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Queen heads to Balmoral for short break ahead of Platinum Jubilee celebrations

The Queen has taken a short trip to her home in Scotland for a break ahead of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations next week. (Getty Images)
The Queen has taken a short trip to her home in Scotland for a break ahead of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations next week. (Getty Images)

The Queen has travelled to her private home in Scotland for a ‘break’ before the start of next weekend’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London.

The Queen made the journey to the Balmoral estate, in Aberdeenshire, for some well-deserved rest ahead of four days of celebrations which will mark the monarch's 70 years on the throne.

It is understood the Queen arrived at the private Scottish estate on Thursday evening, where she will stay for a short break before returning to Windsor and London ahead of the Jubilee events, which start with the Trooping the Colour on Thursday.

The Queen Balmoral
The Queen looked thrilled as she viewed the gardens at the Chelsea Flower show from her royal golf buggy on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

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Royal sources have said that the Queen often makes a short trip north of the border around this time of year, often staying for about a week.

The restorative break in the countryside is also thought to be part of the Queen's carefully planned schedule over the past few months, which will allow her to fulfil her public engagements after a rest.

The Queen, who turned 96 in April, has withdrawn from certain public engagements over recent months amid ongoing 'mobility issues', and senior members of the Royal Family have stepped in to represent the monarch on a number of occasions.

The Queen made it to a Platinum Jubilee performance  A Gallop Through History performance as part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (Getty Images)
The Queen made it to a Platinum Jubilee performance A Gallop Through History performance as part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (Getty Images)

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Her Majesty pulled out of the State Opening of Parliament due to her health, and Prince Charles read out the Queen’s speech for the first time this year.

She was also unable to attend Royal Garden Parties this year, held annually at Holyroodhouse and Buckingham Palace, due to the physically demanding nature of the events (the Garden Party requires the royal hosts to be on their feet for over an hour as they greet the hundreds of guests gathered on the Buckingham Palace lawn).

Instead, she was represented by a number of her children and grandchildren at the four events, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Royal Garden Party. (PA Images)
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined the Earl and Countess of Wessex to host the final of four Royal Garden Parties in May. (PA)

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Her Majesty was able to make it to the Royal Horse Show in Windsor last week, for a special Platinum Jubilee performance, to the opening of the new Elizabeth line in London, and to the opening day of the Royal Chelsea Flower Show this week, where she debuted her new royal golf buggy.

Next week, Her Majesty is expected to make several high-profile appearances at Platinum Jubilee celebrations over the four-day weekend, including a Service of Thanksgiving for her reign at St Paul's Cathedral and the Trooping the Colour ceremony, where fans hope to see her on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

She is also expected at the Epsom Derby on Saturday, according to organisers who have put measures in place to allow her to navigate the route to her box in comfort.

The Queen inspecting the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland as she took up her summer residence at Balmoral – where she is currently taking a 'short break' – in 2019. (Getty Images)
The Queen inspecting the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland as she took up her summer residence at Balmoral – where she is currently taking a 'short break' – in 2019. (Getty Images)

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It is thought that the Queen won’t attend all the events over the extended weekend, delegating some of the celebrations to the younger members of the Royal Family such as the Saturday night pop concert, headlined by Diana Ross, and street parties.

Unseen footage from the Queen's archive is also set to be aired in a BBC documentary about the monarch this Sunday in celebration of her 70 years on the throne, and is narrated by the Queen herself.

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen marks the first time filmmakers have been granted special access to hundreds of private home movies shot by the Royal Family, and will follow the monarch's life as a princess and queen through her own eyes and own words.

Watch: How the UK will celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee