Commemorative book to be given to primary schoolchildren

PRIMARY school pupils are to be given a book as a keepsake to mark the Platinum Jubilee.

Quotes from the Queen, along with details about the lives of significant Commonwealth figures such as Nelson Mandela, will feature in the book which will be distributed across England from mid-May. Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, said it will be aimed at “celebrating and showcasing the Queen’s incredible living legacy”.

Created with the help of royal experts and historians, The Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration will allow children to trace the highlights of the royal reign through a story featuring a young girl called Isabella.

It is hoped the book will help children understand how the four nations came together as one United Kingdom.

Mr Zahawi said: “I hope all our pupils are as excited as I am to read about Her Majesty’s amazing life and the people and events that have shaped history during the last 70 years.”

A page in the book reads: “During [the Queen’s] reign, the world has changed in so many ways … This book will help you understand the amazing life and times of our Queen and the magic of the unique, unshakable bond she shares with the people she serves.”

The book, which can also be bought privately from June 23, will be delivered to schools that have requested them in Scotland and Wales from September. It is being published by DK Books.

The move comes as Conservative MPs urge the Prime Minister to announce a new regular national bank holiday before the Platinum Jubilee as a way of recognising the Queen’s extraordinary contribution to public life.

More than 30 Tory backbenchers, including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, and Damian Green, the former deputy prime minister, have thrown their weight behind a campaign to create a “thank holiday” in Her Majesty’s honour.

The extra day off would take the UK’s bank holidays up to nine compared with France and Germany’s 11.