On Friday 28th October 2011 at the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Perth, it was announced that a new charitable Trust, to be named The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, is to be launched under the chairmanship of Sir John Major. The Trust will have a pan-Commonwealth remit.

Visit the trust website at: www.jubileetribute.org

Members of the public will be welcome to make contributions if they wish to do so. It will be for the Trustees, under Sir John’s chairmanship, to determine the precise direction and day-to-day operations of the Trust. A website will be created by the Trust in due course.

Sir John Major has issued a statement in response to today’s announcement (please see below).

STATEMENT FROM THE RT HON SIR JOHN MAJOR, KG, CH

"As Her Majesty The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee she does so as the second longest serving Monarch in a thousand years of British history.

HM The Queen is Head of a Commonwealth of two billion people, in fifty-four nations over five Continents. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth last October, it was unanimously agreed to establish The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, to honour Her Majesty's lifetime of duty, and create an enduring legacy to her sixty years of service.

The Trust, which was launched officially on 6th February 2012 – the 60th Anniversary of Her Majesty’s Accession – aims to raise funds from Governments, individuals, organisations and industry, to invest in projects that will make a real and lasting impact on the lives of people – of all generations – throughout the Commonwealth."

John Major
London
February 2012