Platinum Jubilee on TV: coverage of Queen’s events over bank holiday weekend, including Party at the Palace

Here’s your guide to what to watch over the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, with a list of all the different Royal specials, a few documentary suggestions, and a look at some of the different films that are on over the next couple of days too.

There’s also a list of boxset recommendations too, just in case nothing on television catches your eye this bank holiday.

Jubilee Specials

Bargain Hunt

BBC One ● Wednesday 1 June @ 12:15pm

A special Jubilee version of Bargain Hunt. Royal enthusiasts tangle in search of regal bargains.

The Repair Shop

BBC One ● Wednesday 1 June @ 8pm

Jay Blades and team commemorate the Jubilee by restoring treasured heirlooms with royal significance.

Trooping the Colour

BBC One ● Thursday 2 June @ 10am

Huw Edwards and Kirsty Young present the annual ostentatious military ceremony.

The One Show

BBC One ● Thursday 2 June @ 6:30pm

Alex Jones and Ronan Keating hosting a special edition of BBC One’s evening magazine show.

EastEnders

BBC One ● Thursday 2 June @ 7:30pm

Prince Charles and Camilla visit Albert Square.

Platinum Beacons: Lighting up the Jubilee

BBC One ● Thursday 2 June @ 8pm

Kirsty Young hosts as beacons are lit around the world to celebrate the Jubilee. (Think something a little like the Olympic torch.)

The Jubilee Beacon Show

Sky News ● Thursday 2 June @ 9pm

Much the same as the BBC iteration. Gillian Joseph presents live from Buckingham Palace.

The Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving

BBC One ● Friday 3 June @ 9:15am

David Dimbleby, Kirsty Young, and Sophie Raworth present further celebrations of the Queen with this service held live in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The National Lottery’s Big Jubilee Street Party

ITV ● Saturday 4 June @ 5pm

Jason Manford and Fleur East host the UK’s biggest street party, live in the AO Arena in Manchester.

Platinum Party at the Palace

BBC One ● Saturday 4 June @ 7:30pm

A palace concert to celebrate the Queen. Guests include Diana Ross, Craig David, Duran Duran, Queen (appropriately), Eurovision silver medallist Sam Ryder, George Ezra, and Hans Zimmer.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant

BBC One ● Sunday 5 June @ 1pm

An elaborate military/celebrity spectacle, divided into four acts of around an hour each. Ed Sheeran sings after the Armed Forces stage manoeuvres and Basil Brush does stand-up.

Documentaries

The Queen: 70 Glorious Years

BBC One ● Thursday 2 June @ 10:40pm

Julie Walters narrates as different famous faces share their memories of the Queen.

The Crown Jewels

BBC One ● Friday 3 June @ 7:30pm

A documentary about the Crown Jewels, explaining which country each gemstone was stolen from. Clive Myrie presents.

Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts

Amazon Prime Video ● Saturday 4 June

A new documentary made with unprecedented access to archive footage from the Royal vault.

The Day I Met the Queen

BBC One ● Saturday 4 June @ 1:15pm

Aled Jones, John Craven, and Ainsley Harriot search for everyday people who have met the Queen.

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen

BBC One ● Saturday 4 June @ 4:40pm

The story of Queen Elizabeth in her own words, featuring never-before-seen home movies.

The Coronation

BBC One ● Saturday 4 June @ 6pm

The Queen shares her memories of both her and her father’s coronations.

Platinum Jubilee: What a Weekend!

BBC Two ● Sunday 5 June @ 8pm

Kirsty Young presents a 90-minute highlight reel of the Jubilee Weekend just gone.

Counter Programming

Pistol

Disney+ ● Available Now

Danny Boyle’s biopic of The Sex Pistols, the band behind national anthem ‘God Save the Queen’.

Jurassic Park

Sky Showcase ● Saturday 4 June @ 6pm

Spielberg’s classic about dinosaurs gone amok. Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum star.

Film Choices

The Queen (2005)

Netflix & Amazon Prime ● Available Now

Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Queen as cold and out of touch in the wake of Diana’s death. The film – written by Peter Morgan, essentially the first draft of his Netflix hit The Crown – has an interestingly anti-Diana angle within that, stopping just short of arguing the Queen shouldn’t have had to acknowledge her death.

Spencer (2021)

Amazon Prime ● Available Now

A biopic that suggests the Royal Family killed Diana long before she actually died. Kristen Stewart stars.

Hunger (2008)

Amazon Prime & BFI Player ● Available to Rent or Buy

Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham star in Steve McQueen’s debut feature about Bobby Sands’ hunger strike.

Pride (2014)

BBC Two ● Friday 3 June @ 10:25pm

In 1984 a group of lesbian and gay activists take on hardship from the conservative press and Thatcher’s government, and find unlikely allies in a group of Welsh miners.

Boxset Recommendations

The Crown

Netflix ● Available Now

Thematically appropriate for various reasons, Peter Morgan’s period drama charts the hollow inner lives of the Royal Family, arguing that the pressures of Monarchy have made them cold, unfeeling, and monstrous.

Prehistoric Planet

Apple TV+ ● Available Now

A visually stunning blend of science and spectacle, this natural history documentary from David Attenborough has an acute understanding of how and why dinosaurs capture the imagination.

What We Do in the Shadows

BBC iPlayer ● Available Now

The great thing about What We Do in the Shadows is the specific rhythms of its dialogue: the comic timing, the line delivery, the way a particular insult or exclamation is phrased. It’s a perfect showcase for Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén and Mark Prosch – the show always feels like it’s written for them and their specific talents.

Severance

Apple TV+ ● Available Now

Employees at Lumon Industries have their memories bifurcated, unable to remember their home life at work and their work life at home. Mark Scout (Adam Scott) enters the elevator, full of regrets and anxieties and grieving for his wife; Mark S exits the elevator, no recollection of who he is the other 16 hours of the day, allowed no tangible connection to the outside, not even a surname.