Prince Harry | The Happiest Cow

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 75th anniversary, but only the 60th anniversary in the case of a monarch (e.g. length of time a monarch has reigned). Traditionally, the diamond jubilee or anniversary of a person was also on the 75th anniversary. This changed with the diamond jubilee of the English Queen Victoria’s reign. There was considerable national unrest when Queen Victoria largely withdrew from public life after her husband’s death in 1861. It was decided to bring the diamond jubilee forward to the 60th anniversary on 22 June, 1897. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated on 2 June, 2012, was only the second in the country’s history.

More than 1 million people gathered in central London as the Queen made her final public appearance of the diamond jubilee celebrations.

Here are some pictures of the 4 days

Saturday 2 June

The Queen attended the Epsom Derby

Sunday 3 June

The Big Jubilee Lunch: Building on the already popular Big Lunch initiative, people were encouraged to share lunch with neighbours and friends as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant: This event took place on the Thames and consisted of up to 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh travelled in the Royal Barge which formed the centrepiece of the flotilla.

Monday 4 June

BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace: A host of famous faces came together to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons: A network of 2,012 Beacons will be lit by communities and individuals throughout the United Kingdom, as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth. As in 2002, The Queen will light the National Beacon.

Tuesday 5 June

The Diamond Jubilee weekend culminated with a day of celebrations in central London, including a service at St Paul’s Cathedral followed by two receptions, a lunch at Westminster Hall, a Carriage Procession to Buckingham Palace and finally a Balcony appearance, Flypast, and Feu de Joie.

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It was a quintessentially British occasion, with weather to match.

The sky over the Thames was a steely, unbroken grey. The vast crowd certainly needed their umbrellas.

The Queen and other members of the royal family have taken part in a flotilla of more than 1,000 boats that made its way along the Thames in the Diamond Jubilee river pageant.

Some 1.2 million people gathered in central London to watch the pageant and cheer on the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, in the centrepiece of celebrations marking 60 years of Her Majesty’s reign.

Bells rang out to mark the start of the pageant, and among those in the flotilla were narrow boats, tugs, Dunkirk little ships, pleasure cruisers and steam boats.

Bridges and embankments were filled with spectators, all desperate to catch a glimpse of the myriad of vessels passing by.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were joined on their vessel by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, as well as Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The royal barge, decorated with 10,000 flowers from the royal estates, began its journey from Cadogan Pier in west London.

The 86-year-old monarch wore a silver and white dress and matching coat – an outfit that has been a year in the planning and was designed by the royal dresser Angela Kelly.
Its colour scheme was chosen to stand out against the red, gold and purple hues of the royal barge.

After travelling for around seven miles through the capital, the royal barge moored just past Tower Bridge, as heavy showers began to fall.

The Queen then braved the rain without an umbrella and stood under an ornate canopy to watch the spectacle of the flotilla, that had been travelling behind her.

The boats passed under all 13 central London river crossings from Battersea Bridge to Tower Bridge in what was thought to be the largest live public event ever held in London.

The pageant was brought to a close with an orchestra playing Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and the national anthem.