JN Junior: If you met the Queen, what would you ask her?!

Genius Jake says: This year, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marks her 70-year reign. While celebrations have been taking place throughout the year, they will culminate with the Platinum Jubilee Weekend in early June. The long weekend takes place from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June (and means we get an extra bank holiday!).

The Queen took to the throne in 1952 when she was just 25. Now 95, she is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee!

The Queen used to live at Buckingham Palace but when the pandemic hit, she moved to Windsor Castle, which had been her weekend residence. Here are some other fun facts about Queen Elizabeth II:

• Her favourite colour is believed to be blue. She enjoys stamp collecting, which makes sense seeing as she appears on so many of them! Her Majesty loves dogs and has owned more than 30 corgis. At one time, she had 13.

• She also has some hidden talents. She trained to be a mechanic and a military truck driver! Did you know the Queen has two birthdays? She was born on 21 April, however her official birthday is held on a Saturday in June – this year it’s the 11th. I would love to ask the Queen if she can remember the name of all the corgis she has owned, or what her favourite television show is!

If you met the Queen what would you ask her?

Zac Broch, eight, north London 
Have you ever got lost in any of your palaces? Have you ever not wanted to be Queen?

Eden Broch, eight, north London
Do you play Wordle? Do you pick your own clothes or does someone else pick them for you?

Good news for… wildlife!

The RSPB is calling for everyone to join the wildlife-planting revolution as a new YouGov survey shows that three-quarters of us are already trying to encourage wildlife to our garden.

The survey, part of the RSPB’s Nature on Your Doorstep campaign, revealed that more than two in five consider pollinators when choosing what plants to grow in the garden, a quarter leave grass to grow long for nature and nearly half feed the birds.

What better time to get planting than Shavuot, an agricultural festival that starts on 4 June, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest.

Five things to enjoy this month…

The Crystal Maze
Race against the clock to complete adrenaline-fuelled challenges based on iconic TV show The Crystal Maze. The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience London is based on Shaftesbury Avenue. www.the-crystal-maze.com

Rapunzel at The Radlett Centre
Let your hair down on 30 and 31 May for a family-fun musical adaptation of popular fairy tale Rapunzel (Scott Ritchie Productions). There is photo opp with the characters after the show. www.radlettcentre.co.uk

The Gruffalo at artsdepot
Family favourite The Gruffalo is coming to artsdepot this half term. Tall Stories is back with a magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. www.artsdepot.co.uk

The Queen’s Birthday Parade  
Look out for the Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) on 2 June with more than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.

Jubilee Joust at Hampton Court Palace 
Knights can be seen battling it out at a jousting tournament over the bank holiday weekend. The Jubilee Joust is a family-friendly event, taking place in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace. Runs 1 to 5 June.

Just for laughs… with Ivor Baddiel!

BILLY:
I can’t believe the Queen has converted, dad.

DAD: No she hasn’t.

BILLY:
But you just said she has.

DAD:
No I didn’t, I said it’s the Queen’s Jubilee, not the Queen’s a Jew, Billy!