Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations 2022: what events are taking place in London over bank holiday weekend?

A range of events have been taking place to mark the historic Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen became the only British monarch to mark 70 years on the throne in February, and to celebrate there is a four day bank holiday.

Over four days, from 2 to 5 June, a variety of official events have been organised.

But, what exactly are those events and when will they take place? Here’s what you need to know.

When is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee?

The Queen actually ascended to the throne on 6 February 1952, but as this is also the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI, she has never wanted to celebrate it.

Instead, the Queen has preferred to mark important milestones, such as her birthday, in June.

The Platinum Jubilee will take place on Friday 3 June 2022, much like the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, with it also being hoped that the summer month will give better weather.

What events have been planned for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee?

A number of official events have been planned for the Platinum Jubilee:

Thursday 2 June

Trooping the Colour: The official programme began with the Trooping the Colour military spectacle.

The Queen’s Birthday Parade was held on Thursday 2 June.

More than 1,500 officers and soldiers and 350 horses from the Household Division staged the display on Horse Guards Parade in central London, with the colour trooped by the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards.

Some 400 musicians from 10 military bands and corps of drums marched amid pomp and pageantry.

Several arrests were made after some people attempted to enter the ceremonial route on The Mall before Trooping the Colour, the Metropolitan Police said.

A group were dragged by police out of the path of a military band as they marched along at around 10.10am.

Trooping the Colour has now marked the official birthday of the British sovereign for over 260 years.

During the Queen’s birthday parade a royal gun salute was also fired.

The royal family travelled from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to the parade ground in carriages, with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal on horseback.

After the parade has ended the royal procession returned to Buckingham Palace, where the royal family’s balcony appearance took place, as has happened in previous years.

There was also a special flypast to coincide with the royal family’s balcony appearance.

The Queen limited the numbers to working royals, meaning the Duke of York and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not among those on the balcony.

Her great-grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and her two youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, were present.

Platinum Jubilee Beacons: The United Kingdom’s long tradition of celebrating royal jubilees, weddings and coronations with the lighting of beacons will continue for the Platinum Jubilee.

More than 3,000 beacons were lit across the UK and the Commonwealth in tribute to the Queen.

A beacon chain has become a symbol of unity across towns, borders, countries and continents.

In 1977, 2002 and 2012, beacons commemorated the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees of The Queen, and also Her Majesty’s 90th birthday in 2016.

There are three kinds of beacon events; community beacons, Commonwealth beacons  and the principle beacon.

Over 1,500 beacons were lit throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK overseas territories.

Beacons were also lit in all 54 capital cities of the Commonwealth, and also other locations including the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle and the Queen’s estates of Sandringham and Balmoral, and on top of the UK’s four highest peaks.

The principal beacon was lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace at 9pm. The Queen led the ceremony by touching the Commonwealth of Nations Globe, symbolically triggering the lighting of the Tree of Trees beacon outside the Palace.

Find out more on the Queen’s jubilee beacons website.

Friday 3 June

Service of Thanksgiving: A Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign was taking place at St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung for the service. It was made in 1882 but fell silent in the 1970s due to a broken mechanism.

It was restored in 2021 and has been rung on eight occasions since, but this will be the first royal occasion it will be rung for.

While it was announced the Queen wouldn’t be attending due to suffering some discomfort after Thursday’s events, other members of the family were present including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Andrew was not there with Buckingham Palace announcing on Thursday that he had Covid.

Saturday 4 June

The derby at Epsom Downs: Avid racegoer the Queen is no longer planning to attend.

Her daughter, The Princess Royal Anne, is expected to represent the monarch at the racecourse, where up to 40 past and present jockeys who have ridden for the Queen are due to form a guard of honour.

Saturday is also the first birthday of Harry and Meghan’s daughter Lilibet, amid speculation the youngster could spend the day with her namesake great-grandmother.

The Sussexes arrived in the UK from their home the US with Lilibet, who is said to be called Lili, and her brother Archie. The baby girl has never met the Queen in person before.

You can find out more on the official website.

Platinum Party at the Palace: A platinum party at the palace event will be held on Saturday 4 June, set on three stages in front of Buckingham Palace.

The celebration will see celebrity singers perform musical tributes to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

The line-up includes Diana Ross, Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Nile Rodgers, Andrea Bocelli, Duran Duran, Bond composer Hans Zimmer, Ella Eyre, Craig David, Mabel, Elbow and George Ezra. British rapper Ms Banks has also joined the line-up.

In total, 22,000 people will attend the event including 10,000 allocated in a public ballot and 5,000 tickets for key workers.

Charles and William are said to be preparing to deliver public tributes at the concert to the Queen, who will be watching on television from Windsor.

Live coverage of the event will be hosted by Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp on BBC One, BBC iPlayer.

Sunday 5 June

The Big Jubilee Lunch: Over ten million people across the UK are expected to be joining the celebrations to share food and fun with members of their local community at big jubilee lunches.

Over 60,000 people have registered to host these lunches over the bank holiday weekend, with events ranging from world record attempts for the longest street party to back garden barbeques.

Over 600 international big jubilee lunches are also being planned throughout the Commonwealth and beyond, from Canada to Brazil, New Zealand to Japan and South Africa to Switzerland.

If you wish to host a big jubilee lunch, you can still sign up online to receive a free pack which includes advice on how to get street parties started.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant: The pageant will serve as an opportunity for thousands of people to pay tribute to Her Majesty.

It will bring iconic moments from The Queen’s reign to life, as well as showcasing the changing society over the past seven decades.

​The gold state carriage, led by the sovereign’s escort, will lead the pageant.

The latest digital technology will be used to evoke the excitement of the historic day in 1952 when the Queen went on her journey to be crowned.

The Queen will not travel in the regal gold state carriage, but the palace has said there will be a surprise.

Puppet corgis, a giant 3D wire bust of the Queen are also set to feature.

In total, 10,000 people will be involved, including the military, over 6,000 volunteers, performers, key workers and 2,500 members of the general public.

Stars including Idris Elba, Sir Cliff Richard, Courtney Love and Slade’s Noddy Holder will take to open-top buses in a through-the-ages tribute to the culture and music of the seven decades of the Queen’s reign.

It is hoped the Queen will make a final appearance on the Palace balcony to round off the weekend to see a musical finale of Ed Sheeran singing the national anthem, God Save The Queen, with a choir made up of nearly 200 celebrities.

For more information, you can visit the Platinum Jubilee pageant website.