Sidmouth is looking forward to celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne in 2022

The town’s Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the Government’s recent announcement that the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be commemorated with a four-day event being held from June 2 – 5, 2022. Thursday June 2 and Friday June 3 will both be official public holidays.

A spokesperson for the chamber said that they were already planning for the event, adding: “We expect the Platinum Jubilee to be a bigger event than any of those we have organised before. No monarch has ever been so popular and respected and a Platinum Jubilee is obviously an exceptional achievement that we will mark accordingly.”

The chamber has run a number of highly successful street parties over recent years to commemorate significant national events.

The parties have attracted very large numbers and are reportedly the most well-attended and colourful in the South West.

The spokesperson added: “The early announcement of the dates is very helpful and gives us plenty of time to make the whole weekend as enjoyable and memorable as possible.

“We already have a draft programme in mind and will be liaising with other organisations across the town as we always have done.”

The date of the four-day holiday between June 2 and June 5, 2022, will in fact coincide with the 69th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation on June 2nd 1953 and not the exact date of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne on February 8th 1952.

No previous British monarch has celebrated their Platinum Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II is already the longest reigning monarch in British history surpassing the record set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who died in 1901, aged 81, after over 63 years on the throne.

The present Queen is 94 and has been Queen for over 68 years. She is the longest-serving female head of state in world history. She will be 96 by the time of the Platinum Jubilee. Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh is expected to celebrate his 100th birthday in June 2021.