The Platinum Jubilee weekend schedule has been released, with the festivities just over a week away. The following is a schedule of activities and celebrations as the nation commemorates the Queen’s 70 years as monarch:
Thursday, 2 June
10:00 AM – The Queen’s Birthday Parade, Trooping the Colour
10:30 AM – Members of the royal family depart Buckingham Palace for the parade ground. The military display will be followed by a balcony appearance by the Queen, as well as prominent royals including the Cambridge children, who will be treated to a special flypast.
9:25 PM – Members of the royal family arrive to witness the lighting of the palace’s main beacon, a 21-meter-high Tree of Trees monument. Over 3,000 beacons will illuminate across the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.
Friday, 3 June
11:00 AM – The royal family begins to arrive at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Thanksgiving ceremony.
12:25 PM – Members of the royal family then attend a Guildhall reception hosted by the Lord Mayor
Saturday, 4 June
5:30 PM – The Epsom Derby takes underway. On Derby Day, the Queen and her family are anticipated to arrive at the racecourse, where she will be greeted by a guard of honour comprised of up to 40 of her former and current jockeys.
7:40 PM – The royal family arrives for the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace concert.
8:00 PM to 10:30 PM – The open-air concert in front of the palace, featuring Queen Plus Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, and Diana Ross, is broadcast live on BBC One.
Sunday, 5 June
Street parties and Big Jubilee Lunches are staged across the country.
2:30 pm to 5:00 pm – The Jubilee Pageant takes place in central London, with a 3km carnival procession featuring a cast of thousands including puppets and celebrities and tributes to the seven decades of the Queen’s reign. It will move down to The Mall and past the palace.
The finale will feature Ed Sheeran performing, and the singing of the national anthem in front of the Queen’s official residence.
The four-day bank holiday is one of the most-awaited events that will be witnessed not just in the UK but in most parts of the world. The Queen is not just the country’s longest-reigning monarch, but also the world’s longest-serving sovereign.