Make a date with history this summer as 2016 Britain celebrates a bevy of birthdays and anniversaries. Our beloved and oldest-ever monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is 90 this year, so join the nation as it says “Long Live the Queen” and Her Majesty generously shares her love of horses, corgis, pomp and pageantry with her subjects in a year-long birthday party.
Royal revels include street parties in villages and towns across the UK, a Windsor Castle ceremony as the Queen lights the first in a chain of 900 beacons, and a service of Thanksgiving in St Paul’s Cathedral. The Clean for the Queen project calls on the country to show its gratitude by joining in a nationwide clean-up campaign, while the Patron’s Lunch promises the world’s largest-ever street party, with 10,000 guests invited to the Mall near Buckingham Palace for feasting and fundraising in honour of the Queen’s 600+ sponsored charities. In case you haven’t yet received an invitation, the event will be broadcast live on the BBC and on giant video screens in a Royal Park near you.
Expect plenty of bunnies, beavers and badgers on hand for the 150th birthday of Beatrix Potter, writer and illustrator of children’s favourites like The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck and The Roly Poly Pudding. Beatrix was one of the Lake District’s most famous residents, so 17th century Hill Top Farm, her former cottage home turned National Trust museum, will be hosting special events throughout the summer. There will be tours of Hill Top and its lovely gardens, birthday picnics, guided walks and storytelling Saturdays. Nearby Hawkshead Gallery will have a charming display of original illustrations.
Not only was Ms Potter a prolific author and artist, she was also a passionate farmer and conservationist, an expert on mushrooms, a prize-winning sheep breeder and the first woman president of the Herdwick Sheepbreeders Association. Hard to believe that Peter Rabbit, her first ‘little book’, was rejected by several publishers so she had to print it herself. It was an instant and huge success. Since then, her works have sold over 100 million copies and have been translated into more than 35 languages.
Further south, the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire, celebrates the 100th birthday of the late, great Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG. Step through the Museum’s chocolate doors, dress up as your favourite Dahl story character, enjoy workshop and craft activities in Miss Honey’s Classroom and visit Dahl’s famous Writing Hut.
One of the finest musicians of all time, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, would also have been 100 this year. Born in New York, raised in San Francisco, renowned as the ‘Miracle Boy’ who gave his first solo concert aged 8 and was world famous by 13, Menuhin spent most of his adult life in England, where he founded the famed Yehudi Menuhin School and taught and inspired generations of young musicians. Celebratory events include an exhibition and Magical Musical Journeys Workshops for families at the Royal Academy of Music and a series of concerts at Kings Place.
Last but not least, Britain makes much ado about William Shakespeare in the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death in 1616. In his relatively short life– he died in his early 50s– the greatest writer in the English-speaking world penned an astonishing 38 plays, 154 sonnets and dozens of quotable quotes.
Shakespeare’s Globe in London and The Swan in his birth town of Stratford upon Avon, are marking the occasion with numerous exhibitions, performances and events. From the hidden gardens and spectacular lawns of Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, comes an immersive production of As You Like It, with a mouth-watering gourmet BBQ served to the audience during the final wedding scene.You can also enjoy a summer evening of open air theatre at its very best as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men perform Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s sparkling battle of the sexes comedy, in the majestic riverside setting of Ham House near Richmond. So, what’s not to celebrate?
Further information:
Her Majesty the Queen, www.thepatronslunch.com
William Shakespeare, www.shakespeare400.org
Beatrix Potter, www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Roald Dahl, www.roalddahl.com/museum
Image 1: Happy 90th Birthday, Your Majesty! Photo by PolizeiBerlin
Image 2: The inspirational Yehundi Menuhin. Photo copyright BildZeitung.
Article by Judith Schrut. Email Judith at judith0777@gmail.com