2012 marks the diamond anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She has reined over the 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms for the past 60 years. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary came to the throne in 1952 after the death of her father King George VI. When she was born Elizabeth was third in line to the throne and was never expected to become Queen. However, when her Uncle Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry his divorced American girlfriend, her father became King and she became next in line. At the age of 21, four years before she became Queen, Elizabeth married Prince Phillip of Denmark and Greece. In November of this year they will have been married 65 years. They have 4 children together and 8 grandchildren.

60 years on the throne is no small achievement, in fact only one other monarch has served for longer and that was Queen Victoria who was on the throne for 63 years. In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, the commonwealth and many other countries have organized many activities and events. In Great Britain there have been many local community celebrations. Despite the bad weather thousands of BBQs and street parades have been planned across England with Queen inspired decoration and treats. Both Monday the 4th and Tuesday the 5th have been declared bank holidays which has allowed the public lots of time to celebrate.

Some of the most elaborate celebrations for the occasion include a flotilla on the river Thames of more than 1000 boats, as shown in the video to the right. On Monday the 4th of June there will also be a free concert in London in honour of the Queen’s diamond jubilee with many of the world’s best known artists singing. This includes both artists for the younger generation such as JLS and Jessie J and also legendary artists such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones and Cliff Richard.

Who knows…in 3 years there could be a celebration of an even larger magnitude (if that’s possible) where we could celebrate Queen Elizabeth becoming the Commonwealth’s longest serving monarch ever!