Sixty Tynwald rose bushes will be delivered to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth this week in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.
They have been sent with a letter of congratulations from the Chief Minister on behalf of the Government and people of the Isle of Man to mark the 60th Anniversary of Her Majesty’s Accession. It is expected that the rose bushes – selected, grown and supplied by Watson’s of Greeba – will be planted in the gardens of the Royal residence of Frogmore House, adjacent to Windsor Castle.
The hybrid tea roses have large, fragrant, cream-coloured flowers and were originally bred to commemorate the Tynwald Millennium in 1979. The gift forms part of the Isle of Man’s contribution to celebrations taking place across the Commonwealth to honour The Queen, who is the Manx Head of State and Lord of Mann.
Other local activities include a National Service of Thanksgiving at St German’s Cathedral in Peel on Sunday, May 20, and the inclusion of a replica Manx Viking longship in the Royal Flotilla on the River Thames on Sunday, June 3. An Isle of Man Government beacon will be lit at the Green at St John’s on the evening of Monday, June 4, as part of a network of more than 4,000 beacons throughout the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories. A number of community groups and organisations are planning to join in the celebrations that night by lighting their own jubilee beacons at various venues across the Island.
Local schoolchildren are being presented with Jubilee stamps and a coin, while an extra bank holiday has been added to the Manx calendar on Friday, July 6, the day after Tynwald Day, to give local residents an opportunity to take part in community events such as street parties. Activities are being co-ordinated by a Council of Ministers working group chaired by Community, Culture and Leisure Minister Tim Crookall MHK, and supported by members Geoff Corkish MHK and Eddie Lowey MLC.
Any individuals or organisations planning to stage an event are asked to notify Ann Craine, Secretary to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Working Group, tel: +44 1624 685211, so that details can be publicised on the Government’s website.
