The History of Royal Jubilees & Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Jubilees mark a major milestone in the reign of a monarch and the naming of them follow the same tradition as wedding anniversaries. 25 years being a Silver Jubilee, 50 years Gold, 60 years is Diamond and 70, of course is Platinum.

Queen Victoria (1837-1901) went a step further and celebrated 60 years on the throne, her Diamond Jubilee, in 1897. The day itself was marked privately with a service of thanksgiving at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Two days later, Victoria headed a royal procession through London, beginning at Buckingham Palace. A fledgling film industry was emerging at the time and the film coverage of the Jubilee procession was a major boost to the British film industry.

Lots changed in 70 years! In 1952…

• The Prime Minister was Winston Churchill
• Average income per year was £375
• A litre of fuel cost 5p
• A loaf of bread 3p
• A pint of milk 11p
• Popular girls names – Susan, Linda, Christine, Margaret & Janet.
• Popular Boys Names – David, John, Stephen, Michael & Peter.
• At the cinema – An American in Paris won Best Picture at the Oscars with Vivien Leigh, Best Actress and Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor.
• On TV – Flower Pot Men, Come Dancing
• Music – Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart – Vera Lynn

In the UK, the focus of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 were an extended bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2^nd to Sunday 5^th June.

Some of the main events over the weekend were:

Trooping the Colour where more than 1200 soldiers and 240 horses put on a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade.

Platinum Jubilee Beacon Lighting The Principal beacon, involving The Tree of Trees (a 21m high ‘tree’ constructed of 350 smaller trees), was lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. This started the beacon chain around the UK and commonwealth.

A Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign was held at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Platinum Party at the Palace On the evening of Saturday 4^th June, the BBC led live coverage of the star-studded celebrations at the concert at Buckingham Palace.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant – an exciting carnival and parade including street arts, theatre, music, circus, carnival and costume told the story of the Queen’s reign.

Hundreds of local events took place across the country – some of the national projects included;

The Big Jubilee Lunch

Over ten million people across the UK and even more throughout the commonwealth joined the celebrations to share friendship, food and fun at Big Jubilee Lunches as part of this nationwide act of community friendship.

Take a look at our Jubilee Recipe Collection and Street Party Blog for recipe ideas!

The Queens Green Canopy

A UK-wide tree planting initiative invited people to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.”

As well as inviting the planting of new trees, The Queen’s Green Canopy highlighted 70 unique and irreplaceable Ancient Woodlands across the United Kingdom and identified 70 Ancient Trees to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years of service. A special interactive map was created to track the Jubilee tree plantings

Platinum Pudding Competition

Fortnum and Mason launched a competition to find a Platinum Jubilee pudding earlier this year. The winner was announced as the Lemon Swiss Roll & Amaretti Trifle on 12^th May.