London, Jan 10 (PTI) The year-long celebrations to mark the British monarch’s 70-year reign in 2022 officially began on Monday with the launch of a Platinum Pudding Competition, a contest to find a cake not only for Queen Elizabeth II but also for the British public to replicate at street parties across the country.
On February 6 this year, the 95-year-old Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. Buckingham Palace said the “unprecedented anniversary” will be celebrated throughout the year, centred around a four-day UK bank holiday Jubilee Weekend from Thursday June 2 to Sunday June 5.
“To mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, a nationwide baking competition sets out to find a brand new pudding dedicated to The Queen. The Big Jubilee Lunch and Fortnum & Mason are inviting applications from UK residents aged 8 and over to create the perfect Platinum Pudding recipe,” the palace said.
Five finalists will prepare their pudding for an expert judging panel including Dame Mary Berry, Monica Galetti and Buckingham Palace Head Chef Mark Flanagan.
“The winning recipe will be made available to the public and the pudding will be enjoyed at Big Jubilee Lunches during the Jubilee weekend, and by generations to come,” it said.
The competition by the UK’s famous Fortnum & Mason department store is among one of a series of events for the jubilee year unveiled by Buckingham Palace.
Between May 12 and 15, more than 1,000 performers and 500 horses will take part in a show at Windsor Castle, taking the crowds on a journey through history from Elizabeth I to the present day.
On June 2, the special holiday weekend begins – kicking off with a Trooping The Colour on Horse Guards Parade in central London. On the same day – the UK, along with the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and its Overseas Territories, will all light a beacon at the same time as one at Buckingham Palace.
On June 3, a service of Thanksgiving will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, followed by a celebrity Party At The Palace on June 4.
The line-up for the show is yet to be unveiled but it is expected to bring together some of the biggest stars in the world.
June 5 will mark the culmination of a long weekend of celebrations with the Big Jubilee Lunch.
Usually closed off to the public, the Queen’s Balmoral and Sandringham residences will be opened to local residents on the day.
The Green Canopy initiative, which will plant over 60,000 trees up and down the country, had already been announced last year. Every planting is being recorded on a digital Queen’s Green Canopy map which will be presented to her at the end of the Jubilee year.
Volunteers, along with dancers, musicians, military personnel and key workers will tell the story of the Queen’s 70 years on the throne in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, in which a River of Hope will be paraded along the Mall – made up of 200 silk flags.
Schoolchildren have been asked to create a picture for how they would like the planet to look over the next 70 years, with the best ones being put on the flags.
The London-based Pageant will combine pomp and ceremony, street arts, theatre, music, circus, costumes as well as cutting-edge visual technology, drawing on talent from every part of the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, the palace said.
In July, displays to mark the Platinum Jubilee, as well as the Coronation and the Queen’s past Jubilee milestones, will be put on at royal residences. PTI AK MRJ MRJ
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