The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee takes place this June 2012 and celebrates 60 Years of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the State and the Royal Family, and Monarch of the British Isles and the Commonwealth countries.
To mark the Diamond Jubilee, the UK government is planning a four day Jubilee Weekend from the 2nd June to 5th June. The normal May bank holiday Monday is being moved to Monday 4th June and with this there will be and extra Bank Holiday on Tuesday 5th June 2012 to celebrate the Queens Jubilee.
The Epsom Derby Festival is the official opening to this year’s Diamond Jubilee weekend celebrations, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the II will attending the second day of the festival The Queen’s filly, Set to Music, will run in the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup, which has been specially moved to Derby Day from its traditional Ladies Day (June 1) spot.
A host of exciting Queens Jubilee London events will take place throught the Jubilee weekend, including a flotilla of over one thousand boats making their way along the Thames for the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on Sunday the 3rd of June between 2 and 6 pm. The Jubille Pageant will start upriver of Battersea Bridge and finish downriver of Tower Bridge with more than a million people expected to line the banks of the river to watch the unique spectacle.
The Big Jubilee Lunch will also take place on Sunday the 3rd of June, it is an annual occasion where people across the UK come together and have lunch with their neighbours and friends.
As part of the Jubilee events taking place, Greenwich in southeast London will be granted Royal Borough status. This honor has been granted by the Queen to mark the longstanding connections of Greenwich with the Royal Family since the Middle Ages. Greenwich will be one of the six boroughs to host the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Her Majesty, The Queen came to the throne on February 6th 1952, however her official coronation did not take place until June 2nd 1953. The Queen will celebrate as the second longest reigning monarch in Britain after Queen Victoria.
The Jubilee weekend schedule of events:
Saturday 2nd June - The Queen will attend the Epsom Derby.
Sunday 3rd June - The Big Jubilee Lunch and the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
Monday 4th June - Concert at Buckingham Palace and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Beacons.
Tuesday 5th June - Service of Thanksgiving and Carriage Procession