Holiday weekend, Platinum Pudding, pageant of flags. Palace reveals how Queen's 70th year on the throne will be celebrated

By Hannah Ryan and Max Foster, CNN

Updated 5:53 AM ET, Fri January 14, 2022

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this year -- marking 70 years on the throne.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this year -- marking 70 years on the throne.

(CNN)This year is set to be a landmark one for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

It is her Platinum Jubilee -- marking 70 years since the Queen first took the throne in 1952 and making her both the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-serving female head of state in history.
To celebrate the unprecedented anniversary, a number of events will take place throughout the UK over the year -- culminating in a four-day national bank holiday weekend from Thursday June 2 until Sunday June 5, known as the Jubilee Weekend.
    The holiday itself will include a variety of public events and community activities, as well as "national moments of reflection" on the Queen's 70 years of service.
      The upcoming celebrations will be the Queen's first jubilee without her husband, Prince Philip, who died in 2021.
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        The monarch's private estates -- including Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle -- will also join in with Jubilee themed events.
        One of the initiatives due to take place as part of the celebrations is known as the "Platinum Pudding" celebration -- a nationwide baking competition seeking out a new dessert dedicated to the Queen. UK residents aged 8 and over will be invited to create a recipe and the finalists will be judged by a panel including famed baker Mary Berry, Monica Galetti and the Buckingham Palace head chef Mark Flanagan.
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          The winning recipe will then be made available to the public ahead of the Jubilee Weekend.
          Other events planned to mark the occasion include the "BBC Platinum Party at the Palace" -- a live concert which promises to bring together some of the world's biggest entertainment stars to celebrate significant moments from the Queen's reign.
          On Thursday June 2, more than 1,500 towns, villages and cities throughout the UK and its overseas territories will light a beacon to mark the Jubilee. The capitals of Commonwealth countries will also light beacons -- even as sentiment towards the British monarch in the Commonwealth now differs throughout different nations.
          The Jubilee Weekend celebrations will also see "Big Jubilee Lunches" take place across Britain, including flagship events in London and at Cornwall's Eden Project -- where the idea for the lunches originated.
          A Platinum Jubilee Pageant will also be held, in which artistic performers, dancers, musicians, military personnel, key workers and volunteers will unite to tell the story of Queen Elizabeth II's reign in a festival of creativity. It will take place in London and will include street arts, theater, music, circus, costumes, and visual technology.
          Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
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          Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, in London. She is held here by her mother, also named Elizabeth. Her father would later become King George VI.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, in London. She is held here by her mother, also named Elizabeth. Her father would later become King George VI.
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          Princess Elizabeth poses for a photo at her London home in 1928.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Princess Elizabeth poses for a photo at her London home in 1928.
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          Princess Elizabeth is seen with her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, during a visit to Balmoral, Scotland, in September 1933. He would go on to become King Edward VIII in 1936. But when he abdicated later that year, Elizabeth's father became King and she became heir presumptive.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Princess Elizabeth is seen with her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, during a visit to Balmoral, Scotland, in September 1933. He would go on to become King Edward VIII in 1936. But when he abdicated later that year, Elizabeth's father became King and she became heir presumptive.
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          From left, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 22, 1939.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          From left, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 22, 1939.
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          Elizabeth rides a horse in Windsor, England, in 1940. Her love of horses has been well documented.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Elizabeth rides a horse in Windsor, England, in 1940. Her love of horses has been well documented.
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          A 14-year-old Elizabeth, right, sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast on October 13, 1940. On the broadcast, her first, she said that England's children were full of cheerfulness and courage.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          A 14-year-old Elizabeth, right, sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast on October 13, 1940. On the broadcast, her first, she said that England's children were full of cheerfulness and courage.
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          Princess Elizabeth shakes hands with an officer of the Grenadier Guards on May 29, 1942. King George VI made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Princess Elizabeth shakes hands with an officer of the Grenadier Guards on May 29, 1942. King George VI made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment.
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          Elizabeth, right, and Princess Margaret wear summer dresses circa 1942. Margaret is Elizabeth's only sibling.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          Elizabeth, right, and Princess Margaret wear summer dresses circa 1942. Margaret is Elizabeth's only sibling.
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          With the Drakensberg Mountains behind her, Princess Elizabeth sits in South Africa's Natal National Park on April 21, 1947. It was her 21st birthday.
          Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II
          With the Drakensberg Mountains behind her, Princess Elizabeth sits in South Africa's Natal National Park on April 21, 1947. It was her 21st birthday.
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          On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth wed Prince Philip, a lieutenant in the British Navy who had been born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark. After becoming a British citizen and renouncing his Greek title, Philip became His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His wife became the Duchess of Edinburgh.