Queen Elizabeth Land
The Southern part of British Antarctic Territory is to be named Queen Elizabeth Land to mark her 60-year reign, the Foreign Office has announced.
Her Majesty visited the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for the second time today, as the last official engagement of her Diamond Jubilee year.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "This is a fitting tribute at the end of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee year, and I am very proud to be able to announce it as she visits the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
"The British Antarctic Territory is a unique and important member of the network of fourteen UK Overseas Territories. To be able to recognise the UK’s commitment to Antarctica with a permanent association with Her Majesty is a great honour."
The area now to be known as Queen Elizabeth Land, which was previously unnamed, is around 169,000 square miles (437,000 sq km), making up just under a third of the whole land mass of the British Antarctic Territory. This is almost twice the size of the UK, which stands at 94,000 square miles (244,000 sq km).