Big Ben Tower To Be Renamed In Honor of Queen

What's better than a thousand-boat flotilla in honor of your diamond jubilee? How about having an iconic piece of London's skyline renamed in your honor?

British lawmakers signed off on a plan Tuesday that will rename the structure that houses London's famed Big Ben "Elizabeth Tower" in honor of Queen Elizabeth and her 60 years on the throne, Reuters reports.

Technically, Big Ben is the name of only the massive 13.5-ton bell that resides in the clock tower, but Londoners and tourists have long used the alliterative moniker to refer to the entire structure, which until now has been officially known by the unexciting yet informative name of the Clock Tower.

While Prime Minister David Cameron and dozens of members of Parliament voiced their enthusiasm for the new name, the AFP notes that most recognize that people will likely continue the technically inaccurate practice of calling the entire thing Big Ben. (We also can't image her majesty would enjoy hearing the nickname Large Liz bandied about.)

Regardless, it is a symmetrical tribute to Britain’s second-longest reigning monarch, and only the second to serve six decades in the throne. In 1897, the House of Commons renamed the tower at the opposite end of Parliament Victoria Tower, in honor of the diamond jubilee of the longest-ruling monarch.