An appearance on the palace balcony is a centrepiece of any major royal celebration, but for the platinum jubilee, there are sensitivities around some family members. so the queen has decided that only working royals willjoin her on the balcony. so cancelled in balcony terms are the duke of york and the sussexes. harry and meghan say they are coming to the jubilee, but they won t be on the balcony. the big question, of course, is how visible will the queen be throughout the four days of the jubilee celebrations. it all begins on thursday 2june with trooping the colour, at the culmination of which the royal family makes that balcony appearance. according to the palace, the queen plans to attend trooping, but a final decision will be taken on the day. on friday 3june, there will be a service of thanksgiving at st paul s cathedral. again, all the palace will say is that the queen plans to attend. on saturday 4june,
On saturday 4june, after the derby, there will be the platinum party at the palace, produced by the bbc, on a stage being built right in front of the palace. will the queen be there? it will be decided on the day. and then finally, on sunday 5 june, the gold state coach will be one of the main features in a jubilee pageant on the mall though the queen will not be riding in it. so, it is clearly the queen s intention to be at trooping the colour and the service of thanksgiving, and at the other events if she can. nicholas witchell, bbc news. four passengers have had a narrow escape after a plane crashed into a garden in texas. the aircraft had taken off from hobby airport in houston but within minutes, the pilot reported engine problems. he was trying to return to the airport when the plane came down just behind a row houses. came downjust