The Queen came to the throne on 6 February 1952 and her Coronation took place on 2 June 1953.To mark 60 years of the Queen’s reign the Diamond Jubilee took place in 2012. The celebrations centred around an extended weekend in 2012 on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th June. The 2012 late May Bank Holiday was moved to Monday 4 June 2012 and an additional Jubilee bank holiday was on Tuesday 5 June 2012.
Buckingham Palace co-ordinated a programme of events centred around the extended weekend. They included a Big Jubilee Lunch (Saturday 2nd June), a Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames (Sunday 3rd June), a concert at Buckingham Palace and the lighting of 2012 beacons throughout the United Kingdom (Monday 4th June). The Queen and other members of the Royal Family also attended a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral (Tuesday 5th June).
At high water in the afternoon of Sunday 3rd June, up to a thousand boats mustered on the River Thames in preparation for Her Majesty The Queen to lead the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. It was one of the largest flotillas ever assembled on the river. Rowed boats, working boats and pleasure vessels of all shapes and sizes where be beautifully dressed with streamers and Union Jacks, their crews and passengers turned out in their finest rigs..
