Seventy years on the throne

From the balcony of Buckingham Palace, members of the British royal family watched—and young Prince Louis reacted to the sound of—a flypast by 70 planes from the Royal Navy, army, and Royal Air Force on June 2. The flypast was part of the annual Trooping the Colour parade that marks the official birthday of the British monarch and that this year was part of the platinum jubilee celebrations honoring Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign. Throughout the four-day jubilee, Prince Louis drew attention with quirky facial expressions caught on camera. Mike Tindall, husband of Prince William’s cousin Zara Tindall, attributed the behavior to a sugar high. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the celebration proved popular with Americans, as two specials related to the jubilee were among the 20 highest-rated television programs for the week of May 30 to June 5. On ABC, the “Party at the Palace” televised concert and jubilee event ranked 14th, according to Nielsen figures, and a CBS News documentary on the queen came in at No. 18.