Britain gears up to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on throne

Preparations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations are in full swing as Britain is getting ready for a party featuring mounted troops, solemn prayers and a pack of dancing mechanical corgis. 

Everyone is excited to celebrate the 96-year-old monarch's 70 years on the throne this week with four days of pomp and pageantry in central London.

Dancers from London’s African-Caribbean community will rock costumes of giant flamingos, zebras and giraffes to re-imagine the moment in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth learned she had become queen while visiting a game park in Kenya. 

A group will reportedly recall the Queen’s 1947 marriage to Prince Philip and celebrate weddings around the Commonwealth with Bollywood-style dancing.

The jubilee is an opportunity for the royals to demonstrate their commitment to change and diversity.

The jubilee has caught public attention. The shop around the corner from Buckingham Palace has run out of Platinum Jubilee tea towels. Spoons are sparse. Mugs are in short supply.

The question for the House of Windsor is whether the public will transfer their love for the queen to her son and heir, Prince Charles, when the time comes. 

However, Robert Hardman - biographer and author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II” - expects to see an even bigger party four years from now when Elizabeth turns 100.