Two-day holiday to mark Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Workers are to be given an extra bank holiday in 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, it was confirmed today.

Tuesday 5 June has been picked as the additional day off marking the monarch's 60 years on the throne, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said.

The late May bank holiday will also be moved to Monday 4 June to create a special four-day break, he told the House of Lords.

Lord Mandelson added that the Queen had agreed to confer Royal Borough status on the London Borough of Greenwich.

Following the tradition of the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees, a Diamond Jubilee medal will be issued to mark the occasion. In the past, jubilee medals have been given to various members of the armed forces, the emergency services and members of the royal household.

There will also be a competition for towns to bid for city status, which will be launched this spring and include a lord mayoralty or lord provostship.

Lord Mandelson, who is Lord President of the Privy Council, said: "The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II will be a truly historic occasion.

"I know the entire country will want to pay their tributes to Her Majesty and to look back with pride and great affection at the many things she has achieved during her reign.

"This special Diamond Jubilee weekend will also be an opportunity to reflect on the incredible changes that have taken place during that time, both at home and around the world."

The Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897.