TRENDING

The Platinum Jubilee: What is it and how can we celebrate it?

Contents

  1. What is the Platinum Jubilee?

  2. What date is the Platinum Jubilee?

  3. How many jubilees has the Queen had?

  4. What happens during the Platinum Jubilee?

  5. Which members of the royal family are attending?

  6. How can I take part in the Platinum Jubilee?

 

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What is the Platinum Jubilee?

 

The Platinum Jubilee marks a magnificent 70 years on the throne for Queen Elizabeth II. Her majesty is well-known for having incredible stamina, so it’s no surprise that she’s the first British Monarch to reach this impressive milestone.🎉

 

What date is the Platinum Jubilee?

 

The Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend will take place between Thursday 2nd and Sunday 5th June 2022. 

The Spring Bank Holiday, which would usually fall on the last Monday in May, has been pushed back by a couple of days to Thursday 2nd June. It’s followed by a bonus bank holiday on Friday 3rd June to make a bumper bank holiday weekend to accommodate all the celebrations.

Technically, ‘Lilibet’, as her father King George VI affectionately called her, officially became Queen Elizabeth following his death on 6th February 1952. Her own coronation was held off until 2nd June the following year to allow a period of mourning for King George.  

 

How many jubilees has the Queen had?

 

Queen Elizabeth has already celebrated three other jubilees and the Platinum Jubilee will be her fourth!

  1. Silver Jubilee in 1977
  2. Golden Jubilee in 2002
  3. Diamond Jubilee in 2012
  4. Platinum Jubilee in 2022

 

What happens during the Platinum Jubilee?

 

Trooping the Colour

The date of 2nd June is significant because it’s the date of the queen’s coronation and her official birthday.  Her real birthday is on 21st April and she usually celebrates it privately with the family.

On Thursday 2nd June the Queen’s Birthday Parade will kick off at 9am. The annual Trooping the Colour, will take place on Horse Guard’s Parade in central London. This event has been going for over 260 years so they’ve got it down to a precise art. More than a thousand officers and soldiers will join around 240 horses and hundreds of Army musicians to celebrate the monarch with marching and music. There will also be a Royal Gun Salute which consists of 41 rounds of blanks coming from six ‘guns’ aka small cannons.

To see it in person, you can brave the masses in central London to watch the parade as it makes its way between Buckingham Palace and the parade ground. If you’re still after the live vibe but don’t fancy taking to the streets, you can watch it as it happens on big screens in St James’ park. For those who’d rather take it all in from the comfort of one’s own sofa, the BBC and Sky television will be covering the event live so you won’t miss a trick.📺

After the parade, the Royal Family will pop out onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace and put their hat pins to the test as a large formation of military aircraft forms a flypast.

Platinum Jubilee Beacons 

It’s a long-running tradition to light beacons for royal events. Historically, beacons were used for communication but nowadays they’re used to represent unity between different regions, countries and continents. During the Platinum Jubilee, over 1500 beacons will light up the sky across the globe.

To kick it all off, the Principal beacon, which is situated at Buckingham Palace, will be lit during a special ceremony on 2nd June at 9pm. This beacon will be joined by 54 Commonwealth Beacons which will burn brightly in Commonwealth capital cities. On a local level, thousands of Community Beacons will mark the occasion. These beacons have been organised by charities, communities and other organisations across the UK, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and UK Overseas Territories. 

You can find out more about how to get involved with Beacon lighting events here.

Service of Thanksgiving

On Friday 3rd June there will be a service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign at St Paul’s Cathedral. The London landmark is home to the largest church bell in the country, so you can listen out for the ding dong of Great Paul (the bell) in all its glory.🔔

The Derby at Epsom Downs

The Queen is known for her love of all things equine and famously said

“I should like to be a horse.”🐴

So, it makes sense that celebrating her reign should involve, well, reins. On Saturday 4th June, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family will watch the fastest thoroughbred horses gallop to glory on Derby Day at Epsom Downs. We hope they don’t stirrup too much trouble.😛

Platinum Party at the palace

It wouldn’t be a Jubilee without a big fat party and this one is no exception. Taking place on 4th June, The Platinum Party at the Palace will include an array of much-loved music makers who will take to not one, not two but three stages to entertain a 22,000 strong crowd. It promises to be a truly star-studded event featuring the likes of Sir Elton John, Diana Ross and Craig David.

