Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022 events: schedule and timings of the bank holiday weekend celebrations

The Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this year, marking 70 years since she ascended to the throne.

Details of the celebrations have been released in stages. Street parties are being planned across the country, and official festivities include the Queen’s Green Canopy campaign and the Platinum Pudding Competition.

Here is everything you need to know about the Platinum Jubilee taking place in 2022.

What is the Platinum Jubilee celebration?

The Platinum Jubilee marks 70 years of a monarch's reign. Queen Elizabeth II will be the first British monarch to reach the milestone.

On significant anniversaries, celebrations take place across the UK and the Commonwealth. This year, street parties will be held, as well as public ceremonies such as the Trooping the Colour, which marks the Queen's official birthday.

A Platinum Jubilee medal will also be awarded to public service workers, including those in the Armed Forces, emergency services and prison officers.

What date is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee?

The Queen officially made it to 70 years on the throne on Accession Day which fell on Sunday, February 6. It is the date on which the Queen acceded to the throne on the death of her father, George VI, in 1952.

The Queen usually spends the February anniversary in private reflection on the Sandringham estate, thinking of her late father. This year, in the days leading up to Accession Day, she invited local community groups and volunteers to Sandringham for cake, and viewed a selection of Jubilee memorabilia. In a written message marking the occasion, she told her people: "It gives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947 that my life will always be devoted to your service.

The Queen's coronation took place on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey in London.

The major Platinum Jubilee celebrations therefore began on Thursday, June 2, 2022, and continue over the weekend until June 5.

When is the Jubilee bank holiday weekend?

To mark the Platinum Jubilee, an extra bank holiday was granted.

To create the four-day weekend, the late May bank holiday was moved to June 2 and an additional one-off bank holiday was created for June 3 to allow for a continuation of the celebrations.

Are Harry and Meghan attending the Jubilee?

Much had been made of Harry and Meghan’s return to the royal fold ahead of the Platinum Jubilee, with courtiers concerned that a “Sussex bomb” might land on the four-day festivities.

Yet as The Telegraph was the first to report, days before the couple jetted in from California with their children Archie, aged three, and Lilibet, who turns one on Saturday, the plan was always to “stick to the official script”.

Not only would they be avoiding any “surprise” unofficial events that might run the risk of overshadowing the 96-year-old monarch, they would also even be keeping a low profile at the official ones.

While Harry and Meghan are joining in the celebrations, they were not seen on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the Trooping the Colour tradition. Her Majesty had ruled that only those “currently undertaking official public duties” on her behalf would be there.

What is the schedule of events planned for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations?

May

The Royal Windsor Horse Show started the unofficial Jubilee celebrations. Held from May 12-15, the equestrian world gathered for the UK's largest outdoor horse show featuring show jumping, carriage driving and endurance events.

In the evening, in the same arena, a Jubilee pageant involving 500 horses and 1,300 performers took place, in a 90-minute piece of arena theatre that included actors, artists, musicians, international military displays, dancers and global equestrian displays. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 18, drove the Duke of Edinburgh’s carriage during the festivities, paying tribute to the Queen and Duke’s unrivalled contribution to the equestrian world.

The event, called A Gallop Through History, raised money for charities including those supporting the NHS and key workers.

The show was carried out in front of a live audience of 4,000 but, on the final day (May 15), it was broadcast live on ITV with Tom Cruise and Alan Titchmarsh joining forces to host, with Dame Helen Mirren appearing as Elizabeth I.

June

Thursday, June 2

The Queen took a salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour this year. More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians came together in the traditional Parade to mark The Queen’s official birthday. They proceeded down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, joined by members of the Royal family on horseback and in carriages.

The event ended with an RAF flypast, watched by members of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony. Joining the Queen were Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall; the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Princess Anne was also on the balcony, along with Prince Edward, Sophie Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. Also in attendance on the balcony were Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

The UK's long-running tradition of celebrating Royal Jubilees, weddings and coronations with the lighting of beacons also took place later in the day.

When and where were Jubilee beacons lit?

Beacons were also lit in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth nations for the first time. The lighting of over 3,000 beacons took place at 9.45pm on Thursday, June 2 - at the same time as the Tree of Tress light installation outside Buckingham Palace.

Friday, June 3

A service of thanksgiving will take place at St Paul's Cathedral. Members of the Royal family are expected to arrive at 11am.

Following the service, a reception is to be held at Guildhall at 12.25pm, hosted by the Lord Mayor.

Saturday, June 4

After much speculation, it has been confirmed that the Queen will not attend the Derby at Epsom. Princess Anne will represent the royal family. The Epsom Derby is the only classic in the flat racing calendar the Queen is yet to win. Her Majesty’s hopes for fulfilling her long-held dream of winning in time for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations were scuppered, however, after all three of her horses were withdrawn from the event. Reach for the Moon, which was given odds of 7-1 to win, will miss the Epsom race, as will Educator and General Idea.

The 'Platinum Party at the Palace' will take place Saturday evening, which will be staged and broadcast by the BBC.

Buckingham Palace are yet to name the performers, but have said the live concert "will bring together some of the world’s biggest entertainment stars to celebrate the most significant and joyous moments from the Queen’s seven-decade reign".

