To celebrate 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee started on Friday, June 2 and was a four day celebration, ending on Sunday, June 5. The country hosts several events to honor the Queen’s accomplishment as the longest reigning British monarch(King Louis XIV still holds the record for the longest reigning monarch, with a reign of 72 years), including Trooping the Colour, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a BBC Party at Buckingham Palace, a pop concert at Buckingham Palace, a military parade, a Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a carnival.
The 96-year-old monarch began her reign on June 2, 1953 after the death of her father, King George VI died on February 6, 1952. Though she was proclaimed queen shortly after her father’s death, her coronation was delayed over a year “to respect the memory of George VI and to prepare for the elaborate ceremony.” Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first and so far only coronation to be televised, with over 27 million viewers watching the event.
Trooping the Colour opened the Jubilee celebrations. The ceremony is meant to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday, usually on the second Saturday in June. This year, it was held earlier to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, even though some celebrations probably occurred on her actual birthday in April. Traditionally, British monarchs will have two birthdays to avoid hosting celebrations in colder weather. This tradition was started by King George II, who was born in November.
Queen Elizabeth II was seen sporting “a dusky dove blue Charmelaine wool dress” designed by Angela Kelly, “the queen’s longtime confidant and wardrobe adviser,” for the short time she was out on the balcony. Reports explain that the Queen has been having difficulty moving around, part of the reason why she skipped the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Aside from acknowledging 70 years on the throne, the Platinum Jubilee gave Queen Elizabeth the chance to meet her great-granddaughter and Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s youngest child, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor for the first time and celebrate her first birthday.
During the four day ceremony, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis stole the show. Prince Louis was “adorably pulling [faces] and obviously having a blast alongside his family.” In their Trooping the Colour carriage debut, Princess Charlotte is seen teaching her younger brother some proper etiquette, pushing down his hand to tell him to stop waving after Prince George and Princess Charlotte had stopped. Princess Charlotte can also be seen peeking into her step-grandmother’s, Camilla Parker Bowles’s purse.
Between the fabulous outfits worn to the Jubilee, the exciting events, and the Queen having tea with Paddington Bear, the Platinum Jubilee was surely an event that the United Kingdom will remember for a while.
