Platinum Jubilee bank holiday

The Platinum Jubilee bank holiday

This one-off bank holiday marked the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II: seventy years on the throne. She was the first British monarch ever to reach this milestone. The spring bank holiday was moved from the end of May to Thursday 2 June, and an extra bank holiday was added on Friday 3 June, creating a four-day weekend across the UK.

It was the last major national celebration of her reign; the Queen died a few months later.

How the jubilee was celebrated

The weekend began with Trooping the Colour and a flypast over Buckingham Palace. A chain of beacons was lit across the UK and the Commonwealth, there was a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral, a concert at Buckingham Palace and a pageant through the streets of London. Thousands of communities held street parties and 'Big Jubilee Lunches', and a lemon and amaretti trifle was chosen as the official Platinum Pudding.

A one-off bank holiday

The extra bank holiday was created by royal proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act and does not return in later years. It is listed on this site for reference. Whether staff had the day off depended, as always, on their employment contract, although many employers followed the extra bank holiday.