The evacuation of the square in Central London rattled the capital on the third day of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. The police later said it was not related to terrorism.
Throngs of admirers cheered Queen Elizabeth II at her Platinum Jubilee appearance on Thursday, but she was unable to attend a service on Friday. Prince Charles, in a familiar role, played the understudy.
The prince’s conspicuous public appearance at the service for his father, Prince Philip, who died last year, sent an unmistakable message of support by a 95-year-old mother for her disgraced son.
The trip by Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, dramatized how rapidly Queen Elizabeth II is losing her grip on distant dominions where she is still head of state.