The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom will be celebrated from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June 2022. There is a lot going on in London these days and several things haven’t even be announced yet. I have many friends and acquaintances who have travelled to London. Although it is not certain which events will be attended by the Queen herself, we will certainly see a lot of British and even a handful of foreign royals during the celebrations.
All times mentioned are the British ones.
THE PROGRAM
Thursday, 2 June 2022
Trooping the Colour
10.00am – Beginning of the military parade
10.30am – The members of the Royal Family depart Buckingham Palace
Return to Buckingham Palace with balcony scene
Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania and Prince Radu of Romania have arrived in London to attend Trooping the Colour.
Trooping the Colour is the traditional official birthday celebration of the British monarch. The Colour of the 1st Battallion Irish Guards will be trooped. On Horse Guards Parade in London The Prince of Wales will take the Salute and inspect the troops of the Household Division on behalf of the Queen. He is joined by The Duke of Cambridge and The Princess Royal.
In the carriages this year will be travelling: The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Earl and The Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn, The Duke and The Duchess of Gloucester and Sir Timothy Laurence. For the first time also Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Cambridge were in a carriage. Other members of the family, including The Duke and The Duchess of Sussex will watch the parade from the Major General’s Office. Upon the return of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Guards the Queen and The Duke of Kent will take a Salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Afterwards the family will appear on the balcony to watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Royal Air Force.
Early May it was announced by Buckingham Palace: “After careful consideration, The Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those Members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of The Queen.” That means apart from the Queen herself, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and The Duchess of Cambrige, The Earl and The Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Duke and The Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy will be at the balcony. Additional Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Cambridge are to be on the balcony, as well as Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn, and Sir Timothy Laurence.
EastEnders
In the episode of EastEnders at BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7.30pm Mick and Linda start celebrating the platinum jubilee with special visitors: The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. They will share a toast to The Queen. The scenes were filmed when the couple visited the set in March 2022.
The Platinum Jubilee Beacons
Throughout the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories over 1,500 Platinum Jubilee Beacons will be lit.
At the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle the Queen herself will trigger the beginning of the lighting of the Principal Beacon outside Buckingham Palace. Outside Buckingham Palace the Duke of Cambridge will represent her at the Principal Beacon. According to Royal.uk members of the royal family will arrive around 9.25pm.
Friday, 3 June 2022
Service of Thanksgiving
A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
11am – Members of the Royal Family will arrive.
Royal visit
The Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence will head to Edinburgh and visit Edinburgh Zoo, meeting children for an animal handling session in the Rainforest Room before visiting the Penguin Enclosure. They will also visit HMS Albion.
Saturday, 4 June 2022
Royal visits
The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge will visit the preparations for a Platinum Jubilee celebration concert at Cardiff Castle, Wales.
The Earl and The Countess of Wessex will carry out two engagements in Northern Ireland.
Derby at Epsom Downs
The Derby at Epsom Downs, one of the highlights of the horse racing season will be attended by a number of British royals.
The Platinum Party at the Palace
The Platinum Party at the Palace will be hosted by Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp. 22.000 people will be able to attend. The stage consists of three stages linked by walkways, creating a 360-degree experience in front of Buckingham Palace and The Queen Victoria Memorial.
Queen + Adam Lambert are to open the concert, and Diana Ross will close the show. Artists appearing include Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, Sam Ryder, Sir Rod Stewart, Sir Elton John, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Celeste, Jax Jones, Mabel, Stefflon Don, Elbow, Craig David, George Ezra, Mimi Webb, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Diversity, Nile rodgers, Sigala & Ella Eyre, Mica Paris. There also will be performances by the casts of The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, Six, The Lion King, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and The Royal Ballet.
Also stars from the stage and screen and the sporting world will appear at the event and on film, including Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham, Stephen Fry, Dame Julie Andrews, Ellie Simmonds.
7.40pm – Arrival of members of the Royal Family.
Sunday, 5 June 2022
The Big Jubilee Lunch
Over 60.000 people have registered to host Big Jubilee Lunches. Over ten million people across the country are expected to attend huge street parties, small back garden parties, etc. I am certain lots of people across the world will join too.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will attend a lunch at The Oval cricket ground in south London.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex will attend a lunch near Windsor Castle.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant will bring to life iconic moments from The Queen’s reign as well as showcasing our changing society over the past 70 years. 10,000 people are involved, including the military, over 6,000 volunteers, performers, key workers and 2,500 members of the general public.
National treasures and iconic figures from music, film, sport and the arts will take part in the Pageant including much-loved celebrity names, alongside military personnel, key workers and volunteers. The Gold State Coach will lead the Pageant, although the Queen won’t personally travel in it this time.
The event starts at 2.30pm.
Watching the celebrations on TV
You can watch all celebrations by watching BBC One or BBC iPlayer, although I expect also other tv-channels will be present. The main broadcasts at BBC:
2 June, 10am: Trooping the Colour
2 June, 7.30pm: EastEnders
2 June, 8pm: Platinum Beacons
3 June, 9.15am: A Service of Thanksgiving
4 June, 7.30pm: Platinum Party at the Palace
5 June, 1pm: The Platinum Pageant
The Derby on Epsom Downs will be broadcasted live on ITV1. The race itself will take place at 4.30pm.
Have some fun
Royalty expert Patricia Treble of the Toronto Star has created a Platinum Jubilee bingo card.