The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

The 6th February 2022 marked 70 years since The Queen's accession to the throne. Her Majesty became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, after seven decades of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth.

The four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June marks the culmination of events to mark this unprecedented anniversary, with a series of spectacular events taking place in central London.

Stay up-to-date on what's happening when via the Platinum Jubilee website.

Read about how The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have been celebrating The Queen's extraordinary milestone.

Trooping the Colour

Today, 1,500 soldiers and officers, 400 musicians, 250 horses and 70 aircraft put on a display of military pageantry at Trooping the Colour celebration.

The military spectacle kicked off The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend, following months of training and preparation. 

With the streets lined with crowds waving flags, the parade moved from Buckingham Palace and down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, including members of the Royal Family on horseback and in carriages.

At Horse Guard's Parade, The Prince of Wales took the salute on behalf of his mother, and inspected members of the Household Division alongside The Duke of Cambridge and The Princess Royal.

The display closed with a special RAF flypast, watched by members of the Royal Family from Buckingham Palace balcony.

An EastEnders Jubilee Special

Spoiler alert!

On Thursday, The Prince and The Duchess joined the residents of Walford, as they featured in a one-off EastEnders episode to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

Catch-up on the full episode here.

Service of Thanksgiving, St. Paul's Cathedral

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, along with other members of The Royal Family, attended a Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral this morning.

The National Service marks The Queen’s 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. As the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, the service included bible readings, prayers and congregational hymns, to recognise and give thanks for The Queen’s reign, faith and lifetime of service.

The theme of public service was at the heart of today’s event, with over 400 people invited to attend in recognition of their contribution to public life at both a community and national level. Drawn from all four nations of the United Kingdom, this included NHS and key workers, teaching staff and representatives from the Armed Forces, charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups.

Platinum Party at the Palace

The stage lit up with a glittering group of performers from the worlds of music and dance ready to perform at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert at Buckingham Palace – shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Radio 2.

Catch up here: Party at the Palace

Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Craig David, Duran Duran, Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, and not forgetting a special surprise appearance from Paddington Bear, were just a few of the acts who performed their biggest hits in a star-studded tribute to Her Majesty’s unprecedented anniversary.

The evening pivotted around global themes that have been born, or evolved, during the breadth of Her Majesty’s reign due to extraordinary British and Commonwealth contributions including Fashion, Sport, The Environment, 70 Years of Pop Music and Musicals.

Twenty-two thousand people attended the event, including 10,000 tickets allocated in a public ballot and over 7,500 tickets for key workers, members of the Armed Forces, volunteers, and charities.

In a speech to his mother, The Prince of Wales said:

You have met us and talked with us. You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, you have been there for us, for these seventy years. You pledged to serve your whole life - you continue to deliver. That is why we are here. That is what we celebrate tonight. 

The Big Jubilee Lunch - The Oval

On Sunday, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended the flagship Big Jubilee Lunch at The Oval cricket ground. 

The Duchess has been Patron of The Big Lunch since 2013, a yearly event that, that since 2009, has brought millions of people together across the UK to celebrate with their local communities on the first weekend in June.

At The Oval, Their Royal Highnesses sat down with 450 guests, including Platinum Champions from across the UK, to enjoy a meal and celebrate the Jubilee. They were also entertained by local musicians and shown a felt art installation by Lucy Sparrow that looked good enough to eat!

The Platinum Champions Awards were launched by the Royal Voluntary Service to honour their Patron, The Queen, and the example she has set during her 70 years of service, and to recognise and celebrate outstanding volunteers across the country who are making a difference every day.

The Duchess said:

Congratulations to all our Platinum Champions – and my heartfelt thanks to you and to the millions of volunteers across the UK who give their time and talents so generously.

Across the world, tens of thousands of Big Jubilee Lunches took place with requests for information packs received from 81 countries. Other members of The Royal Family also supported the initiative with Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex attending a Big Lunch on the Long Walk in Windsor; and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie attending a Big Jubilee Lunch in Paddington.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations conclude with The Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which travelled from Whitehall, down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, along with other members of The Royal Family, thousands of spectators lining the streets, and millions watching around the world on TV, were treated to a spectacle that celebrated the 70 years of Her Majesty The Queen’s reign. 

The procession involved more than 10,000 performers and told the story, across four parts, of The Queen’s 70-year reign and our transforming society: 

Part 1 - For Queen and Country: For Queen and Country was a military spectacle, celebrating all three Services of the UK Armed Forces, along with military personnel from across the Commonwealth. It also featured the 260-year-old Gold State Coach, which carried The Queen during her Coronation in 1953.

Part 2 – The Time of Our Lives: This was a colourful and energetic display of British life since 1952, featuring dancers, fleets of vehicles and open-top buses packed with celebrities that represented popular culture from each decade over the last 70 years.

Part 3 – Let’s Celebrate:  The third act of the Pageant, harnessed the creativity, ingenuity, humour and spirit of community groups from around the UK.

Part 4 – Happy and Glorious: The finale took place around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace with the public and Pageant participants joining together to close out an incredible four days of celebrations. 

The Pageant delighted members of The Royal Family, young and old, as it passed by The Royal Box; with The Prince and his grandson, Prince Louis, taking in the spectacle together. 

The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace by The Queen and three other generations of The Royal Family.