The Royal Wedding was quite a event – for those that watched it on TV and for those that were there. We’re not likely to see such an event again for many years to come. Still, there’s plenty to look forward to in the British and Royal calendar that will be worth celebrating and worth covering. You’ll also need to keep these dates in mind if you’re planning trips for the next 18 months, as you may want to be there or avoid traveling to Britain during these times to save on trip costs.
So, after the Royal Wedding – what’s next for us Anglophiles and Britain?
First up in June is the Queen’s official birthday, which is always marked with parades and much pomp and circumstance.
Next up will be the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first official visit overseas to Canada during the first two weeks of July. We’re expecting there to be a lot of interest around this, and we plan to cover it as heavily as we can.
There will be another Royal Wedding this summer in Edinburgh for Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Philips, but that won’t be nearly as big of an affair or have the high profile as William and Kate’s wedding.
After that, things will be a little quiet until next year when two major events will dominate the calendar for next summer: the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Diamond Jubilee will celebrate 60 years on the throne for Queen Elizabeth II, and there are going to be many events scheduled in June 2012 to coincide with the celebrations.
They’ve moved the traditional May bank holiday to June 4th. This will result in a special four-day holiday in honor of the Diamond Jubilee, coinciding with the Queen’s official birthday in the United Kingdom, also on 4 June. A large event will be staged in London on that weekend, which is to include a diamond jubilee concert — reportedly to be produced by singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The celebration will also include a maritime parade of boats and events along the River Thames on 3 June, in which 1,000 boats are expected to take part (the largest flotilla to be seen on the river in 350 years). Some one million people are expected to watch from the banks. Street parties will also take place across the country.
While it won’t be as big of a celebration as the Royal Wedding, it will dominate the month of June.
A few weeks after the Diamond Jubilee marks the beginning of the London 2012 Olympic Games starting on July 27th and ending on August 12th. This event will obviously be massive and dominate the headlines that summer. It will be a truly global event that London has been preparing for almost 10 years.
Somewhere in there we’ll hopefully be celebrating the birth of the next Royal Heir if William and Kate get to work on that right away. Let’s hope so!
We plan to be in London for the Diamond Jubilee as well as London 2012, and you can expect us to cover it all. And, of course, if anything were to come up between now and then regarding Britain or the Royal Family, we will cover it as well!
About Jonathan
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
Don’t forgot Prince Philip will be 90!!!!! in June.
Yes Jonathan, How can you overlook the big 90th birthday? Philip my not wish too much hooplah but even Her Majesty is ignoring his wishes on this. Tsk, tsk.