Jubilee 'still a time for celebration'

The June celebrations will go ahead as planned

The Queen's Jubilee celebrations could be enhanced rather than overshadowed by the deaths of her mother and sister, royal commentators believe.

Some pundits had worried that celebrations for the 50th anniversary of her reign would be marred by the deaths of the Queen Mother, and - seven weeks previously - Princess Margaret.

But officials say the arrangements remain unchanged, with planning quietly continuing in the background.

And royal author Robert Lacey told BBC News Online the monarch's bereavements could ironically make the Jubilee "more of a success than ever".

People will focus on the jubilee to express support for [the Queen]

Robert Lacey

"In the short term, it saddens and confuses people, but in the medium-term, by May, it will focus people's minds," he said.

"It will have a deepening effect. It will immensely deepen people's personal identification with the Queen as the person who suffered most during these sad events.

"People will focus on the Jubilee to express support for her, and to help her make it more of a success than ever."

Holiday weekend

A year-long programme of events marking the year, including a Royal Tour of several Commonwealth countries, has already begun.

The Jubilee Office said the Queen would "proceed as normal" with her next engagement - reviewing a parade of Rolls Royce and Bentley cars at Windsor at the end of the month.

But for the British public, the biggest celebrations are planned for the Bank Holiday weekend on 1-4 June, when garden and street parties will be held.

Charles Anson, spokesman for the Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust which is organisation the celebrations, said they would probably also go ahead as expected.

The Queen Mother's death, in an ironic way, gives us another reason to reflect and celebrate the last 50 years

Professor Ben Pimlott

He told BBC News Online the deaths would have "some impact, but not as much as perhaps people would think.

"Planning will continue quietly to ensure what is being done is appropriate.

"Further announcements will be held off until a more fitting time."

Another royal author, Professor Ben Pimlott, believes the celebrations will be a time for renewed reflection.

"The Jubilee is as much about the past as it is the future of the monarchy.

"It is a time of commemoration and the Queen Mother's death, in an ironic way, gives us another reason to reflect and celebrate the last 50 years.

"The June celebrations will obviously be tinged with sadness for the Queen, but it will also be an occasion for both her and the public to celebrate the monarchy, its past and its future."

'Custodian of monarchy'

Mr Lacey agreed that the passing of the Queen Mother, far from being the end of an era, provided an opportunity for reflection on the timeless values of the Royal Family.

The Queen has lost both her mother and sister this year

"It's a reminder that the principles she so embodied, such as duty and empathy with others, remain in the Royal Family - embodied in the Queen and Prince Charles."

The Queen will now become a stronger figure in people's minds as both "matriarch and figurehead" of the Royal Family, he said.

"It will be a double celebration, both of the monarch and the monarchy, with the Queen more clearly than ever the custodian of monarchy," he said.