A Sunday June 3, 2012 photo from files showing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband Prince Philip watching the proceedings from the royal barge during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames in London. Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has been hospitalized with a bladder infection. The 90-year-old prince has been taking part in celebrations of the queen鈥檚 Diamond Jubilee. (AP Photo/John Stillwell, Pool, File)
LONDON 鈥� Queen Elizabeth II, closing four days of celebrations of her 60 years on the throne without her husband at her side, will make a rare address to the nation on Tuesday.
The broadcast at 1700 GMT (1 p.m. EDT) in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth follows a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul鈥檚 Cathedral, a lunch in a medieval hall and a carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace where the queen and her family will greet well-wishers from a balcony.
The two-minute address, recorded on Monday, will also be available on the Royal Channel on YouTube, the palace said. Other than the annual Christmas Day broadcasts, the 86-year-old monarch has rarely spoken directly to the nation.
The queen鈥檚 husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was hospitalized Monday for treatment of a bladder infection and will miss the final day鈥檚 events.
With most of Tuesday鈥檚 events indoors or under cover, there was less worry about the precarious weather, which has ranged from unseasonably cool to downright foul, as rain poured during Sunday鈥檚 grand procession of boats down the Thames.
Among the early arrivals at the cathedral were four women from Jedburgh, a Scottish town near the English border, who displayed a large Union Jack flag.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been saving for three years to come here,鈥� said Marion Kingswood, 69. 鈥淎part from the royal wedding, there鈥檚 been nothing like it. Sixty years is such an achievement.鈥�
Barry Dandy, 71, and his wife flew in from Sydney, Australia, to join in the celebrations.
鈥淭hey showed a preview of the River Pageant on Australian television and my wife said, 鈥業鈥檇 love to be there,'鈥� Dandy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been great to take part in the celebrations.鈥�
The Very Rev. David Ison, the dean of St. Paul鈥檚, said Philip would be remembered in the prayers.
鈥淲e were already going to say prayers for the Duke of Edinburgh and it will have an added poignancy as we hope he will make a swift recovery,鈥� Ison said.
A few anti-monarchist demonstrators were outside the cathedral with slogans including 鈥�9500 Nurses or 1 Queen?鈥� and 鈥淩epublic Now!鈥� Royalists in the crowd responded noisily, chanting 鈥淕od save the queen!鈥�
Along the parade route, 70-year-old Margaret Barker said Philip鈥檚 absence would put a damper on the queen鈥檚 day.
鈥淪he鈥檚 got the rest of her family around her but when you think of all the planning there鈥檚 been for this and how long they鈥檝e been together, it seems very sad that he can鈥檛 be with her today,鈥� Barker said.
Tourist Cassandra Past, 20, from New York, said she expected the queen to keep her chin up despite worries about her 90-year-old husband. 鈥淪he is the queen, and she sort of has to put on a good face for her country and her people,鈥� Past said.
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AP鈥檚 David MacDougall contributed to this report.