Queen returns to Windsor Castle for Platinum Jubilee

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The Jubilee weekend marks a unique milestone in Britain’s history, as the country will come together to celebrate the Queen being the first to reach 70 years on the throne. The bank holiday weekend will see a number of special events and initiatives take place to commemorate the monarch’s historic reign, and the first event to bring the community together will be lighting the beacons.

As a long-standing tradition in the UK to celebrate Royal Jubilees, weddings, and coronations, beacons will be lit throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, as well as UK overseas territories to mark the Platinum Jubilee.

The official Jubilee website states: “A beacon chain, once used as a tool for communication, has now become a symbol of unity across towns, borders, countries and continents and is often the central point of focus for any outdoor gathering or celebration.”

Beacons will be lit on the top of mountains, church and cathedral towers, castle battlements, on town and village greens, country estates, parks and farms, along beaches, and on cliff tops.

More than 2,800 of these flaming tributes are due to take place within three types of events; Community Beacons, Commonwealth Beacons, and the Principal Beacon.

The Community Beacons will see thousands of beacons lit by communities, charities and different groups across the countries and regions taking part.

The Commonwealth Beacons will see beacons lit in each capital of the Commonwealth, amounting to 54 in total.

And the Principal Beacon will be lit at Buckingham Palace by a senior royal, who is yet to be announced.

Where will the beacons be lit in the UK?

The Platinum Jubilee Beacons will be lit on Thursday, June 2.

Scouts are assembling at least 70 beacons around the United Kingdom, from Cornwall in the southwest to the Highlands and Islands, Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, and the Norfolk Broads in the east.

The Girlguides will also light up to 70 beacons while Walking With The Wounded will light beacons at the UK’s four highest peaks: Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon, and Slieve Donard.

Beacons will also be lit on The Queen’s Sandringham and Balmoral Estates, at the Copper Horse statue of King George III in Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland, and on the battlements of the Tower of London.

English Heritage will light at least 17 beacons on heritage sites, and others will be lit in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; Sark and Alderney in the Channel Islands, St Davids, the most westerly city in Wales, and the Isle of Wight.

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To find out where your local beacon lighting event will be held, visit the Government website here.

What time will the beacons be lit?

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Anchor Chain will begin the ceremonies in the UK at 9.30pm.

More than 1,500 beacons will be lit, with many starting later at 9.45pm.

Beacons along Hadrian’s Wall will be lit at 10pm, with the Principal Beacon at the Mall in central London.

The international beacons will be lit at 9.15pm local time.

Nine London bridges across the River Thames will be lit up to form the world’s longest public artwork, the “Illuminated River”, with a celebratory sequence of evolving colour and light.

English cathedrals, including Durham, Ely, Lichfield, Peterborough and Rochester, will be lighting up the night sky red, white and blue, while London’s BT Tower will also be celebrating the occasion.

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