Pop royalty and Paddington star at Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert

The Queen made a surprise appearance in a comedy sketch with Paddington Bear during a star-studded Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace.

Paddington joined the monarch in the recorded sketch before pop band Queen opened the musical performances.

Diana Ross, Sir Rod Stewart and Duran Duran were among the other big names.

The Queen did not watch the Platinum Party at the Palace in person, however, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were also not in the royal box.

The 96-year-old monarch has been experiencing mobility problems in recent months and also pulled out of Friday's thanksgiving service and missed the Derby at Epsom earlier on Saturday.

But in an echo of her appearance in a sketch with James Bond for the London Olympics a decade ago, she had pre-recorded a two-and-a-half minute comedy segment in which she offered tea to Paddington, and showed him a marmalade sandwich she keeps in her handbag.

A Buckingham Palace statement said: "While the Queen may not be attending the concert in person, she was very keen that people understood how much it meant to her and that all those watching had a great time."

The crowd cheered as the Queen and Paddington appeared on the big screens

In the short film, the Queen and Paddington tapped their tea cups to the beat of Queen's We Will Rock You as the regally-themed band, with their US singer Adam Lambert, began performing the hit, accompanied by 34 Royal Marine drummers.

Guitarist Brian May appeared on the Victoria Memorial monument, 20 years after he famously performed on the palace roof for the Golden Jubilee concert.

Queen guitarist Brian May performed under the gaze of Queen Victoria on the Victoria Memorial

It is hard to know what the Queen would have made of it all.

We do know her favourite songs predate the rock era. A playlist of her top 10, released to mark her 90th birthday in 2016, includes Dame Vera Lynn's White Cliffs of Dover and Fred Astaire's Cheek to Cheek alongside hymns and songs from musical theatre.

So she probably would have enjoyed Andrea Bocelli's Nessun Dorma and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's medley of theatre hits more than Sigala's Came Here With Love.

But, as Prince Charles pointed out towards the end of the two-and-a-half hour extravaganza, that wasn't necessarily the point.

Read Mark's full review.

The event included speeches from the Duke of Cambridge and the Prince of Wales, who joked that his mother was "watching the celebrations with much emotion, having I hope finished her marmalade sandwich".

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George Ezra dropped a line from his lyrics referring to "the day that I die"

Sir Rod Stewart, Craig David, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, Andrea Bocelli and Elbow were among the other artists who took to three stages built outside the palace, with the show closed by Ross's first UK performance for 15 years.

Sir Rod sang his 1983 hit Baby Jane and members of the Royal Family waved flags and sang along as he performed Neil Diamond's crowd-pleasing Sweet Caroline.

The rock legend was accompanied by three backing singers wearing red, white and blue dresses, while Sam Ryder, who recently came second for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, performed in a diamante union jack suit.

George Ezra performed his hit Green Green Grass, but omitted the final line of its chorus to say "you better throw a party" instead of the usual "you better throw a party on the day that I die".

Other current pop stars on the bill included Mimi Webb, Celeste and Jax Jones. A crowd of about 22,000 watched the concert in person, plus millions more on TV.

The event also included a celebration of West End musicals featuring Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and the casts of a string of shows.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a celebration of stage musicals

Dance troupe Diversity performed a routine to a number of British songs from the Queen's 70-year reign, including The Beatles' She Loves You, the Bee Gees' Night Fever and David Bowie's Let's Dance.

A performance of Your Song, recorded by Sir Elton John in the red drawing room at Windsor Castle, was projected onto the front of the palace, as were other spectacular visuals as night fell.

Images of the Queen were projected onto the front of the palace

Olympic athletes Tom Daley and Jessica Ennis-Hill appeared on stage, while broadcaster and author Stephen Fry told the crowd: "We are all Elizabethans, and that is a wonderful thing to be."

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran and Sir Cliff Richard are due to be among the stars appearing at Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London on Sunday.

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