The Jubilee A History Of Royal Milestones

This weekend sees the celebration of an incredible seven decades on the throne for Queen Elizabeth II. Over the course of this four-day weekend, millions of people throughout the UK and the Commonwealth will pay tribute to Her Majesty with celebrations from humble cream teas at home and local street parties to derbies, parades, and pageants. But this is far from the first jubilee celebration - so let’s take a look at the history of this tradition.

When a monarch reaches a major milestone in their reign, it is marked with a jubilee celebration, which follows the same naming tradition as wedding anniversaries. Thus 25 years is silver, 50 years is gold, and so on. 70, which the Queen celebrates this year, is platinum.

It’s widely accepted that the first British monarch to hold a formal jubilee was George III, who celebrated 50 years on the throne with his Golden Jubilee in 1809. However, Edward III held a week-long joust in 1376 to mark his 50 year reign. Whether it was called a jubilee at the time or not, we think it definitely counts. Additionally, Henry III and James VI and I (as King of Scotland) both reigned for more than 50 years, although records are sparse on how they might have celebrated.

While there may be speculation about the first Golden Jubilee, we know for certain that George V was the first British Monarch to hold a formal jubilee in celebration of 25 years on the throne. The celebration took place in 1935, a mere eight months before the King’s passing.

The honour of the first Diamond Jubilee goes to Queen Victoria, who celebrated her six decade reign in 1897. While George III celebrated his Golden Jubilee at the start of his 50th year on the throne, Queen Victoria preferred to wait until the year had passed. Since her time, jubilees have been celebrated at the end rather than the beginning of the milestone year.

In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II surpassed Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and now the Queen is the first monarch in British history to celebrate 70 years on the throne with the first Platinum Jubilee. This follows her Silver Jubilee in 1977, Golden Jubilee in 2002, and Diamond Jubilee in 2012. While most of the celebrations will be focused on Jubilee Weekend from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June, the Superbloom display at the Tower of London will continue into September.

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