10,000 invited to Mall street party for Queen’s 90th
ONE of the largest street parties the country has ever seen will be held next year to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.
Ten thousand charity workers will be invited to sit down in the Mall for a hamper lunch to celebrate.
The royal lunch, to be held on June 12, will be one of a host of events to honour the Queen’s official birthday in June, rather than her actual birthday on April 21.
There will also be a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 10 and the traditional Queen’s Birthday Parade on June 11.
The massive street lunch will celebrate the ‘unrelenting support and service’ the Queen has given to the community in her 63 years on the throne.
Details of how the 10,000 lucky lunchers are to be chosen will be announced at a later date.
The Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, is helping to organise her birthday celebration. ‘ Staging this street party will be a fantastic way to celebrate a lifetime of service and a brilliant showcase of all things British,’ he said.
‘It is the first time ever that something like this has been hosted on The Mall and there is no better reason for doing it.
‘We are aiming to inspire as many people as we can to host street parties of their own. I hope people will dust off their picnic tables and join us in celebrating this very special occa- sion.’ Her birthday is not the only milestone the Queen marks next year. On September 9 she will overtake Queen Victoria – who was on the throne for 63 years and 217 days – to become the country’s longestreigning monarch.
A senior royal source revealed that the Queen was keen to keep that occasion low-key, saying: ‘She believes September should be business as usual but is happy that people want to mark her official birthday in her landmark 90th year.’