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When the Queen’s birthday pics were released last month featuring Her Majesty wearing a cape between two gleaming white fell ponies like some magical ruler of a faraway realm, there was speculation that she’d been allowed run amok with a ‘Game of Thrones’ boxset, or she’d caught the (endless) reruns of Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy on the telly.
If further confirmation were needed that the Queen was a fan of Westeros, the news that as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations a giant dragon will be hatched outside Buckingham Palace and then fly down The Mall seals the deal.
The huge dragon, an intricate kite-like puppet requiring 20 skilled puppeteers, is called ‘The Hatchling’ and has been created by Trigger Productions. It is larger than a double-decker bus (although not as big as a football pitch, the Isle of Wight or Wales – the other standard UK units of measurement). It has already spread its almighty wings (20 metres and counting, almost the width of The Mall) on a test flight in Plymouth back in August 2021 but will feature as part of the Jubilee Pageant on Sunday June 5 as one of a number of special events and celebrations for the extra-long bank holiday.
Once hatched, the dragon will be greeted by a dancer – a young woman with a flowing ribbon baton in hand – who will skip, dance and play with the dragon as they interact with the crowds around them. As the dragon proceeds on its journey, ‘intricate kites and long, flowing ribbons will unfurl at the dragon’s wings, adding a sense of flight, excitement and celebration’, according to its creators.
Rumours that Her Maj will be riding on the back of The Hatching are unconfirmed at this stage.
The Queen is also getting a giant Jubilee Tree of Trees from Thomas Heatherwick.
London’s pubs can stay open longer in celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee. God bless her.