This year sees the Queen of England celebrating 60 years on the throne. While the main celebrations will only be taking place on the long weekend of 2 to 5 June, the Royal Air Force has been working hard at rehearsing their aerial maneuvers. Have a look at these great pictures taken yesterday from their practice session.

The view of the formation from inside the cockpit

The formation took place in South Wales, near the home of Prince William and Kate Middleton, above the village of Anglesey. Around 30 jets from the RAF Hawks gathered in the sky to form a “60”, marking the 60 years that Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne.

Another formation spells out ER II, formed as E II R, which is the Latin abbreviation of “Elizabeth Regina”.

Some amateur footage of the practice run was captured by a Welsh spectator. The quality isn’t too great, but here you can see the “60” formation in action.

Pretty good flying, I think. An RAF spokesperson described the level of complexity as “very, very high” with planes flying in very close proximity to each other. The flypast will happen at a Royal Military Celebration, set to take place in Windsor this weekend. The Royal Family will watch the flypast from Windsor Castle, with military troops watching from below.

Gin and tonic, anyone?

[Source: Daily Mail, Telegraph]