After months of anticipation, the Platinum Jubilee weekend is finally upon us, bringing with it a wealth of street parties, special exhibitions and showstopping parades. Feeling overwhelmed by choice? Browse the Vogue edit of what to see, do, eat and drink, below.
Take to the streets
With visitors arriving from across the country and around the world, the capital is sure to be heaving throughout the long weekend, but there are two dates on which it would be especially fruitful to join the crowds: Thursday 2 June, when the Trooping of the Colour will take place on The Mall, and Sunday 5 June, when the Platinum Pageant will sweep down Whitehall.
Due to begin at 10am, the former will feature more than 1,200 parading soldiers, members of the royal family on horseback and in carriages, and an RAF fly-past, watched by the Queen from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The pageant, meanwhile, is scheduled for 2.30pm on the final day of Jubilee celebrations. It’ll kick off with the bells of Westminster Abbey chiming, just as they did on the Queen’s coronation day in 1953, before the mounted band of the household cavalry leads the glittering gold state coach from Westminster to the palace.
This will be followed by an eclectic 10,000 strong procession that tells the story of the Queen’s reign and captures just how much our society has changed over the past 70 years. Look out for musical tributes to each decade, surprise appearances from British icons and a dragon puppet larger than a double-decker bus. It’s also worth taking a moment to admire the “Tree of Trees” sculpture outside the palace: a towering monument made up of 350 small trees which will be illuminated with a specially-designed light installation on Thursday evening.