Amidst the nationwide celebrations over the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth's reign, as it is politely called, Britain is confronting deep divisions within its royalty, within government, and among the people themselves over the very jubilee celebrations.

Without a doubt, Britain is celebrating as it has not in a long time. This has been a long weekend of pomp and pageantry, of parties and processions. On ceremonial occasions, on occasions people have created themselves, millions have dived into celebrations of a once in a lifetime event. These have come not just because the Queen is still the queen 70 years on, but because she is much liked. Few have ever had much to say otherwise.

Britain is united too in wishing her well. She missed the Thanksgiving ceremony at St Paul's on Friday because attending the Trooping the Colour ceremony a day earlier was said to have exhausted her. She has missed also the Derby, a great loss to her given her passion for horses. The Archbishop said at the Thanksgiving ceremony she missed that the Queen was still "in the saddle." She is not there very comfortably though.

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Just about everyone in Britain wants not to think that the Queen is 96. And trying to think that for the royal family, that still not be very old. Her mother lived to be 101. What Britain would like really to see four years on are celebrations for Her Majesty’s 100th birthday.

Divided

For now, the Queen is said to be resting as she presides over a divided family and government. The split within her own family has been placed in public view. Absent from the royal balcony at Buckingham Palace was her disgraced and nearly disowned son Prince Andrew undercover that he was down with Covid. Absent from the balcony was also her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan. The official word from the Palace was that only "working royals" were in attendance.

Harry and Meghan were much cheered as they walked into St Paul's Cathedral holding hands. But their position in royalty was made brutally clear. They were relegated to the fourth row, at the far end from the favoured brother in the line of succession, Prince William and his wife Kate. Their father Prince Charles blew kisses at Kate and looked studiously away from Harry.

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Prince William entered ceremonially late and he too refused to acknowledge his brother sitting inside the hall on the relative back seat. Harry could be seen craning to catch a glimpse of William. The royal split was that nakedly evident.

Government

It was not the only split that emerged at St Paul's. A very large section of the crowd outside booed Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he entered with his wife Carrie. Leaders are used a less than enthusiastic applause from voters who did not make them their first choice. But the booing and whistling at the moment of Thanksgiving at St Paul's for the monarch expressed very much more than passive unpopularity; it was the expression of angry dislike, hate even.

Partygate has left the nation divided, and the ruling Conservative Party divided as it has not been for a long time. The most immediate threat to Boris Johnson’s leadership from Partygate appeared to have passed earlier. But expressions of opposition from his own MPs have been rising. Twenty-eight have written to demand a no-confidence vote, and 18 others have criticised him publicly, without disclosing whether they have written or not in order to seek a no-confidence vote.

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That number of demands has to cross 54 for a vote to take place, and some are expecting a vote as early as next week. But crossing the line for a change of leadership seems distant. That would need at least 181 MPs voting against Boris Johnson in a leadership contest, with no credible challenger in sight yet.

And no one is losing sight of yet further division over royalty itself. Amidst the many thousands celebrating at the palaces and beyond, many thousands have been rushing to get away from Britain resulting in unprecedented travel chaos. The British are clearly divided over the extent of their adulation for royalty, even for the Queen. A cartoon by Matt in the Daily Telegraph has an airline ticketing agent declaring that the airline has cancelled 70 flights in recognition of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

— London Eye is a weekly column by CNBC-TV18’s Sanjay Suri, which gives a peek at business-as-unusual from London and around.

Read his other columns here