A plane carrying Queen Elizabeth II was forced to redirect from its original landing zone after it encountered an electrical storm.
The queen, who is celebrating 70 years of her reign with a platinum jubilee celebration planned all over the country, was flying out of North West London before heavy winds, rain, hail and even lightning forced the aircraft to divert.
According to The Daily Mail, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed that while the Queen’s plane did have to abort a landing attempt but there were no safety concerns for the monarch.
The publication even reported that the queen’s private jet circled London and the surrounding areas for 15 minutes before a suitable break in the weather made a successful landing attempt possible.
Queen Elizabeth II, now 96 years old, is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her Platinum Jubilee is the first of its kind with celebrations on a royal scale, featuring millions of participants around Britain and climaxing in a TV spectacle expected to be watched by a billion worldwide.
The celebrations culminate on Sunday with the “Platinum Jubilee Pageant” – a public parade through central London. Around 10,000 people are involved in a musical and creative display of how British society has changed since the queen began her rule over what was a very different country in 1952.
Then, the coronation sparked a boom in sales of television sets. As of today, a billion viewers are expected to tune in around the world to watch Sunday, climaxing with Ed Sheeran singing “God Save the Queen”.