The country will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee over a bumper bank holiday weekend at the start of June.
Events have been organised up and down the UK as Elizabeth II marks 70 years on the throne – the first time in British history that a monarch has reached the milestone.
The celebrations are taking place nearly four months after the anniversary of her accession on 6 February.
However, that also marked 70 years since the death of the Queen’s father, King George VI, and was therefore not an occasion she wished to celebrate.
The first week of June was therefore chosen for the Platinum Jubilee, as it was for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, with the summer month offering a better chance of good weather.
To create the four-day weekend, the late May spring bank holiday has been moved to Thursday 2 June.
George VI – who became king unexpectedly after the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII – died in his sleep at Sandringham on 6 February 1952.
Elizabeth II was announced as his successor. She was aged just 25 at the time, and was on a visit to Kenya with Price Philip. She is now 96, and recently celebrated her birthday.
Her coronation did not take place until 2 June 1953, after a period of mourning.
The King had been battling ill health and failed to recover from a lung operation.
His body was discovered by a valet at 7.30am. At 10.45am, it was announced: “The King, who retired to rest last night in his usual health, passed peacefully away in his sleep early this morning.”
The news was broadcast by the BBC at 11.15am.
His body in state at Westminster Hall before his funeral, which was held on 15 February 1952 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where he is buried.
On 2 June 1953, the day of the coronation, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were driven from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach which was pulled by eight grey gelding horses; Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary and McCreery.
The service began at 11.15am and lasted almost three hours.
It was divided into six parts; the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture (which includes the crowning), the enthronement and the homage.
The BBC televised the event in a groundbreaking broadcast which was watched by 27 million people in the UK alone. The population was only 37 million at the time.
A further 11 million listened on the radio. Millions more watched it around the world.
A total of 129 nations and territories were officially represented at the service, and more than 2,000 journalists and 500 photographers from 92 nations assembled on the coronation route.
Among the many foreign journalists was Jacqueline Bouvier (who later became the First Lady of the USA, Jackie Kennedy), who was working for the Washington Times-Herald at the time.
For the past 900 years, the coronation ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey in London. The service is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has had this duty almost consistently since the Norman Conquest in 1066.
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