Don’t worry if you haven’t got your ticket yet, you can watch it live on the BBC and dance the night away with the kids in the front room.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant

There’s always room for a little more pomp and pageantry when celebrating seven whole decades of being queen. This event will tell the story of The Queen’s reign in four impressive acts on 5th June (time tbc). The Platinum Jubilee Pageant will include over 10,000 volunteers, performers and members of the military. They will be joined by film stars, celebrated musicians, sports stars and famous faces from the arts. Keep your eyes peeled and see how many of the 150 national treasures you can spot – the roll call of A-listers includes everyone from Ed Sheeran to Sir Cliff Richard. You can attend in person or watch it live on the BBC.

 

Which members of the royal family are attending?

 

The Queen, currently aged 96, has recently stepped back from many events. While it’s been reported that she plans to be there for the Trooping the Colour and the National Service of Thanksgiving, her attendance won’t be confirmed until the events draw nearer. 

There’s been a lot of press speculation about who will or won’t be there. Only members of the Royal Family who are currently carrying out official public duties will be doing the royal wave from the Buckingham Palace balcony. This means that there will be three notable absences: Prince Andrew, Harry and Meghan. 

If you can’t make it to London over the weekend and really want to see a royal, never fear. Will, Kate and other senior royals will be touring the UK over the Bank Holiday weekend so you may well catch them at an event near you!👸🏻🤴🏻

 

How can I take part in the Platinum Jubilee?

 

Street Parties

Bring out the bunting and get your neighbours together for a good old-fashioned street party! If you’ve never organised one before, you can easily find everything you need to know about organising your own street party! It’s not as tricky as you think and there will be dancing on the driveway happening up and down the country. 🥳

The Big Jubilee Lunch

The Queen is said to avoid starchy carbs when dining solo but she’ll surely make an exception for her own Jubilee. It’ll be sandwiches and pork pies at the ready across the nation as over 60,000 Big Jubilee Lunches take place. 

It’s easy to get involved and everyone’s invited! It’s an opportunity to get to know your neighbours that little bit better as people take to the streets and dine together! Whether you’re opening a picnic hamper for two in the garden or putting on a buffet table’s worth of treats in your local park, you can join the millions of people in celebrating their communities over a spot of lunch.🥙

Public Events

There are thousands of independently organised events going on up and down the country, from street parties to fireworks and everything in between. Find out what’s happening near you and get involved!

The Queen’s Green Canopy

This initiative encourages individuals and groups to plant a tree to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee for the benefit of future generations. So, if you’re feeling green-fingered, grab a sapling and get digging!🌱

Creative Challenge

Everyone can be queen for the day with this creative challenge! Participants are invited to make their very own unique crown to wear during the festivities. You don’t even need to buy any special equipment, load up a table with tin foil, cereal boxes, sticky tape and a couple of old magazines and let the kids do their own thing and go to town on a crown.👑

Toolkit

The Platinum Jubilee toolkit is a nifty little treasure trove of jubilee-inspired activities including everything from music playlists to printable bunting. Whether you download a page to ‘colour in a corgi’ or take advantage of the recipes on offer, it’s a handy place to find some last-minute resources to keep the whole family entertained. 

Cooking

There’s a whole buffet table’s worth of Jubilee recipes out there to help you create some wonderful jubilee-inspired nosh. From fruity flag traybakes to bunting biscuits, there are lots of ideas available to help you plan a delicious party feast or even get cooking with the kids.👩🏽‍🍳

The jubilee even has its own official sweet treat to mark the occasion - a lemon and Swiss roll amaretti trifle. The pudding’s creator, Jemma Melvin, won the Fortnum and Mason Platinum Pudding Competition (led by Dame Mary Berry, who else?!) with her zingy take on the classic trifle.

Whether you’re celebrating The Platinum Jubilee with family and friends or simply taking advantage of the extra days off to take an adventure of your own, here at GoStudent, we hope you enjoy the long weekend!