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What Exactly is London-Heathrow Airport's New 'Royal Runway'?

In a case of "why didn't they have this before," London-Heathrow Airport has painted one of their runways with a gigantic Union Jack flag. What's the occasion? The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, of course, which will be officially celebrated within Britain and by Britons around the world over the long weekend of June 2-5.

If you're flying in for the festivities, keep a look out of the airplane windows on approach to LHR, as the Union Jack (featuring a bust of the Queen at the center) should be visible if you're landing on the northernmost runway, dubbed the "royal runway" for the occasion. Plus it's plain huge—measuring some 1,770 square feet. Instagram that ish!

Above is a cool time-lapse video of how the airport went about painting the image, in conjunction with outdoor ad agency Curb.

[Video: Heathrow Airport]

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The Flight That Brought a Girl Home to Become Queen Elizabeth II

Listen to The Beatles' "Back in the USSR" today, and pay special attention to those first couple lines:

Flew in from Miami Beach. BOAC. Didn't get to bed last night. On the way the paper bag was on my knee. Man, I had a dreadful flight.

BOAC. British Overseas Airways Corporation. This airline still exists today, believe it or not; with rebranding, you'll recognize them as British Airways. BA wasn't just a favorite airline of the Beatles, as you'll see in these photos sent to us by British Airways.

That is Queen Elizabeth II arriving at London-Heathrow on February 7, 1952, the date of the Proclamation of her accession to the throne, following the death of her father, King George VI. She was in Kenya with her husband, beginning a tour that would stretch from Kenya to Australia and New Zealand, when she became Queen overnight, necessitating this BOAC return flight to London.

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What Was on Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Itinerary Down Under?

Making it to Australia before the Qantas shutdown occupied the news, Queen Elizabeth II brought her sensible pastel fashion to the 'Down Under' during her, most likely, final tour of Australia. Her Royal Majesty arrived in Canberra with her beau, Prince Phillip, on October 19th and has had a whirlwind tour since, visiting Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth.

Her chartered British Airways 777 touched down in the Australian capital and after a few minutes of Royal palm waving, Elizabeth Regina II (her birth name), met with Julia Gillard, Australia's first female prime minister. Talk about girl power!

After, no doubt, numerous courtesies and royal galas, QEII flew on to Brisbane to tour the River City. While in "Bris-Vegas," she had a ride on a CityCat, which is public transportation via catamaran. We aren't going to lie—that's pretty awesome. This river tour ended at the riverside man-made beach called Southbank.

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