GUNS fired a salute to celebrate the Queen’s coronation as a special holiday for her Diamond Jubilee next year was announced.

As members of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, based at Topcliffe, fired the annual 21-gun salute, Buckingham Palace revealed next year’s Whitsun Bank Holiday will be delayed until Monday, June 4.

It will be followed by the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday on Tuesday, June 5, creating a four-day jubilee holiday which will begin on Saturday, June 2, when the Queen attends the Epsom Derby.

Yesterday’s salute by three 105mm light guns, which have seen service in Afghanistan, was directed by Brigadier Greville Bibby, commander of 15 (North East) Brigade and York Garrison. The Lord Mayor of York, Coun David Horton, joined him in inspecting the parade.

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A royal day off

WAS it really a month ago that Wills and Kate tied the knot? We were spoiled in April with that double helping of extended bank holidays and better still, there was record breaking weather to go with them.

It’s something we could get rather used to and the good news is it will happen again next year. The Queen is going to celebrate her Golden Jubilee by giving us another four day Bank Holiday.

Being June, the weather should be glorious, and it will be a great chance to get together and enjoy the early summer sunshine.

There are downsides, of course, and small business owners will be nervously trying to work out how to keep up productivity without appearing killjoys. The rest of us though can just sit back and share Sunday lunch with neighbours and friends, as the Queen has asked, and look forward to a three-day working week.

The Royal family has never been so popular.

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