The Queen reaches an historic anniversary tomorrow.
It will be exactly 60 years since she made her way, as a young 27-year-old, to Westminster Abbey to be crowned.
Last year's Diamond Jubilee was a focal point for national celebrations with a river pageant down the River Thames involving a flotilla of 1,000 boats, a concert in front of Buckingham Palace and a traditional service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral.
The anniversary of the coronation is a more low-key affair, with commemorations centring on the Queen's return to her coronation church with a service for 2,000 guests in the abbey on Tuesday.
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 watched the religious ceremony, which was steeped in 1,000 years of history, on TV, while more than 8,200 guests were seated in the abbey to witness the historic proceedings.
The Queen has no public events in the diary for the actual anniversary tomorrow, 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 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 more than 200 of the brands that 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, including Coronation! – a photography exhibition, which runs until September 27 and charts the preparations at the abbey ahead of the Coronation. It will also hold Vivat Regina! – a free but ticketed public lecture on coronations by the Bishop of London on June 7 – and a ticketed gala concert of coronation music on June 13.
The London Eye is renaming its second pod the Coronation Capsule with a plaque-unveiling ceremony on June 2.
Amid the celebrations, the royals are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their newest member who will one day be crowned at their own coronation. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby – a future king or queen – is due in July.
