Why the Queen will celebrate Platinum Jubilee five months ahead of June bank holiday weekend

The Royal Family has revealed that the Queen will mark her Platinum Jubilee in February, several months before nationwide celebrations go ahead in June. 

• The Queen will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee on 6 February, five months before the highly-anticipated June bank holiday festivities. 
• Her Majesty will become the first-ever British monarch to mark 70 years on the throne this spring. 
• In other royal news, the royals who helped select Kate Middleton's birthday portraits revealed.
  

The Royal Family has confirmed that the Queen will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee 2022 on 6 February, five months ahead of the nationwide festivities planned for later this year. 

The exciting date will see Her Majesty, whose husband Prince Philip died aged 99 in April, become the first-ever British monarch to reach the milestone anniversary of 70 years on the throne. It precedes the public events scheduled for this summer, which will take place over a highly-anticipated four-day-long June bank holiday weekend. 

While the Queen's springtime celebration might confuse some royal fans, it actually makes perfect sense. 

The 95-year-old monarch officially ascended the throne on 6 February 1952, the same date that her father, King George VI, tragically died of lung cancer. She was coronated in June 1953, over a year after she inherited the prestigious title. The lengthy space of time between her ascension and her coronation followed the royal tradition of delaying celebrations after a monarch's death, to allow the nation to appropriately grieve the loss of its Head of State. 

The Royal Family unveiled its itinerary of events for the Platinum Jubilee 2022 on Monday, and, with the exception of the Queen's pudding competition in January (judged by former Bake-off star Mary Berry!), most of its festivities are scheduled to take place between June 2—5. It's understood that the midsummer dates were chosen because they offer a higher chance of sunshine for the largely outdoor celebrations. 

Royal fans can expect a jam-packed lineup of entertainment from the Platinum Jubilee, with street parades, pageants, and even a Buckingham Palace live concert all on the cards for the extravagant event. Three special displays marking important moments in Her Majesty’s reign, including the Accession, the Coronation, and the Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees, will also be made public across the royal households. 

It remains unknown which events the Queen will attend, but it's understood that Prince Charles and his wife, Duchess Camilla, will take up a great deal of the royal duties over the four days.