendar. you don t get in if you appear without the suitable attire. it is a case of first come, first served as well. once on the throne, there it is, the monarch s throne and the consort of s thrown beside it. the king will unveil the government s legislative programme for the session ahead. it is a political moment and a first for rishi sunak on his first state opening as prime minister. we will be discussing all the wider political context later in the programme. once the imperial state crown is on, the political gloves are well and truly off and we will get a real sense of the battle lines over the next year or so, the issues that will win or lose the election. so to explore what all of this, and the
back to school for millions of pupils in england for the first time this year after months of home schooling. and the daughter finally allowed to visit her mother for the first time in a year as care homes allow one person in. and coming up on bbc news. still significant gaps between men and women s prize money in some sports but a bbc study finds the overwhelming majority now offer parity at the top level. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the duke and duchess of sussex have made damaging and shocking claims about life in the royalfamily as they opened up to oprah winfrey in a long and wide ranging interview. meghan says she felt so lonely and unsupported that she contemplated taking her own life at one point. and she raised allegations of racism, saying an unnamed member of the royalfamily had questioned what colour her baby s skin would be. prince harry spoke candidly of the deep divisions in his family and said he felt very let down by his father. here
women around the world gather to mark international women s day, a global event to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. good evening. the duke and duchess of sussex have made damaging and shocking claims about life in the royal family as they opened up to oprah winfrey in a wide ranging interview. meghan says she felt so lonely and unsupported that at one point she contemplated taking her own life. and she made an allegation of racism she said an unnamed member of the royalfamily had questioned what colour her unborn baby s skin would be. for his part, prince harry spoke candidly of the deep divisions in his family and said he felt very let down by prince charles. here s our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. whatever the palace expected, the reality was worse with meghan describing uncaring attitudes and a racist remark from a member of the royal family. it almost broke her. were you thinking of harming yourself, having s
the couple did express their admiration and respect for the queen. buckingham palace has yet to respond to the allegations made. prince harry also said he felt let down by his father prince charles, who at one point was refusing to take his son s calls. also tonight. millions of children went back to school today following months of lockdown and home schooling. in england s care homes, one nominated person can now visit a loved one. we meet some of those reunited after many months. and the schoolgirl left for dead by the taliban who went on to win a nobel prize has landed a multi million pound television deal. and coming up in sport on bbc news. fourth placed chelsea maintain their unbeaten record under thomas tuchel jorginho with a penalty in a 2 0 win over everton. good evening. we start tonight with the story that s dominated news headlines around the world. the royal family and its advisers are reeling from a list of damaging allegations made by the duke and duchess of