By Linda Tancs

Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation took place on 2 June 1953.  Celebrating her 60 years on the throne, the upcoming central weekend of her Diamond Jubilee (2-5 June) promises to be as memorable and majestic as, well, her Majesty.  Some highlights include the river pageant on Sunday afternoon, a mustering of 1000 boats and ships upriver of Battersea and ending at Tower Bridge, featuring the Queen’s barge, a floating belfry, historic ships, boats spouting geysers and music barges.  On 4 June the BBC will present a concert at Buckingham Palace surrounding what Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, famously referred to as The Wedding Cake (the Victoria Memorial).  The concert will include classic hits from artists including Shirley Bassey, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Elton John, Tom Jones, Lang Lang, Annie Lennox, Madness, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and Ed Sheeran.   The long celebratory weekend will end on 5 June with the carriage procession up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down the Mall through the center gates at Buckingham Palace.  As the royals wave from the balcony, the RAF will fly over the palace–minus Concorde, whose deafening roar signalled its awesome impending approach during the Golden Jubilee flyover in 2002.  Long live the Queen!