Brits will enjoy an extra Bank Holiday in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The nation will come together to mark the occasion of 70 years on the throne and will be given an extra day off work to take part in a “blockbuster” four-day weekend of celebrations.
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.
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Elizabeth II – the nation’s longest reigning monarch – reach 69 years on the throne on February 6, meaning she is less than one year away from her Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen sat on the throne at the age of just 25 when her father, King George VI, died peacefully in his sleep early on the morning of February 6, 1952, after suffering from lung cancer.
Princess Elizabeth was away in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour at the time, and returned home as monarch.
The celebrations will feature a busy programme of events which have yet to be announced and are dependent on how the coronavirus pandemic progresses.
The commemorations will mix British ceremonial splendour and pageantry with cutting edge artistic and technological displays.
Street parties are synonymous with royal jubilees and the nation will be encouraged to join – coronavirus permitting – with their neighbours for street gatherings across the UK.
People will also be encouraged to plant a tree for the Platinum Jubilee, the campaign, known as The Queen’s Green Canopy, will launch in May.
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."
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