Queen
Elizabeth II's Diamond (60th) Jubilee Celebrations
2012 marks the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth
II. She became Queen when her father, King
George VI, died on 6th February, 1952. Princess Elizabeth
was 25 years old and she and her husband Prince Philip were
on safari in Kenya when news of her father's death reached her.
She returned home as Queen Elizabeth II.
Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2nd June
1953.
She celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years) in 1977, Golden
Jubilee (50 years) in 2002, and 2012 marks the Diamond 60th
Jubilee of her reign.
The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee
was her great-great-grandmother Queen
Victoria who celebrated the 60th year of her reign in
1897. Kings and Queens by length of reign.
To mark this historic occasion special events are planned
during 2012 throughout the UK and the Commonwealth Realms
(countries in which she is Head of State), and in many Commonwealth
Nations.
Visits around the UK
The Queen, accompanied by her husband The Duke of Edinburgh,
will mark the Diamond Jubilee with visits and engagements
throughout the United Kingdom. Details of the programme
include:
29th March North London
26th - 27th April Wales
1st - 2nd May South West England
15th May South London
16th - 17th May North West England
2nd - 5th June Central Weekend
13th - 14th June East Midlands and East Anglia
25th June and 25th July South East England
2nd - 6th July Scotland (Holyrood Week)
11th - 12th July West Midlands
18th - 19th July North East England
On 27th July The Queen will open the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Official celebrations for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
will take place in a special Diamond Jubilee week between
Saturday 2nd June and Tuesday 5th June 2012.
Saturday 2nd June: The Queen will attend the
Epsom Derby. She is a keen horse racing fan and has been attending
the Epsom Derby for eight decades.
Sunday 3rd June: The Big Jubilee Lunch. People
will be encouraged to share lunch with neighbours and friends
as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Monday 4th June: A televised Diamond Jubilee
Concert held at Buckingham Palace, with tickets available to
UK residents by public ballot.
Monday 4th June: 2,012 beacons will be lit
by communities and individuals throughout the United Kingdom,
as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth.
Tuesday 5th June: A Service of Thanksgiving
and Carriage Procession. The service will take place at St Paul’s
Cathedral, with a formal carriage procession by The Queen.
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant takes place on
Sunday 3 June. The Pageant is one of the main celebrations
being held to mark the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth
II.
1,000 boats, from across the UK, the Commonwealth
and around the world, will sail down the River Thames.
The Queen will lead the flotilla in the Royal Barge
reviving a tradition that dates back to King Henry
VIII. The organisers plan to create a piece of theatre
on the water, incorporating music, fireworks and special
effects.
The Royal Barge decorated in red and gold and featuring The
Queen’s cipher and a crown will carry The Queen and The
Duke of Edinburgh, along with other members of the Royal Family.
The Prince of Wales has been announced as Patron of the Pageant.
Commonwealth Day 12th March 2012
Her Majesty The Queen will attend Commonwealth Day Observance
in Westminster Abbey to celebrate Her Diamond Jubilee and 60
years as Head of the Commonwealth. It will also be attended
by the Prime Minister, High Commissioners and over 1,000 UK
school children.
Visits to the Realms and Commonwealth countries
Members of the Royal Family will travel overseas representing
the Queen throughout the Diamond Jubilee year, visiting every
Realm as well as undertaking visits to Commonwealth countries,
Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. These visits
will include:
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
(Prince Charles and Camilla) will visit: Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea
The Prince of Wales: Channel Islands,
Isle of Man
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince
William and Catherine): Malaysia, Singapore, Solomon Islands,
and Tuvalu. The tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu last had a
royal visit in 1982 when the Queen and her husband Prince
Philip were carried shoulder high by islanders into the
capital Funafuti.
Prince Harry: Belize, Jamaica, and The
Bahamas
The Duke of York (Prince Andrew): India
The Earl and Countess of Wessex (Prince
Edward and Sophie): Antigua and Barbuda,
Barbados, Gibraltar, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and
Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad
and Tobago
The Princess Royal (Princess Anne): Mozambique,
Zambia
The Duke of Gloucester (The Queen's cousin):
British Virgin Islands, Malta
The Duke of Kent:(The
Queen's cousin): Falkland Islands, Uganda.
Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Emblem
A national competition to design an “official emblem”
for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 2012 attracted over 35,000
entries from school children aged between 6 and 14. The overall
winner of the competition, which was supported by Buckingham
Palace and promoted through the BBC’s Blue Peter Programme,
was 10 year old Katherine Dewar from Chester.
Katherine, along with the winners and runners up from each
age category, was invited to meet the Queen at a special reception
at Buckingham Palace in February 2011.
Blue Peter, commenting on the The BBC Blue Peter website said:
“We’ve never had a competition like this! This is
only the second ever Diamond Jubilee, and a child has never
designed an official Jubilee emblem before".
Commemorative coins and stamps, as well as teaching materials
linked the 60th anniversary, will be available.
Time Capsule
The Royal Commonwealth Society has organised a special Jubilee
Time Capsule, a digital archive of The Queen’s reign.
You can contribute to this by picking a day and adding your
memories and stories of that day. Contributors are invited to
use photos, words or videos and talk about anything they want.
Exhibitions
There will be special Royal Collection exhibitions at Buckingham
Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and a
touring exhibition to five UK venues will mark Her Majesty’s
Diamond Jubilee
To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the National
Portrait Gallery is staging a touring exhibition bringing together
sixty of the most remarkable and resonant images of Elizabeth
II. This will be the first National Portrait Gallery exhibition
to tour to British venues before being shown in London, opening
in Edinburgh in June, Belfast in October and Cardiff and London
in February 2012
Queen
Elizabeth II's Diamond (60th) Jubilee Celebrations
Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Emblem
