4 June 2012 Last updated at 19:10 ET

In pictures: Jubilee beacons

Diamond Jubilee picture galleries

More than 4,000 beacons are being lit across the Commonwealth. Beacons in Tonga and New Zealand were lit first and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard set off the bonfire in Canberra.

John Bradshaw of the British High Commission a Jubilee Beacon outside the hotel in the Aberdare National Park

John Bradshaw of the British High Commission lights a Jubilee beacon outside the hotel in the Aberdare National Park near the township of Nyeri in central Kenya, where the young Princess Elizabeth was staying when she was told in 1952 of her father George VI's death - which meant she would become the monarch.

Major General Nick Eeles Governor of Edinburgh Castle and General Officer Commanding Scotland lights the Diamond Jubilee beacon at Edinburgh Castle beside Mons Meg Cannon.

Major General Nick Eeles Governor of Edinburgh Castle and General Officer Commanding Scotland, lit the beacon at Edinburgh Castle beside Mons Meg Cannon.

A Diamond Jubilee beacon is lit at Mow Cop Castle near Kidsgrove in central England, one of thousands illuminating historic landmarks, hill-top vantage points and famous mountains.

Rev Dr Jane Hedges, Canon of Westminster Abbey, lights a beacon outside the famous landmark in central London. Others were illuminated in the capital outside the Tower of London, St James's Palace and Lambeth Palace.

Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson lights a Jubilee Beacon at Hillsborough Village in County Down, the seat of the Royal Family. He is joined by the deputy mayor of Lisburn City Council, Councillor Margaret Tolerton.

The beacon lit outside Buckingham Palace during the Diamond Jubilee Concert.

At the conclusion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace, the Queen placed a crystal glass diamond into a special pod, triggering the lighting of the last of more than 4,000 beacons - in The Mall.