A 21-gun royal salute will echo across Medway over the Platinum Jubilee weekend – with the blessing of the Queen.

The monarch has written to trustees at Fort Amherst in Chatham giving the gesture her royal seal of approval.

Chairman, Bill Fowler expressed his "immense pride" at the "delightful letter"’ he received from Buckingham Palace which was sent with Her Majesty's " warm good wishes".

He added: "The Fort Amherst Heritage Trust would like to express its gratitude for the valuable support of Medway Council in the delivery of this special Royal Salute."

It will be fired from the heights of the Napoleonic fort above Chatham, out over the river Medway to coincide with the Platinum Jubilee Medway River Pageant organised in association with the council.

The River Pageant, organised by Tiller and Wheel, a Kent-based family-run business dedicated to promoting historic smacks and barges, will reach its climax at 3.30pm on Saturday, June 4 The Grand Cacophony - a three-minute synchronised spectacle of sights and sounds from ship to shore. Boats will sound their horns and steam locomotives from the Historic Dockyard will sound their whistles.

The start of the cacophony will be the signal for the Royal Salute to be fired.

Belvedere Battery at the fort in Dock Road will be open to the general public to enable visitors to witness this rare and auspicious occasion. Access can be had from Dock Road, Chatham; Maxwell Road, Brompton; and from the Great Lines Heritage Park Gillingham.

On Thursday, June 2, five locations across the Towns will join thousands of places in the UK and the Commonwealth to light beacons at exactly the same time, 9.45pm to launch the four-day bank holiday of festivities and celebrations.

They are being held at Riverside Country Park, Great Lines Heritage Park, Victoria Gardens, Kingshill Recreation Ground and Broomhill Park.