Big Ben's Renaming: Britain's Parliament Clock Tower To Be Renamed After Queen Elizabeth

Big Ben's Renaming (Home Office)

Big Ben's renaming to Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth and to mark her 60th year on the throne, according to several reports.

A Daily Mail report said the campaign to have Big Ben renamed has been signed by 331 lawmakers.

"It is great news that so many MPs from across the House are backing what would be a fitting tribute to the queen. I hope it will now move ahead," the Mail quoted Prime Minister David Cameron as saying.

Big Ben is a 96-metre (316-foot) tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It is formally known as the clock tower but is commonly known as Big Ben after the huge bell that it holds, whose distinctive "bongs" sound out the hours in central London.

Lawmakers accepted that the iconic tower would continue to be known colloquially as Big Ben, but said that its formal name should honor Queen Elizabeth.

The governing body of the British parliament will reportedly meet by the end of June and is expected to agree on the renaming of Big Ben.

Earlier this year, Big Ben was in the news after the parliament discussed how to manage a tilt affecting the tower. The tilt is 0.26 degrees to the north west and has increased very slightly since 2003, although an expert study found it was unlikely to be a problem for 10,000 years.

Britain is holding four days of celebrations beginning on Saturday to mark Elizabeth II's jubilee including a 1,000-boat river pageant and a star-studded concert.