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Platinum Jubilee: A four day bank holiday will mark the Queen's 70-year reign in 2022

queen-elizabeth.Image source, Getty Images
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The Queen has been on the throne for almost 70 years, the longest reign a British monarch has ever had

Lots of people look forward to the yearly bank holidays in the UK and 2022 will see an extra day off added to the calendar.

It's all because of the Queen's upcoming Platinum Jubilee which will mark her 70-year reign.

Her Majesty will have been on the throne for a record-breaking seven decades on 6 February 2022, a milestone no other British monarch has reached before.

However, like the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees, celebrations aren't set to take place until early June when the weather is expected to be warmer.

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Members of the royal family took part in the last jubilee celebrations

What is a Jubilee?

Royal jubilees celebrate significant moments in the life and reign of monarchs. Very few British monarchs have reigned for more than 50 years. So far, the Queen has celebrated her:

Silver Jubilee (25-year reign)

Golden Jubilee (50-year reign)

Diamond Jubilee (60-year reign)

A four-day weekend will mark the big event, with the May Spring Bank Holiday moving to the Thursday 2 June and an additional Bank Holiday introduced on Friday 3 June.

A packed programme of events is expected during the four day celebrations, allowing for people right across the UK to come together to take part. Members of the royal family are also expected to get involved.

Image source, PA Media
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Lots of people took part in celebrations during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour

"We can all look forward to a special, four-day Jubilee weekend, when we will put on a spectacular, once-in-a-generation show that mixes the best of British ceremonial splendour with cutting edge art and technology," said the government's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

"It will bring the entire nation and the Commonwealth together in a fitting tribute to Her Majesty's reign."

As part of the big occasion, Platinum Jubilee medals will be awarded to those who work in public service including representatives of the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the prison services. This tradition goes right back to the reign of Queen Victoria when an official medal was designed to celebrate her 50th anniversary on the throne.