🇬🇧 The royal party has begun! With a familiar swirl of military color and precision, Britain kicked off Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations with the Trooping the Colour parade that saw the 96-year-old monarch appear – twice – for the first time in years on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Dressed in a pale blue coat dress and hat, holding a cane and wearing shaded glasses, the queen looked happy and well, and even talked to one of her great-grandchildren as she stood on the balcony. She appeared first with one of her royal cousins, the Duke of Kent, 86, to take the salute of her troops, and then with her extended family of "working royals" as RAF jets roared overhead in the traditional end of the Trooping parade. Fighter jets flew in formation to create the number '70' in the sky over the palace, acknowledging the queen's unprecedented 70 years on her throne. Also for the first time, the queen "took the salute" as ranks of scarlet-clad mounted and marching British soldiers passed below and huge crowds of people on The Mall shouted and cheered their affection for their long-serving "Platinum Queen." Even more #platinumjubilee events are ahead, check out the link in our bio to see what else is planned for the four-day celebration. 📸: @gettyimages