Great Waltham's oldest resident to light Platinum Jubilee Beacon: "I'm honoured, but a bit doddery!"
It's one of 42 beacons being lit across Essex
Thousands of beacons will be lit later today as part of Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking the Queen’s 70 year reign.
The network of beacons will stretch across the UK, with beacons at historic sites including the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle, Lambeth Palace and the Queen's estates of Sandringham and Balmoral.
Here in Essex, there will be 42 beacons lit tonight across the county.
We've been speaking to Great Waltham's oldest resident, Betty, who's been granted the honour of lighting the village's Platinum Jubilee Beacon.
96 year-old Betty, who has lived in the area for over 60 years, told us she was thrilled to be asked: "I'm very honoured, but I am getting a bit doddery!
"I've been in Great Waltham for 69 years now and I would want to be anywhere else."
It seems only right for Betty to light the beacon given she's got the same name as Her Majesty, but the similarities don't stop there: "We're the same age. I'd have my birthday and then before you know it, it's the Queen's birthday! She's six months behind me...
"We also have the same wedding day - but it's a complete coincidence, I wouldn't have done it just because the Queen was getting married."
Betty's told us she won't have time to do too much celebrating for the rest of the long Jubilee weekend, though: "I'm sleeping and making sure I'm ready for the lighting. It will be so nice to see lots of people I haven't seen for the last two or three years."
Local Parish Councillor Mike Steel told us Betty was slightly worried about lighting the beacon at first: "The beacon is a big metal basket on top of a telegraph pole so Betty thought she was going to have to climb a ladder to get to the top.
"We've promised she doesn't have to climb a ladder though and can use a long stick to light it."
Betty says she would've given it a try though: "I would have had a go, but I think someone would have had to pick me up from the bottom!"
Beacons around the UK
The first beacons lit today will mark the start of the extended Jubilee weekend. Beacons are also due to be set ablaze thousands of miles away in Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific, with the final one being in the central American country of Belize in the Caribbean.
A 21-metre tall Tree of Trees sculpture outside Buckingham Palace will be the focal point for all the Beacons, and will also be lit tonight.
As well as traditional beacons organised by charities, community groups, councils and other organisations, creative adaptations of the gesture are being staged to commemorate the monarch's milestone.
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust's sustainable beacon has been made of old and broken hospital beds, which have been melded into a crown-shaped beacon.
Beacons will be lit in all 54 Commonwealth capitals
Beacons will be lit in all 54 Commonwealth capitals for the first time, spanning five continents.
Nine central London bridges across the River Thames will be lit up to form the world's longest public artwork, entitled Illuminated River, with a celebratory sequence of evolving colour and light.
Several English cathedrals - namely Durham, Ely, Lichfield, Peterborough and Rochester - will be lighting up the night sky red, white and blue, while London's BT Tower will also be celebrating the occasion.
Scouts are starting at least 70 beacons in tribute to their patron the Queen, ranging from in Cornwall in the south-west of England to the Highlands and Islands, and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and the Norfolk Broads in the east of England.
In Wilton, Wiltshire, a beacon will be lit in the same place and by the same Scout group as when one was lit on the night of the Queen's Coronation.
Girlguiding will also set up to 70 beacons on fire for the head of state, their patron too, while Walking With The Wounded will light beacons on top of the four highest peaks of the UK - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon and Slieve Donard.
The Queen in Essex
Here's a look back at some of the times Queen Elizabeth II has visited Essex throughout her reign:
Tilbury, 1953
