No other monarch in British history has achieved 70 years of service.
The queen, then 25, ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI.
In 2015, she became the longest-serving British monarch, surpassing the time spent on the throne by her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who ruled for 63 years and seven months.
In recognition of the historic occasion, Buckingham Palace is making all the stops. Here’s what you need to know.
What is happening?
To celebrate the unprecedented anniversary, several events have been held in the UK this year. It all culminates in a four-day national holiday weekend from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5, known as the Platinum Jubilee Weekend. In the UK, royal celebrations are usually held in the summer to allow for better weather.
The weekend will feature a variety of public events and community activities, as well as “national moments of reflection” on the queen’s seven decades as sovereign, according to the palace.
Upcoming celebrations will be the Queen’s first jubilee without her husband, Prince Philip, who died in 2021.
Several jubilees have marked the reign of the queen since her accession to the throne in 1952: the Silver Jubilee, which turned 25 in 1977; the celebrations of the 50th Golden Jubilee in 2002; and the commemorations of the Diamond Jubilee a decade ago for its 60th anniversary.
The monarch chose to commemorate other anniversaries, such as his Ruby Jubilee (40 years in 1992) and the Sapphire Jubilee (65 years in 2017), with less fanfare and no public events.
The Queen’s private estates, such as Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, also join in jubilee-themed events.
What events are planned?
Thursday, June 2nd
The festivities begin at 10:00 BST (5:00 ET) with the Queen’s Birthday Parade, known as Trooping the Color. The annual ceremony returns to central London after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an impressive display of military prestige, more than 1,200 officers of the Queen’s personal troops, the Home Division, will be joined by several hundred Army musicians and 240 horses. The “color” –or the regimental flag– will be carried by the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards. The procession will start at Buckingham Palace and will go down the mall to the Horse Guard parade, accompanied by members of the royal family on horseback and in carriages.
Upon returning from the arms camp, the queen and members of the royal family will make their usual appearance on the balcony. The event will close with a flyer over the palace.
Later, 1,500 beacons will be lit in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the overseas territories of the United Kingdom. The main lighthouse will be lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Beacon lighting is a long-standing royal tradition used to mark anniversaries, weddings and coronations. Beacons will also be lit in the capitals of the Commonwealth countries.
Friday, June 3rd
A service of thanksgiving will be held in St. Paul’s Cathedral in honor of the Queen’s long reign with the presence of family members.
Saturday, June 4
Several members of the royal family are expected to head to the Epsom Downs Racecourse in the afternoon for the 243rd edition of their famous horse race, the Derby. The queen, a great horse breeder, has been a regular spectator of the event and has even handed out the famous trophy in years past.
In the evening, a two-and-a-half-hour “Platinum Party At The Palace” concert will see a star-studded line go up to three stages built in front of Buckingham Palace and the famous Queen Victoria Memorial. Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys and Diana Ross are among the artists who will perform their greatest hits on the show, which will be broadcast live by the BBC. Some 22,000 people will be able to see the concert in person, including 10,000 who won tickets through a public vote; 5,000 tickets were reserved for key workers.
Sunday, June 5th
To culminate the celebrations, on Sunday, people are encouraged to organize street parties as part of the “Great Jubilee Lunch” initiative. Community meetings are expected to take place across the UK, including landmark events in London and the Cornish Eden Project, where the idea for lunches originated. “Great Jubilee Lunches” have also been planned around the world, from Canada to Brazil to South Africa and Japan.
The end of the weekend is the Platinum Jubilee Contest, in which artists, dancers, musicians, military personnel, key workers and volunteers will come together to bring to life emblematic moments of the Queen’s reign in a festival of creativity. . Starting at 2:30 pm (9:30 am ET), the pageant will include a “River of Hope” section that will include 200 silk flags parading through the mall like a river. Schoolchildren have been invited to paint a picture of their hopes and aspirations for the planet for the next 70 years, a selection of which will be displayed on silk flags.
When will we see the queen?
It is not yet clear exactly when we will see the queen over the weekend.
The 96-year-old monarch has recently struggled with mobility issues and has been forced to withdraw from various public appearances, including the state opening of Parliament in May.
He will continue to play safely for the jubilee and has not confirmed whether he will be present at the various parties.
A royal source recently told CNN that Her Majesty is “waiting” for the revelry and plans to take part in the celebrations, but “her presence will not be confirmed until much closer to the hour or the same day.”
What other members of the royal family join in the celebrations?
Most members of the royal family are expected to attend some of the events of the Jubilee weekend in central London. Some will also be deployed to the four nations of the United Kingdom during the four-day extravaganza, with the Queen sending the Cambridges to Wales, the Earl and Countess of Wessex to Northern Ireland and Princess Anne to Scotland.
And after much speculation, it has also been confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and their children, will return to the UK for the celebrations.
The Queen has decided that only members of the royal family who perform official duties will make an appearance on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Color parade on Thursday. So we look forward to seeing the queen with three of her children: Charles, Edward, and Anne, as well as Prince William and Kate and their children, and some other relatives of the monarch.
This is not to say that Harry, Meghan or Andrew do not participate in the celebrations at all. The larger family is traditionally invited to church services, such as the one held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.
CNN’s Hannah Ryan contributed to this report.