Four day 'festival' at Buckingham Palace Gardens and service of celebration at Westminster Abbey to be held for 60th anniversary of Queen's coronation
- The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family will attend the event
- Festival expected to attract thousands of people to streets of London
- Although the official Diamond Jubilee celebrations took place last year, the Queen’s actual coronation took place more than a year later, on June 2, 1953
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The 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation is to be marked by a service of celebration at Westminster Abbey.
The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family will attend the event, which is likely to attract thousands to the streets of London.
The service is one of the major highlights of this year's coronation celebrations, along with a four-day festival in Buckingham Palace Gardens in July.
Party time: Revellers on The Mall in central London last June wave flags to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee
Although the official Diamond Jubilee celebrations took place last year – the anniversary of the death of King George V1 and the Queen’s official accession to the throne – the Queen’s actual coronation took place more than a year later, on June 2 1953.
Buckingham Palace said today that the service will take place on Tuesday June 4, a few days after the 60th anniversary of the coronation, followed by a lunch.
Foreign dignitaries are expected to be among the congregation along with leading UK figures, from Prime Minister David Cameron and members of his Cabinet to military chiefs.
A spokesman for Westminster Abbey also revealed that the Queen’s coronation chair – used by almost all kings and queens since the 14th Century – will be on display in time for the event following extensive restoration.
Celebrations: Prince Charles kisses the hand of his mother Queen Elizabeth at the end her Diamond Jubilee concert in front of Buckingham Palace
The delicate work has taken many months to undertake and the chair will be presented under a new red fabric canopy supported by four posts of turned oak.
The design, by Ptolmy Dean, Surveyor of the Fabric at Westminster Abbey, has been inspired by the gold canopy traditionally used during the anointing ceremony in the coronation.
The Queen acceded to the throne on February 6 1952 when her father, George VI, died unexpectedly in his sleep at Sandringham in Norfolk.
The country was still in the grip of post-war austerity but a glittering coronation was staged on June 2 the following year at Westminster Abbey, which saw millions take to the streets in celebration and was broadcast live on television around the world for the first time.
The other major celebration of the landmark anniversary will be a festival of ‘innovation, excellence and industry’ held in the gardens at Buckingham Palace by the Royal Warrant Holders Association from July 11 to 14.
People will flock to Buckingham Palace once again for this year's coronation celebrations
Regal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II posed for this photo after her Coronation on June 2, 1953
Displaying the ‘best of British’ – from fashion to technology, car design to food and drink – the palace gardens will be packed with display stands.
A gala performance of music and dance will also be held on a specially-designed stage on selected evenings.
Unlike the official Diamond Jubilee events last year, which were largely free, tickets for the festival are priced at £30 for the daytime event and £90 each evening.
Tickets are available at www.coronationfestival.com.
According to Buckingham Palace, events to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation will be far more low-key than those of the Diamond Jubilee.
‘The jubilee was very much the focus of the national celebrations,’ a spokesman said.
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