DATES FOR THE DIARY

From personal milestones to gala occasions, there's plenty to look forward to in the year ahead

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The new year promises to be one of celebration and ceremony for the Royal Family, with milestone birthdays, wedding anniversaries and glittering state occasions set to fill the calendar.

After a tentative return to duties in 2025, both the King and the Princess of Wales - each recovering from their own experience with cancer will be keen to seize the moment in 2026. With renewed vigour, they and their loved ones seem poised to embrace 12 months of landmark events.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: THE CENTENARY OF HER BIRTH

April 21 marks what would have been the late Queen’s 100th birthday. Although Her Majesty passed away on Sept. 8, 2022, her life and legacy will be celebrated in a series of commemorative events in London.

One highlight will be Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, a monumental fashion exhibition at the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Featuring 200 carefully chosen garments – half of them on public display for the first time – the sartorial show (April 10 to Oct. 18) will chart the story of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

From the bridesmaid dress that a young Princess Elizabeth wore at age eight to the wedding of her uncle, the Duke of Kent, to the gowns designed by Norman Hartnell for her marriage in 1947 and coronation in 1953, the collection illuminates her extraordinary life.

At the heart of the tributes will be a new national memorial in St. James’s Park. Designed by Lord Norman Foster’s team, it will feature a bridge with a glass balustrade inspired by the late Queen’s wedding tiara, as well as a statue of Her Majesty alongside her husband, Prince Philip, and newly landscaped gardens. Another London landmark, Regent’s Park, will also become home to a dedicated commemorative garden.

BIRTHDAY MILESTONES