After 70-years on the British throne, Queen Elizabeth II is being put to rest after passing away at the age 96 in Balmoral more than a week ago.
Over the course of her reign, the Queen had several jubilees which celebrated the different milestones of her time as UK head of state.
With King Charles III now ascended to the throne, it is time to look back at the Queen’s various jubilees as Queen.
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What is a jubilee?
Jubilees mark special milestones in a monarch’s reign and is done so until their death or abdication. A jubilee is used to mark a king or Queen’s 15th (bronze) 25th (silver), 40th (ruby), 50th (golden), 60th (diamond), 65th (Sapphire) and 70th (platinum) year on the throne.
The naming of royal jubilees follows the tradition of wedding anniversaries which are named after precious metals and gems.
A jubilee is usually marked by lavish celebrations across the country and can trace its routes back to the Middle Ages.
How many Jubilees has the Queen had?
Queen Elizabeth II ruled for 70 years and witnessed seven jubilees over the course of her time as head of state.
The Queen was the first monarch in British history to receive a platinum jubilee and is the longest serving monarch to ever sit on the throne.
- The Queen had her first jubilee-like event in 1962 which was marked through the minting of gold coins bearing the young monarch’s head portrait.
- Elizabeth II had her second silver jubilee in 1977 to celebrate 25 years on the throne. The 51-year-old Queen lit a bonfire beacon which then set off a chain reaction to other beacons across the UK.
- In 1992, a third jubilee occurred and marked the Queen’s 40th year on the throne. The event was low profile compared to other such events.
- In her 50th year as head of state, the Queen marked her golden jubilee and celebrated the occasion despite the death of her sister and mother, Princess Margret, and the Queen mother that same year.
- Her diamond jubilee was in 2012 and was the first such jubilee since the reign of Eilzabeth’s great great grandmother, Queen Victoria.
- In 2017, the Sapphire jubilee was marked and in 2022, the Queen celebrated her platinum jubilee, a first for the Royal Family.
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