Members of the public will be invited to apply to attend via a ballot for UK residents.

Sunday, June 5

People will be encouraged to arrange street parties to join the Big Jubilee Lunch, before the final event of the weekend, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

A lunchtime picnic, The Windsor Big Lunch, is expected to include the longest-ever run of tables. Organisers said the event, with a privately funded budget of between £10 million and £15 million, is expected to be one of the biggest celebratory events held for decades.

On top of this, organisers of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee are seeking members of the public who have lived through each of her seven decades on the throne to take part in a parade down The Mall to the Palace.

Anyone who has kept the original vintage clothes of their fashion heyday is invited to apply to dress up and walk in the pageant, with a particular call-out for classic cars, motorbikes and bicycles to recreate 70 years of transport.

Adrian Evans, pageant master, said he hopes to create "exuberance, excitement, spectacle and wow factor", complete with the "sparkle dust" of Britain’s "national treasures" - actors, writers, artists and musicians - and members of the public.

"We won’t see the likes of this again," he said of the Queen’s landmark 70 years on the throne. "We want it to be absolutely awesome for everyone, and particularly for Her Majesty the Queen. We want her to feel we have done her proud."

The pageant will be the centrepiece of the Jubilee bank holiday celebrations, taking place over two-and-a-half hours on the afternoon of June 5. It is not yet clear which events the Queen will attend herself.

Sandringham and Balmoral will also be open for visitors to enjoy the celebrations across the long weekend in June.

July

Three special displays marking significant occasions in the Queen’s reign – the Accession, the Coronation and Jubilees – will be staged at the official royal residences from July 2022.

This is set to include a range of portraits as well as the jewellery and outfits worn for each occasion, housed at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

What other information has been announced?

As the date draws closer, further plans have been made for the occasion.

The Queen’s Green Canopy campaign

Members of the public are being encouraged to "Plant a tree for the Jubilee" as part of a unique planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s milestone.

Individuals, villages, schools, businesses and scout groups are all among those being encouraged to play their part during the planting season between October to March ahead of the official celebrations.

Some 60,000 trees have already been planted.

In February, the National Trust said it would also replant thousands of trees to restore Britain’s lost landscapes in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

There will be 70 separate projects to mark the milestone, including planting pear trees to restore Rudyard Kipling’s former garden, apple trees at Agatha Christie’s holiday home and 15 poplars to fulfil Harold and Vita Sackville-West’s 1932 vision for a tree avenue at Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent.

‘Tree of trees’ sculpture

Echoing Her Majesty's love for nature, plans have been put in place for a 70ft "tree of trees" to be erected outside Buckingham Palace as the centrepiece of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend.

The tree sculpture, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, will feature 350 native British trees, each planted in pots embossed with the Queen's cypher.

At the end of the jubilee celebrations, each pot will be given to a community group across the country as a lasting reminder of their contribution to public life.

Commemorative 50p

In November 2021, the design for a special 50p to mark the occasion was revealed. The coin features a number 70 and incorporates the Queen’s cypher framed within the ‘0’.

The Royal Mint has confirmed the coins will go into circulation later this year - with the design reportedly approved by Her Majesty herself.

It is the first time a royal milestone has been celebrated on the 'tails' side of a 50p.

Platinum Pudding Competition

In January 2022, organisers of the Jubilee announced that they were seeking a new national dish to celebrate the occasion - reminiscent of the Coronation Chicken, invented for her Coronation in 1953.

The Platinum Pudding Competition, run by Fortnum & Mason and judged by experts including Dame Mary Berry and the Queen’s own head chef, is open to home cooks aged eight and above.

The winning pudding will be served at The Big Jubilee Lunch, a network of community parties to be held across the country on Sunday, June 5.

Royal family spring world tour

The Royal family has already undertaken a series of overseas tours to mark the Jubilee.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited the Republic of Ireland from March 23 to 25, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas from March 19 to 26.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex had initialy planned to visit Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines from April 22 to 28. There was a last-minute adjustment, however, as they cancelled the visit to Grenada following the Cambridges' controversial tour of the Caribbean.

The Princess Royal also visited Papua New Guinea from April 11 to 13.

From May 17 to 19, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will visit Canada.

Other events

A 'Superbloom' field of flowers will surround the Tower of London, with 20 million seeds being planted in the moat in the spring to be ready to bloom from June to September.

Stamps, coins, souvenir chinaware and Royal Collection exhibitions will also commemorate the occasion, and 39 towns are vying to win Jubilee city status.

A Jubilee Arch will also be built at the gateway to the Highland Games arena at the Princess Royal & Duke of Fife Memorial Park, in Braemar, near Balmoral. The Prince of Wales is believed to have approved the design which is set to be in place for the annual Braemar Gathering in September.

Plans have also been confirmed to allow pubs and bars to serve alcohol until 1am on June 2, 3 and 4 as an alteration to the usual 11pm cut off. Home Office minister Kit Malthouse said the extension would allow people to ‘celebrate the longest-reigning monarch in the United Kingdom’.

There are now more than 2,000 events listed on the official Platinum Jubilee website, taking place across the UK to celebrate the occasion.

This article is kept updated with the latest information.