Queen Elizabeth II took center stage at the star-studded “Platinum Party at the Palace” tribute concert outside Buckingham Palace Saturday night — and stole the show even though she wasn’t there.
The beloved 96-year-old monarch opened the royal shindig with a surprise pre-recorded video in which she shared high tea with another beloved British celebrity — Paddington Bear.
“The opportunity to invite a famous bear to tea was just too much fun to miss,” a palace spokesman told the Sunday Times of London.
The mischievous, computer-animated character, voiced by actor Ben Whishaw, delighted the crowd with his typical, chaos-inducing antics — glugging tea straight from the spout and splattering cream all over a poker-faced Palace footman.
Onlookers roared as the queen finally, after years of mystery, revealed the purpose of her ever-present leather handbag: it’s where she hides her secret stash of marmalade sandwiches.
The skit ended with the duo tapping their teacups to the Queen classic “We Will Rock You” – a rhythm that segued seamlessly into a live performance by the storied British band.
Diana Ross, Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Alicia Keys, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rod Stewart and Andrea Bocelli, among other bold-face names, performed in a two-and-a-half-hour musical extravaganza to honor the monarch’s 70 unprecedented years on the throne.
A gaggle of royal family members, including Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; Prince George and Princess Charlotte joined the 20,000 Britons who snagged coveted tickets for the event — with millions more watching on the telly.
But Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were nowhere to be seen, spending the day privately with their children, 3-year-old Archie and 1-year-old Lilibet, who was busy celebrating her first birthday.
Both Prince Charles and Prince William made brief speeches.
“Your Majesty, Mummy,” the Prince of Wales, 73, began as he praised his mother’s “”lifetime of selfless service.”
“Your family now spans four generations,” he said. “We think of all you have done to make the Commonwealth such an important force for good. You continue to make history.”
After experiencing “discomfort” during Thursday’s Trooping the Colour parade, the queen deputized her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to appear on her behalf throughout the realm Saturday – while she followed the day’s Epsom Downs horse races “on the sofa, watching the TV in her comfy clothes,” granddaughter Zara Tindall said.
Royal fans were thrilled when 8-year-old Prince George and 7-year-old Princess Charlotte unexpectedly appeared with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Cardiff Castle in Wales for a rehearsal of a Platinum Jubilee concert.
It was the future Prince of Wales’s first public appearance there, giving the 90-minute visit a sheen of dynastic significance.
George’s scene-stealing little brother Prince Louis, 4, was not along for the trip.
After his meme-generating performance during Trooping the Colour on Thursday, Prince William joked with an onlooker, the boy could have done “anything” – including lying down on the floor for fun.