Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012

The main programme announced by Buckingham Palace for the central weekend to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 took place from Saturday 2nd June to Tuesday 5th June. In addition to national and international events, there were celebratory activities in communities across Surrey.

HM The Queen celebrates in Surrey
HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family, attended the Derby meeting at Epsom Racecourse, at the start of the Diamond Jubilee weekend celebrations. Greeted by HM Lord-Lieutenant, Dame Sarah Goad, they were then introduced to representatives from the Surrey community.

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Jubilee Carriage Drive
On Saturday 3rd June, the Lord-Lieutenant and her husband joined the lead carriage for The Brockham Harness Club Diamond Jubilee Carriage Drive. From Denbies Wine Estate, the carriages drove through Dorking where, at the White Horse, Dame Sarah Goad presented a commemorative brass to each of the 24 carriages in the parade, before the carriages returned to Denbies.

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Diamond Jubilee ‘Best in Show’
There was a Diamond Jubilee theme throughout the Surrey County Show at Guildford on 4th June. TRHs the Earl and Countess of Wessex were welcomed by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Mr Gordon Lee-Steere. The Royal visitors were shown round the cattle lines and the sheep and pig marquees; the Earl presented the prize for Best In Milk Heifer and the Countess presented the Group of Three Sheep Championship to a trio of Southdowns from a flock in Lewes.

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Jubilant Godalming
The Earl and Countess of Wessex continued to Godalming, where they joined Diamond Jubilee revellers at a Sport for All Day, with the Earl starting the Mayor’s tug of war competition. There were Fun and 5k/10k runs and a Diamond Jubilee Picnic. In the evening, residents joined a procession through the town, the lighting of a beacon, and celebratory fireworks.

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Jubilee Beacons
Communities across Surrey commemorated the Diamond Jubilee on the evening of 4th June, as part of a network of 2012 beacons lit throughout the United Kingdom. At Betchworth House, the beacon was lit by Mrs Joosje Hamilton (below) while in the village of Hambledon 250 residents attended a pre-lighting party before processing to watch the gorse beacon being lit by the current High Sheriff of Surrey, Mrs Karin Sehmer (far below).

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The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge
The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, headed by its Patron The Duke of Cambridge and operated by Fields in Trust, is a fantastic programme to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy of the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 London Olympics. Sites across Surrey have been nominated to be preserved in perpetuity: go to this link and type in your postcode to find those nearest you.

Saturday 23rd June 2012
Loseley Park, Guildford GU3 1HS. From 5pm (gates open at 3pm). Main concert starts 6pm and ends 9.15 pm.

Royal Air Force Musical Salute to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The Central Band of the RAF leads the entertainment with special guests The Military Wives Choir. Air displays by historic and modern RAF aircraft, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire, will fill the evening sky for 1.5 hours, plus modern and archive film footage. Tickets at £28 (plus £2 booking fee per order) before 1st May, then £31 (plus booking fee). Child and group discounts. Book at or 01689 300005 or www.queensjubileeconcert.com.

Thursday 13th November 2012 to Tuesday 15th January 2013
The Lightbox, Chobham Road, Woking GU21 4AA. Diamond Jubilee Celebrations: Photographs of HM The Queen. In celebration of HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, this exhibition of portraits of The Queen will feature both official and less formal images throughout her reign seen through the lenses of photographers Cecil Beaton, Lord Lichfield and Lord Snowdon. Upper Gallery; free entry.