Enthusiastic Brits are already getting ready to celebrate the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee despite it still being a week away.
Schools and nurseries are full of excited children as parents dressed them up this morning for jubilee parties and celebrations, a whole 10 days before the scheduled ‘Thank You’ day on June 5, when 10 million people are expected to participate in celebrations.
But rather than limit the fun to the bank holidays, many royal family fans are already getting the party started – enjoying the once in a lifetime celebration everywhere from schools to retirement homes.
The Queen ascended to the throne on June 2 1953 and is the UK’s longest reigning monarch – at the Jubilee celebrations next weekend she will have surpassed Queen Victoria’s 64-year rule by more than six years.
Official celebrations will take place next weekend with two extra bank holidays featuring events such as the Queen’s birthday parade, a Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral and a Jubilee Pageant to be held through central London.
The Queen herself is expected to attend these events after an unfortunate spell of mobility problems left her unable to attend several royal engagements, including the opening of Parliament earlier this month.
So it’s no wonder royal fans are struggling to contain their excitement as they get ready to pay tribute to the monarch in the most British way possible.
Schools up and down the country are opening up their doors to children for jubilee parties, taking a rare break away from the curriculum to mark the momentous occasion.
Many of these schools are holding their celebrations today – such as St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Slough, where teachers have been helping children get ready by drawing union jacks on their skin with skin markers.
Meanwhile at Mapplewell Primary School in Mapplewell, north of Sheffield, children have been learning about the Queen and her role before making their own Queen Elizabeth II masks.
The school tweeted: ‘We used our fine motor skills and scissor skills to create royal masks. We are ready for the Jubilee party tomorrow.’
And numerous proud parents have been sharing their children’s outfits online, with the majority going for a red, white and blue theme.
But for particularly brave parents – or children! – the costuming goes much further by dressing up as the Queen herself, or adorning them with union jacks wherever they can.
And it’s not just schools which are preparing. Iconic UK landmarks and businesses are getting their decorations up too as they capitalise on Britons’ enthusiasm in the run up to official celebrations next weekend.
And work colleagues are already practicing their baking skills and getting their costumes and decorations ready.
A pod on the London Eye was specially transformed yesterday into a jubilee themed bar with dozens of photos of the royal family, Union Jack bunting and red, white and blue flowers.
The Tate Britain in London today unveiled more than 600m of colourful bunting which is draped around the building’s columns and other building features.
The bunting has been decorated by both schoolchildren and Tate visitors and has been organised by the Together Coalition.
Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, said: ‘Art is something to be enjoyed by everyone – it can bring us together and give us the tools we need to express ourselves – so it’s great to see children’s creativity being placed at the heart of Thank You Day celebrations.
‘Here at Tate Britain we are delighted to host some of the designs which have been made so far, and we look forward to adding even more over the coming week.’
Even pets are being pictured joining in the celebrations as owners are posting snaps of adorable UK-themed pet clothes and accessories, from bows to banners and scarves.
And for dog-lovers the fun doesn’t stop there – the Royal Family has even released a brand new emoji in honour of the Queen’s love of corgis especially for the Royal Jubilee.
Fittingly the corgi is named PJ and the palace expressed its wish that ‘as many people as possible’ get behind the emoji to celebrate the Queen’s milestone online.
The main celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee will begin next week with an extra two days bank holiday for much of the nation.
It has been confirmed that Price Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will all play roles in the Jubilee celebrations.
But they will not feature in the prominent balcony appearance during the Trooping of the Colour, as only senior serving royals such as the Duke of Cambridge, Prince of Wales and Princess Anne are invited to this prestigious spot.
There are fears Prince Andrew’s role in the celebrations in particular could distract from the Queen’s incredible milestone, following criticism after the Prince supported his mother down the aisle during the royal family’s recent memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh.
There are also some concerns over Her Majesty’s health after episodic mobility problems have caused her to miss royal engagements and pull out of events at the last minute.
Around a month ago the palace told the public to expect the Queen to ‘not attend most events’ after she was pictured earlier this year using a walking cane to get around.
Over the past year she has withdrawn from several key events including the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the annual Commonwealth Service.
Two weeks ago she missed the state opening of Parliament due to health reasons, sending Prince Charles and Prince William to attend instead – but the palace seems hopeful such issues should not significantly affect the jubilee celebrations.
June 2 marks the official 70th anniversary of Her Majesty’s reign and the beginning of the Platinum Jubilee weekend – the centrepiece of the day will be the Trooping the Colour and a special birthday parade for the Queen which thousands are expected to attend.
There will also be a ceremony called Lighting the Principal Beacon which will see members of the royal family arrive to watch the lighting of the principal beacon at the palace – a 21-metre tall Tree of Trees sculpture.
More than 3,000 beacons are being lit across the UK and the Commonwealth in a show of solidarity with the monarch.
On Friday June 3 the royals will attend a Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral to be followed by a Guildhall reception lunch hosted by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
With the arrival of the weekend comes a special race at Epsom for the Queen, who is known to love horses, and the BBC’s Platinum Jubilee Party.
Expected to be a huge party on Saturday night (June 4), it will see huge stars such as Diana Ross, Alicia Keys, Duran Duran and, of course Queen, perform live for the royal family and a live audience.
It will also be available to watch on TV.
Then the big weekend finishes with street parties across the UK and an all-singing, all-dancing pageant through central London.
The National Thank You Day, as it is being termed, will be marked by thousands of street parties on Sunday, June 5 to mark 70 years of service by the Queen.
The plan is backed by celebrities including TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh, The Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith and former EastEnder Ross Kemp.