The Queen reaches an historic anniversary this weekend.
On Sunday, it will be exactly 60 years since she made her way, as a young 27-year-old Queen, to Westminster Abbey to be crowned.
Last year’s diamond jubilee was a focal point for national celebrations with a River Pageant down the Thames involving a flotilla of 1,000 boats, a concert in front of Buckingham Palace and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation in 2013 is a more low-key affair, with commemorations centering on the Queen’s return to her coronation church with a service for 2,000 guests in the abbey on Tuesday.
Joined by a strong supporting cast of royals including the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, the monarch will listen to an address by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a reading by Prime Minister David Cameron.
The coronation took place 16 months after the Queen acceded to the throne, allowing a period of mourning for her father King George VI and time to get the detailed preparations in place.
It was a day of pomp and pageantry as thousands took to the streets despite the rainy weather to see the Queen’s procession.
An estimated 27 million people in Britain watch the deeply religious ceremony, which is steeped in 1,000 years of history, on the television, while more than 8,200 guests were seated in the abbey to witness the historic proceedings.
The Queen as yet has no public events in the diary for the actual anniversary when she is expected to be staying at Windsor and attending a church service.
On Monday, her engagements will carry on as normal with a reception for the Royal National Institute for the Blind at St James’s Palace.
In the summer, a four-day Coronation Festival is being held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace from July 11 to July 14.
Organised by the Royal Warrant Holders Association, the ticketed event, which has now sold out, will showcase over 200 of the brands which have supplied goods or services for at least five years to the households of the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh or the Prince of Wales.
Galas in the evening will include performances by Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson, Katie Melua and The Feeling.
Westminster Abbey is also staging a number of events to mark the milestone including Coronation! a photography exhibition, which runs until September 27 and charts the preparations at the abbey ahead of the coronation.