The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated in 2022 in the Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The celebration plans were formally unveiled in full by Buckingham Palace on the 10th of January, 2022. The Queen said that she hopes the Platinum Jubilee will bring together families and friends, neighbors, and communities. She said that the Jubilee “affords me a time to reflect on the goodwill shown to me by people of all nationalities, faiths, and ages in this country and around the world over these years”. She thanked everyone for their support, loyalty, and affection, and signed the message as “Your Servant”.
There are many events happening over the four-day Bank Holiday in June to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee, with members of the Royal Family planning to attend some of these events. The planned festivities, which will take place between June 2 and June 5, including Trooping the Colour (the annual public celebration of the Queen’s birthday), the lighting of Platinum Jubilee beacons, a service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Derby at Epsom Downs, a live concert called “Platinum Party at the Palace,” the Big Jubilee Lunch and the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
Monarch record
The head of the British royal family, Queen Elizabeth II, just became the second-longest reigning monarch in world history. Taking the throne on Feb. 6, 1952, the Queen has ruled the realm for 70 years and 127 days. She just surpassed the lengthy reign of former Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled from 1946 until his death in 2016. If the Queen is still reigning in May 2024 she would take the title of the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state.
She officially reached 70 years of rule on the 6th of February, 2022 with the extended bank holiday weekend chosen for the Jubilee events. Many of the events, including a pageant, Trooping the Colour, and a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace – involved an outdoor element more suited to summer months.
French King Louis XIV remains in the top spot, having served as monarch for more than 72 years after taking the throne at age four and dying in 1715. It’s not the first time Queen Elizabeth II, who is 96, has set a royal record. In 2015 she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, exceeding the tenure of Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother.
Elizabeth became queen after her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952. The following year, she was officially crowned at age 27 in a coronation ceremony that was the first to be broadcast on live television, with about 27 million people watching in the United Kingdom alone.
As a princess, she served in World War II as the first female member of the royal family to serve as a full-time active member of the military. She served in the women’s branch of the British Army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and she learned to drive and maintain vehicles. Since becoming queen she has met 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents who have served during her reign, all of them except President Lyndon Johnson.