‘My heart is with you all’ and PM ‘toxic for Tories’

The front of the Daily Mail is filled with a close-up photo of the Queen from her appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The paper’s headline quotes her message to the public: “My heart has been with you all”.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Queen’s decision to greet well-wishers – despite having had to miss the previous two days of events – was “the most moving of finales” to the festivities.

It argues that “for all the pomp and pyrotechnics” of the four-day celebration, the Queen may have derived most pleasure from seeing people getting together to enjoy street parties across the UK.

The Times highlights the royals who appeared on the balcony with her – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children.

“The implication of that line-up was unmistakable,” the paper suggests, adding: “This is the Crown, and these are the people who matter. Heir apparent, second in line, third in line.”

In a front page editorial, the Sun states simply: “What a wonderful weekend it was”.

The paper lists highlights of the four day celebration, including what it describes as “the Queen’s brilliant comic timing with Paddington” and the use of a hologram of her in the gold state coach during the Jubilee pageant.

It concludes that the “whole show was a triumph” and adds: “How thankful this country has been to be served with such dignity and duty for the past 70 years”.

The Daily Mail lifts the lid on how one of the best-loved moments of the weekend, the Queen’s appearance with Paddington, came about.

A source tells the paper the project was so secret that not even Prince Charles or Prince William knew about it, although “Her Majesty was involved from the start”.

The script came about through “mutual agreement on what would work best”, and the sequence was filmed at Windsor Castle in March.

The i leads on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, reporting that Conservative rebels have accused government whips of “blackmail and threats”, ahead of a possible confidence vote in his leadership.

An unnamed senior Tory is quoted saying the threats have been “horrific” and that some of the party’s MPs who won their seats in 2019 are “too afraid” to submit letters of no confidence.

The Guardian reports that Mr Johnson’s allies have now accepted such a vote will happen, and are focusing on making sure he wins it.

The paper has been told by a Downing Street source that the PM will not resign, even if he wins by only a narrow margin.

Finally, the Financial Times reveals that many UK drinkers seem to be losing their taste for stronger beers.

The paper reports sales of low or no-alcohol beers have almost doubled in the past five years – to more than £450m in 2021.

It’s partly the result of people becoming more health conscious, but also because improvements in technology mean the brewers can make the drinks taste better, the paper says.