A network of flaming tributes to the Queen will stretch throughout the country on Thursday.
Beacons marking the Platinum Jubilee will be lit at 9.45pm sites including the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle and the Queen’s estates of Sandringham and Balmoral, along with the tops of the UK’s four highest peaks.
The first beacons will be lit in Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific, and the final one in the central American country of Belize.
The principal beacon outside the Palace – a 21-metre-tall Tree of Trees sculpture for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative – will be illuminated by a senior member of the royal family, and images will be projected on to the Palace.
The history of jubilee beacons
Over the next 70 days, as we countdown to the #PlatinumJubilee Central Weekend, we’ll be sharing an image a day of The Queen – each representing a year of Her Majesty’s 70-year long reign.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 24, 2022
🧵 Follow along our #70for70 countdown
Lighting beacons to celebrate Royal Jubilees, Weddings and Coronations is a long-held tradition.
The flaming displays might appear on 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.
In 1897, beacons were lit to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1977, 2002 and 2012, beacons commemorated the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees of The Queen, and in 2016 Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
READ MORE:
- Your guide to what's happening on the Isle of Wight for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
- Best Isle of Wight afternoon teas according to TripAdvisor reviews ahead of Jubilee
On Thursday, there are four types of beacons being lit:
- A free-standing beacon fuelled by bottle gas
- A beacon brazier with a metal shield
- A bonfire beacon
- Bishops Frome Strawman
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.