Plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend have been unveiled and there’s one break from tradition.
In the summer, there will be a four-day bank holiday weekend, from Thursday
2 June to Sunday 5 June. On 2 June, the Queen‘s annual birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, will be held and it promises to be a
spectacular event, with 1,200 officers taking part, together with Army
musicians and horses. Traditionally, the event takes place on the second
Saturday in June, but this year, it will be held on a Thursday.
For the past two years, Trooping the Colour has been a scaled-down
ceremony at Windsor Castle amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Queen watched the event solo in the castle’s quadrangle in 2020 but
was accompanied by her cousin,
the Duke of Kent, last year.
Members of the Queen’s extended family traditionally join Her Majesty on
the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the RAF flypast, as well-wishers lined
the streets of The Mall.
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The royals on the balcony at Trooping the Colour 2019
The day after this year’s parade, Friday 3 June, will see a Service of
Thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign held at St Paul’s Cathedral. And on Saturday
4 June, Buckingham Palace will play host to the BBC’s Platinum Party at the
Palace, a live concert featuring huge names in entertainment with a ballot for
tickets opening in February.
Sunday 5 June is the date of The Big Jubilee Lunch, with more than
200,000 neighbourhood events expected to take place.
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The Queen was joined by the Duke of Kent at last year’s ceremony in Windsor
The Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years on
the throne on 6 February, and events to mark her incredible milestone will be
taking place throughout the year.
The Platinum Jubilee Celebration from 12 to 15 May will see 1000
performers and 500 horses mark significant moments in royal history through a
90-minute performance that will include actors, musicians, and global
equestrian displays.
Monday also saw the launch of Fortnum & Mason’s Platinum Pudding
Competition, which aims to find a dish to dedicate to the Queen’s 70 years on
the throne. Recipes will be judged by an expert panel including Dame Mary
Berry.
