INSIDE THE QUEEN'S FAREWELL DINNER

Queen Elizabeth II gathers loved ones as her 70-year reign nears an end

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Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne were celebrated in style. During a special four-day bank holiday weekend, more than 2,400 public events were held in commemoration across the U.K. - including the June 2 Trooping the Colour, where 1,500 military personnel and 350 horses marched past London's Buckingham Palace as the monarch and family members watched from a balcony.

But Life & Style has learned that amid the Platinum Jubilee fanfare, the queen, 96, secretly threw a much more intimate affair for relatives. Prince Andrew, 62, Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 40 each of whom were left out of the official parade photo op - along with Her Majesty's other children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren scored invites to a private family dinner held at the palace later in the day. "The queen plans to really take a step back after the Jubilee, and the dinner was the beginning of that transition," reveals an insider. "She loves being with her family and wants to do more of that."