What Is The Diamond Jubilee?

Whether you class yourself as a royalist or whether you are prefer “The Royal Family” TV show to the actual Royal Family, one thing is for sure, you cannot avoid the news surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee this year. The Diamond Jubilee marks the 60^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II taking the throne in 7 countries in 1952 after the death of her father.

To celebrate the Jubilee in the UK, an extra bank holiday has been announced. This bank holiday will take place on Tuesday 5^th June. A bank holiday from May has also been moved to Tuesday 4^th June to create a four day weekend to celebrate the jubilee, which also covers the Queens Official birthday on the 4^th June.

The weekend is expected to feature some of the largest celebrations ever seen in the UK as the nation gets together to celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II, with a large concert being held in London, a parade of over 1,000 boats on the River Thames – the largest on the river in over 350 years – with over 1 million people watching the parade from the banks of the river! During the parade, the Queen and several members of her family will be carried down the Thames on their own Royal barge.

While a large portion of the nation will make the journey to London for the celebration, large celebrations are being planned around the rest of the country, with many roads being closed for street parties and lottery funds being made available to communities to cover the cost of the parties.

There is also a huge range of Diamond Jubilee Gifts available, ranging from small trinkets such as bookmarks and napkin rings through to larger gifts such as photo frames. While many of the gifts may be seen as mass produced memorabilia which do not really carry any value, there are a few pieces of high quality, limited edition memorabilia which are certain to become collector’s items in the coming years.

The Olympic park which stands in East London is due to be renamed to the “Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park” after the Olympic games later this year. Plans have also been made to create 60 new woodlands, one of which is over 500 acres and the others each being 60 acres to celebrate the 60^th Jubilee!

Whatever your take on the Royal Family, one thing is for certain, 2012 will mark a monumental year in British Heritage!

The author creates a range of personalised gifts, such as slate house signs and engraved silver gifts.

Published in Entertainment