Four-day Bank Holiday weekend planned for Queen's platinum jubilee

Britain will come together and celebrate the monarch's 70-year reign over the course of a four-day weekend.

The May Bank Holiday weekend in 2022 will be moved to Thursday, June 2, and there will be an additional Bank Holiday on Friday, June 3, to celebrate her Majesty hitting this milestone.

Queen Elizabeth II will be the first British monarch to have reigned for seven decades when she reaches the milestone.

The monarch has been a regular visitor to Essex over her long reign.

The Queen celebrates 70 years on the throne in 2022. Picture: PA

Alongside the holiday, there will also be an "extensive programme of public events which will mix traditional pageantry with cutting edge technological displays" to celebrate the occasion.

Activity will build across 2022 in the run up to the four day weekend, when the eyes of the world will turn to the UK.

Spectacular moments in London and other major cities will be complemented by events in communities across the UK and the Commonwealth, allowing people to join together in celebration at a national and local level.

The Queen and Prince Philip in Colchester

Plans for the Platinum Jubilee are being developed in conjunction with some of the UK’s leading creative minds, event organisers and world class digital design companies.

In keeping with tradition, a Platinum Jubilee medal will be awarded to people who work in public service including representatives of the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the prison services.

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This tradition stretches back to the reign of Queen Victoria when an official medal was designed to mark her 50th anniversary on the throne.

The Queen walks in St Martins Square in Basildon Essex as part of her visit to Essex

Culture Secretary Oliver 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."

The commemorations are being arranged jointly with The Royal Household and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Further details on all aspects of programming, including events and how the public can get involved will be released in the months ahead.

Find out more here.