The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Top Events

Celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign with an array of spectacular royal events happening throughout the year. Here are some of the highlights.

The Queen: Sixty Photographs for Sixty Years , The Drawings Gallery, Windsor Castle

The Queen is one of the most photographed figures in modern history and now, thanks to the Diamond Jubilee, you can see the 66th monarch depicted throughout six decades at the Drawings Gallery in Windsor Castle. Altogether there’ll be sixty photographs of The Queen on display, many taken by leading press photographers and showing world- famous images along with more relaxed moments that will provide you with a deeper insight into the Queen’s enigmatic character.
Date: 4 February 2012 – January 2013

Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration , Buckingham Palace, London

Learn more about the royals’ binding relationship with the most precious stone in the world. During the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, a dazzling exhibition will show the many different ways diamonds have been used by the royal family over the last 200 years. The exhibition will also feature a rare opportunity to see a treasure trove of majestic jewels belonging to The Queen, both personal and those inherited during her reign.
Date: 1 August – 30 September 2012

Katherine Parr Quincentenary Festival , Sudeley Castle, The Cotswolds

Celebrate the reign of one great queen by celebrating the life of another at the Queen Katherine Parr Quincentenary Festival, held in Sudeley Castle. The last of Henry VIII’s six wives, when the infamous king died, Katherine moved to Sudeley Castle after marrying Lord Seymour of Sudeley and is buried in St Mary’s Church. The festival includes an exhibition that reveals more about the young queen, featuring items from the castle’s own collection, as well as several other pieces on loan from historic collections. There’ll also be the chance to see parts of the castle not normally open to the public as well as a Champagne Reception with Historian Dr David Starkey.
Date: until 28 October 2012

The Queen: Art & Image , National Portrait Gallery, London

The National Portrait Gallery will hold a celebratory exhibition bringing together 60 of the most resonant images of Elizabeth II, some of which have never been seen in public. The works span her six decade reign and will be shown off in various locations around Britain before landing in London at the National Portrait Gallery. With the likes of Beaton, Annigoni, Leibovitz and even Andy Warhol beaming from the walls, The Queen: Art and Image will be an eclectic exhibition that presents a world-famous figure in a variety of different forms, from painted portraits to media photography.
Date: 17 May – 21 October 2012