Things to Know About Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne for 70 years as of February 2022. She is Britain's longest-reigning monarch. She is the third longest-serving monarch in the world.

In 2015, Queen Elizabeth passed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Queen Victoria died at the age of 81 after being on the throne for 64 years.

Two public holidays in Britain have been set aside to mark her platinum jubilee. A four-day weekend of celebrations will take place on Thursday, June 2 through Sunday, June 5, 2022 with over 5,000 street parties and public events across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

The royal family and all of Britain are preparing to celebrate four days of activities to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.

Four Days of Activities

Thursday. The activities begin with the traditional "Trooping the Colour" military parade in central London led by Prince William who is second in line to the British throne and the third-oldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth. A flypast of modern and historic aircraft will follow. There will be other street parties during the day.

Friday. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at St. Paul's Cathedral on Friday.

Saturday. A concert outside Buckingham Palace will be held on Saturday featuring the rock group Queen, pop band Duran Duran, and U.S. singer Diana Ross. The queen is scheduled to attend the Derby horse race with family members.

Sunday. Activities will conclude with a pageant throughout the British capital as well as more street parties. The final day of celebrations will include The Big Jubilee Lunch. Over 600 lunches are planned throughout the Commonwealth and beyond from Canada to South Africa.

It is unclear if Queen Elizabeth will attend all the activities that have been planned in her honor. However, she is scheduled to make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet the crowds.

Queen Elizabeth's Reign

The 96-year-old monarch was born on April 21, 1926. She became queen of the United Kingdom and more than a dozen other realms including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand after her father King George VI died on February 6, 1952 at the age of 56. At the time, Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip of six years were on a tour of Africa and Asia in place of her ailing father. She is the first sovereign in more than 200 years to accede to the throne while abroad instead of being in her own country. She was crowned on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey in the first televised coronation service.

Queen Elizabeth II was only 27 years old when she began her reign seven decades ago. During her long time on the throne, Queen Elizabeth has carried out over 21,000 official engagements in more than 100 countries covering a distance of 43,618 miles. She has approved at least 4,000 pieces of legislation under 14 prime ministers. To put it in perspective, there have been 14 United States Presidents in office during her reign. President Lyndon B. Johnson was the only one she did not meet.

All of Queen Elizabeth's Jubilees

Queen Elizabeth has celebrated many jubilees during her reign. Some of them were major ones while two of them were modest events.

Silver Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth marked her Silver Jubilee after being the monarch for 25 years in 1977. Her first of many Jubilees began in February that year with a month of church services across the country, culminating in June.

Ruby Jubilee. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth celebrated in modest events for being on the throne for 40 years.

Golden Jubilee. This jubilee in 2002 was celebrated with four days of nationwide celebrations to mark the queen's Golden Jubilee for reigning 50 years.

Diamond Jubilee. The diamond jubilee was to mark her 60th year on the throne in 2012 with four days of celebrations in June along with a nationwide tour.

Sapphire Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth celebrated with a modest affair in 2017 to commemorate 65 years of reigning.

Platinum Jubilee. February 6, 2022 marked Queen Elizabeth's 70th year on the throne. However, the celebrations start on June 2 and end on June 5, 2022.

BBC World News, BBC World Service, and BBC.com are broadcasting extensive coverage of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee so that people around the world will get the opportunity to watch the monumental occasion.