As Britain embarks on a four-day weekend to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee, here are the key timings for the official celebrations.
Thursday
10am BST The bank holiday will kick off with the trooping of the colour. The parade by the 1st battalion Irish Guards will feature more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division, hundreds of army musicians and 240 horses. A royal gun salute will be fired during the parade. Members of the royal family will leave Buckingham Palace at about 10.30am. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will join the royal family as the Prince of Wales deputises for the Queen, who will not be taking part in the ceremony, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. This will be the first opportunity for the public to see Harry, Meghan, William and Kate all together since the Sussexes’ dramatic departure from the UK two years ago.
Members of the public who wish to watch the proceedings in person are advised to stand on the Mall or the edge of St James Park overlooking Horse Guards Parade from 9am. Alternatively, there will be big screens at St James’s Park, Bute Park in Cardiff and Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. Or, from the comfort of your sofa, tune in for live coverage on BBC One.
1pm After the parade, working members of the royal family – so not the Sussexes or Prince Andrew – will appear on the balcony for a Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force flypast as 70 aircraft soar over the palace.
From 8pm In accordance with royal jubilee tradition, more than 1,500 beacons will be lit across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK overseas territories to form a “chain of lights”. Fifty-four beacons will be lit in capital cities across the Commonwealth. The “principal beacon” – a 21-metre “Tree of Trees” sculpture by designer Thomas Heatherwick – will be lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace by Prince William on the command of the Queen, who will appear at Windsor Castle. The ceremony will be attended by royal family members at about 9.25pm and the proceedings will be broadcast on BBC One.
Friday
9.15am Day two starts with coverage on BBC One of a service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign to be broadcast live from St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Members of the royal family will arrive from about 11am. Great Paul, newly restored and the country’s largest church bell, will be rung for the service.
Saturday
4.30pm Royal family members are due to attend the Derby at Epsom Downs. It will be broadcast live on ITV1.
8pm Elton John, Alicia Keys, Stefflon Don, Craig David and Andrea Bocelli are among the stars performing at the Platinum Party at the Palace – a concert at Buckingham Palace for 22,000 people, including royals and 5,000 key workers – plus many more from home watching on BBC One. Proceedings will be overseen by the hosts Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp. The concert will also be shown on big screens at St James’ Park and the Mall, Bute Park and Princes Street Gardens.
Sunday
Lunchtime More than 10 million people across the UK are expected to attend lunch events as part of the “big jubilee lunch”. Outside the UK, more than 600 lunches have been planned across the Commonwealth.
2.30pm The gold state carriage, led by the sovereign’s escort but not carrying the Queen, will lead a pageant on a 3km route up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. Involving more than 10,000 people – including military, volunteers, performers and key workers – it will be available to watch on BBC One from 1pm and on the big screens in London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
