20 great days out for the Queen’s platinum jubilee

Knights, concerts and afternoon teas … where to royally enjoy yourself over the platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend

The Queen’s platinum jubilee central weekend – the official celebration – kicks off at 10am on 2 June with trooping the colour on Horse Guards Parade in central London (also shown on big screens in St James’s Park and live on TV). At 9pm, the principal beacon will be lit: a 21-metre “tree of trees” made from 350 smaller trees. A further 1,500 beacons will be lit around the UK, overseas territories and Commonwealth. Other official events include a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s cathedral on 3 June, a Party at the Palace on 4 June, headlined by Queen (with Adam Lambert), Alicia Keys and Eurovision’s Sam Ryder, and a pageant at Buckingham Palace on 5 June. The pageant includes a River of Hope procession: 200 silk flags made and carried by schoolchildren, themed around the climate crisis and representing their aspirations for the next 70 years.