Four days off to toast the Queen

BRITS will enjoy a DOUBLE bank holiday celebration during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next year, it was confirmed today.

A special four-day party will mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's reign in June.
The traditional bank holiday at the end of May will roll back to June 4 - with an extra day off on June 5.
It means Brits will enjoy a break consisting of Saturday to Tuesday, during which Diamond Jubilee beacons will be lit across the country, Buckingham Palace announced.
A service of thanksgiving will be held at St Paul's Cathedral and a formal carriage procession staged.
It will be one of a series of national set-piece events and grassroots community celebrations.
There will be a televised BBC concert in Buckingham Palace — expected to be watched by millions.

Let's celebrate ... Brits will get two days off to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "All the details are to be worked out over the coming year."
The Queen, an avid horse breeder and racer, will attend the Epsom Derby on the Saturday of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee weekend.
Big Jubilee Lunch street parties - where neighbours and friends across the UK can come together to mark the landmark anniversary - will take place on Sunday June 3.
The BBC concert on Monday June 4 is expected to feature British and Commonwealth musicians and is open to the public, with tickets being allocated by ballot.

60-year reign ... the Queen's coronation in 1953

That day the network of Diamond Jubilee Beacons — 2012 in total — will be lit across the UK, Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth.
As with the 2002 celebrations, which marked The Queen's Golden Jubilee, the monarch will light the National Beacon.

Celebration ... street parties like those held during the Queen's Golden Jubilee to take place on June 3

REX

The 60th year of The Queen's reign will be formally commemorated on Tuesday June 5 with the service of thanksgiving and carriage procession.
A dedicated Diamond Jubilee website - www.direct.gov.uk/diamondjubilee - was launched today by the Government and will feature regularly updated public information about the royal milestone.
The Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen's realms and other Commonwealth nations will be creating their own events to mark the occasion.