The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, with the main Jubilee Celebrations scheduled for next week. Ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend, we are taking a look at the celebrations for the Queen’s three previous Jubilees, continuing with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, after covering the Silver Jubilee in 1977!
The Queen’s Golden Jubilee year began in the midst of tragedy after the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, though the packed programme of events took place later in the year, with six key themes: Celebration, Community, Service, Past and future, Giving thanks and Commonwealth.
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The Golden Jubilee Weekend began with the Prom at the Palace, highlighting classical music, followed by Service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, while other members of the Royal Family attended Service around Britain. The following day, there was the Party at the Palace, showcasing pop music, which was followed the next day by the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, to which the Queen rode in the Gold State Coach, followed by lunch at the Guildhall, with the Queen saying:
Gratitude, respect and pride, these words sum up how I feel about the people of this country and the Commonwealth—and what this Golden Jubilee means to me
I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you – here in Guildhall, those of you waiting in the Mall and the streets of London, and all those up and down this country and throughout the Commonwealth, who may be watching this on television. Thank you all for your enthusiasm to mark and celebrate these past fifty years.
Afterwards, there was a Parade down the Mall, with the Royal Family appearing on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace for a flypast consisting of every type of Royal Air Force aircraft in service.
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There was a Dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at No 10 Downing Street , a Dinner for Commonwealth Governors, and a Dinner for representatives of the Armed Services at Windsor Castle, but the highlight of the festivities was the spectacular Golden Jubilee Dinner for European Sovereigns at Windsor Castle, on the eve of the Order of the Garter Service.
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Like the Silver Jubilee, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh undertook extensive Tours of the every region of the UK, from Falmouth in Cornwall to the Isle of Skye. However, they did not visit 13 Commonwealth Nations like they did in 1977, instead visiting Jamaica, then New Zealand and finally Australia, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, between February 18th and March 3rd. In December, the Queen and Duke made an 11-day trip to Canada visiting the provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the territory of Nunavut.
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