Welcome to the
PLATINUM JUBILEE
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II took place from 2 to 5 June 2022.
Queen Elizabeth was the first monarch in the history of the United Kingdom to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
Happy & Glorious
The Jubilee was marked with a four day bank holiday in the United Kingdom from 2 to 5 June which began with the Trooping of the Colour and ended with a grand pageant along the Mall before the royal family appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
While there were numerous commemorative events around the world, we’ll be focusing on the events at the heart of the four day bank holiday weekend.
Due to the decline in the Queen’s health, Buckingham Palace made it clear she would be unable to attend all the events and announcements would be made on any given day as to whether the Queen would be able to make a personal appearance or not.
Jubilee Emblem
The winner of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Emblem Competition, held in conjunction with the V&A Museum, was Edward Roberts, a graphic design student from Nottinghamshire. The purple colour was chosen to symbolise royalty and it was closely matched to the purple in the Queen’s Robe of Estate worn at the Coronation in 1953.
A continuous platinum line in the shape of St Edward’s Crown features the number 70 at the top of the Crown and the Perpetua typeface is similar to the font style on the Queen’s Coronation Order of Service in 1953.
Trooping The Colour
The celebrations began with the Trooping of the Colour which took place on Thursday, 2 June instead of its usual second Saturday in June slot.
The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex attended on horseback in their roles as the Royal Colonels, however the Prince of Wales also represented the Queen by inspecting the troops and taking the salute.
Afterwards, members of the Royal Family gathered on the balcony with the Queen to watch a flypast consisting of the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Red Arrows and fifteen Typhoon fighters forming the number 70.
Jubilee Beacons
Later in the evening, the Queen lit the principal beacon by touching a glittering globe at Windsor Castle. A beacon chain, once used for communication, has become a traditional feature at jubilees since the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and has been repeated at the various jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II.
After the principal beacon was lit, more than 3,500 beacons across the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, UK Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth, were also lit.
The lighting was accompanied by choirs from all over the Commonwealth singing A Life Lived With Grace, a song specially commissioned for the Jubilee. Pipers and pipe bands were also invited to play Diu Regnare, a tune especially written by Piper Stuart Liddell for the Jubilee Choirs.
Tree of Trees
Meanwhile, at Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Cambridge was taking part in the ceremony to light the Tree of Trees which was placed outside the palace main gates.
The tree was designed by Heatherwick Studio and is a structure made from reclaimed steel with a series of branches holding 50 British grown saplings in spun aluminium pots. After the Jubilee, the saplings will be nurtured until they are ready to plant, and then they will be gifted to charities and foundations nationwide.
Platinum Party at the Palace
The Party was held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall where more than 20,000 spectators gathered. The three stages circling the Queen Victoria Memorial were linked by a series of bridges while stands were erected on the north and south to hold 7,000 spectators.
While the Queen was not in attendance, the majority of the Royal Family were there and speeches were given by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge.
The concert also ended with a spectacular drone show above the palace which showed a series of royal motifs including a Union flag, a corgi, a stamp, a cup of tea, the Queen’s handbag, and the number “70” with a crown in the centre of the “0”. The show was organised by the company Sky Magic and was considered one of the highlights of the event.
The Big Jubilee Lunch
On the last day of the extended bank holiday weekend, communities were encouraged to participate in The Big Jubilee Lunch. More than 85,000 people signed up to host Big Lunches and 16,000 street parties were held across the United Kingdom, including Windsor which was aiming for a record breaking longest table at 500 metres.
HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall joined a special Big Jubilee Lunch for 400 guests at the iconic Oval cricket ground where they saw a 20ft tea table made entirely of felt and cut a big cake before toasting Her Majesty.
Platinum Pudding
A competition to find a Jubilee pudding was run by Fortnum and Mason, in partnership with the Big Jubilee Lunch Charity. The winner was Jemma Melvin who created a lemon and Swiss roll amaretti trifle made with layers of lemon curd swiss roll, custard, jelly, a mandarin coulis.
Jemma was inspired by her grandmother who loved to make trifle and choose the lemon flavour as the Queen had lemon posset at her wedding.
The recipe can be found online in the BBC Food section.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant
The jubilee pageant held on Sunday afternoon was the last event of the four-day weekend and involved more than 10,000 people along the route taken by the Queen during her coronation.
The pageant was divided into four acts featuring different aspects of the Queen’s reign and was kicked off by the bells of Westminster Abbey pealing as they did for the coronation. Members of the royal family watched from the stands on the Mall as the pageant circled past the Queen Victoria Memorial.
Final Appearance
The Queen was not anticipated to appear on the balcony after the pageant so it was a delightful surprise when she stepped out with the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
The Queen looked visibly moved when the crowd cheered and sang the national anthem. As it turned out, it was the last time she would ever appear on the balcony.
Thank you, Ma’am, for everything.