Britons to get extra bank holiday in huge celebrations for Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Watch: Extra bank holiday announced for Queen’s 2022 Jubilee

Britons will get an extra day off in 2022 under government plans to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen hopes as many people as possible will be able to celebrate as she hits a milestone no other British monarch has ever reached, and passes seven decades on the throne.

The culture secretary has unveiled plans to celebrate 70 years since the Queen acceded to the throne, which Her Majesty will reach in February 2022.

Oliver Dowden said the Jubilee would be marked by a “once-in-a-generation show” with plans to give Britons a four day weekend in June.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “The Platinum Jubilee offers an opportunity for the Queen to express her thanks for the support and loyalty Her Majesty has received throughout her reign.

“The Queen hopes that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to join the celebrations.”

Dowden said: “Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee will be a truly historic moment – and one that deserves a celebration to remember.

“We can all look forward to a special, four-day Jubilee weekend, when we will put on a spectacular, once-in-a-generation show that mixes the best of British ceremonial splendour with cutting edge art and technology.

“It will bring the entire nation and the Commonwealth together in a fitting tribute to Her Majesty’s reign.”

Read more: Why does the Queen have two birthdays?

The late May bank holiday will be moved to Thursday, 2 June, and an extra one added on Friday 3 June, giving Britons four days off.

Members of the Royal Family will take part in events across the extended weekend and in the run up to it.

In keeping with tradition, people who work in public service, including representatives of the Army, Navy and Air Force, will be awarded a Platinum Jubilee medal.

Watch: Who is The Queen?

While the Queen actually became the monarch in February of 1952, the first weekend of June has been chosen for the celebrations for a better chance of good weather. The same weekend was chosen for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

The Queen also tends to mark the day of her accession privately in Sandringham, at the end of her Christmas break there, as she would not want to celebrate her father’s death.

Royal occasions were among the thousands of planned events which had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Queen watched a scaled-down version of her usual Trooping the Colour event, which would have involved thousands of people packing out the Mall in London.

Read more: Queen joins Charles and Prince William for Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph

And she was unable to carry out investitures or her garden parties, which are held to thank people for their contributions to charities.

It was previously suggested that a new statue be made to mark the historic occasion.

Sir David Amess, a Conservative MP, said: “The British Monarchists Society recently came to me with a project, which I’m sure the nation would back.

“They would like a statue of the Queen erected to celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

“The royal sculptor Christian Corbet has made preliminary sketches of the monument, which is planned for a prestigious suitable position in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster.

“I believe that it would be possible to fund this statue through public subscription and I hope all colleagues will be supportive of the project.

“After all, our monarch has served our nation and the Commonwealth so well for nearly 70 years and she’s currently the longest-serving head of state in the world.”

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The Queen acceded to the throne in 1952 after her father King George VI died.

She was in Kenya at the time of her accession on a royal tour with her husband Prince Philip.

Born in 1926, Princess Elizabeth did not expect to be Queen, but with the abdication of her uncle King Edward VII she was propelled to the role of heir presumptive.

She dedicated her life to serving the UK and the Commonwealth and despite reaching the age of 94 earlier this year, she does not appear prepared to step aside for her son Prince Charles to take over the role.

On 8 November she joined other members of the Royal Family at a socially distanced ceremony at the Cenotaph in central London. She is living at Windsor Castle with Philip.

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