Queen Elizabeth’s Plane Forced to Abort Landing Due to Lightning

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, experienced a spot of trouble on her way back to Windsor Castle from Balmoral ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend.

The 96-year-old monarch, who has recently been plagued with some mobility issues and somewhat poorer health, has been resting for a few days at her Balmoral private estate.

On Tuesday, she boarded a private jet to fly from Aberdeen to London, a journey that should have taken just an hour and a half.

The plane, a reconfigured Embraer ERJ-135, operated by Lux Aviation since 2020, left Aberdeen in a downpour and approached London in an electrical storm with heavy rain and hail.

According to the Sun's report, the pilot initially came down for the landing at RAF Northolt, but pulled back up into the air as the weather conditions were too bad to attempt a landing.

The 13-seater jet circled London for the next 15 minutes, which was enough for the weather to clear.

The second landing attempt was successful and uneventful.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that Her Majesty's Flight had an aborted landing due to lightning, but said that there were no safety concerns for the monarch.

An insider told the Sun, “In circumstances like this, you take no risks and it was right to abort landing during lightning strikes.”

The Queen had been returning from Balmoral, where she stayed for five nights before the week of her Platinum Jubilee.

She was driven from the Scottish estate's Cregowan Lodge to the airport, where she boarded the 86-foot jet sat in a hangar for privacy.

It had been due to land an hour and a half later in RAF Northolt, but instead circled above the city for 15 minutes after being told to go round.

After a safe landing, the monarch was spotted arriving back at Windsor with her beloved corgi by her side, as she prepares to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The 96-year-old was pictured giving a wave to a group of children as she rolled up to Windsor Castle in a Range Rover, her canine companion sitting on the back seat.

The Queen's return comes just two days before celebrations for her historic Platinum Jubilee kick-off.

It is the first time Britain has ever had a monarch on the throne for 70 years.

The commemorations start with a traditional Trooping the Colour military spectacle on Thursday involving more than 1,500 officers and soldiers and 350 horses from the Household Division.

The head of state is predicted to make an appearance on the balcony alongside other working members of the Royal Family, but it remains unclear which events she will appear at as she faces episodic mobility problems.

There is speculation the Queen will attend her great-granddaughter Lilibet's first birthday on Saturday after she cancelled plans to go to the Derby.