A delighted Queen has taken centre stage at her historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations as she greeted crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony, surrounded by her family. Huge cheers erupted from the thousands of well-wishers packed on to The Mall in central London as the monarch emerged for the special flypast after Trooping the Colour. Eighteen royals including the Queen stepped out to watch the high-profile flypast, with the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis flanking the monarch.