LONDON — Thousands of flag-waving fans gathered to watch British music royalty celebrate Queen Elizabeth II on Monday with a Buckingham Palace concert featuring acts from throughout her 60-year-reign. But the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, missed the concert after being hospitalized with a bladder infection.
Palace officials said the prince, who will turn 91 on Saturday, was taken from Windsor Castle to the King Edward VII Hospital in London on Monday as a precaution and will remain under observation for a few days.
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“I hope he’s OK,” said Paul McCartney, who was due to close Monday’s concert. “We all send our best wishes for a speedy recovery.”
Despite Philip’s illness, members of the royal family including Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princes William and Harry sat in a royal box to watch the show, performed on a specially erected stage outside the palace.
Some 12,000 contest winners sat in bleachers, while a huge crowd stretched down the Mall, the wide boulevard leading up to the palace.
The show opened in a blaze of sound and color, as the band of the Coldstream Guards joined Robbie Williams onstage for his hit “Let Me Entertain You.”
Officials said the queen would still attend the concert, which features a full hand of knights – McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Tom Jones – along with Dame Shirley Bassey, Stevie Wonder and younger artists including JLS, Kylie Minogue and Will.i.am.
On Sunday, Philip joined the queen and senior royals on the River Thames in cold and blustery weather for a pageant in honor of Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne.
The prince, who married the then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, has cut back on official engagements in recent years. He spent four nights in the hospital over Christmas after suffering chest pains and underwent a coronary stent procedure to clear a blocked artery.
He has been at the queen’s side during engagements across Britain to mark the jubilee, and appeared in good spirits Sunday.
The palace said Philip was “understandably, disappointed about missing this evening’s Diamond Jubilee Concert,” as well as a St. Paul’s Cathedral service and other jubilee events planned for today.
The monarch’s own musical tastes are a mystery, and the Press Association news agency reported she brought a pair of earplugs to a similar concert a decade ago. According to The Guardian newspaper, the only song the queen has ever been known to request is “Some Enchanted Evening” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific.”
Hundreds of fans get Allman’s autograph
MACON, Ga. — Hundreds lined up to get Gregg Allman’s autograph at a museum in the Macon house where members of the Allman Brothers Band lived early in the group’s career.
The Telegraph of Macon reports that the event Sunday at The Big House was the end of Allman’s book tour for his new autobiography.
The museum, which opened in 2009, sold $125 tickets to the event to help raise money for the tourist attraction near downtown Macon.
Museum officials say some ticketholders drove across the country for the chance to meet Allman.
Allman’s 24-year-old fiancee, Shannon Williams, was also on hand.
The marriage will be Allman’s seventh.
The house was the band’s unofficial headquarters in the early 1970s. It averages about 1,000 visitors each month.
Talk radio host will turn microphone over to Herman Cain
ATLANTA — Conservative talk radio host Neal Boortz announced his retirement Monday after four decades at the microphone, saying he will be replaced by former GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain.
Boortz said during his morning talk show that his last day will be Jan. 21, 2013, the day of the presidential inauguration. The 67-year-old Boortz said he is in good health and plans to enjoy retirement by traveling with his wife.
Boortz’s show is syndicated across the country through Atlanta’s WSB radio, drawing about 6 million listeners on 230 radio stations.
Cain, a 66-year-old Atlanta businessman and former WSB radio show host, dropped out of the presidential race in December after allegations arose of sexual improprieties, which he denied. He will take over Boortz’ timeslot and be distributed to the same radio stations.
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