What is the meaning of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee?
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations are occurring on the 2nd of June – 5th of June 2022. The public is encouraged to join in resulting in a bank holiday weekend. There are multiple events happening, starting with the parade on the 2nd of June. Other events include lighting beacons, service of thanksgiving, party at the palace and, the big Jubilee lunch.
The history of the monarchy
The monarchy began through Britain becoming a part of the Roman Empire and their structure of living. However, after the Romans no longer ruled, the true monarchy started when the Anglo-Saxons conquered Britain. They enforced a new form of governance called the Heptarchy. The system divided England into seven major kingdoms. Each kingdom had a King that became leaders of Britain with one King (Egbert of Wessex) being the most dominant King.
This way of leadership continued until 1066 when William the Conqueror was declared King which brought the seven kingdoms together as one. And here we are now celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The role of a monarch
The monarch is the head of state. This means their duties are to appoint the Prime Minister (as well as all other ministers), open new sessions of parliament, and to give royal approval to bills passed by parliament which enforces that it has become law. The monarch acts on the advice from the government but is seen to the public as the head of the nation.
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – The Queen: five facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Fact one:
The Queen joined the women’s branch of the British Army during World War Two. She drove one of the trucks which is how she learned to drive. She had taken an interest in what was being done to help the people who had been bombed and lost their homes due to the palace being bombed. This was what led her to join the British Army when she was eighteen to help her country during this awful time.
Fact two:
The Queen has been gifted a countless number of times over her reign. As she is an animal lover, countries gift her animals such as sloths, elephants, tortoises, jaguars etc. When gifted these animals, the Queen donates them to London Zoo so they can live amongst other animals.
Fact three:
The Queen supports over 600 charities which she has personally helped to raise £1.4 billion. Some of the charities she has helped over the years include:
- Cancer Research UK- the Queen is a patron for cancer research UK and has helped with the funding of this charity through donations.
- British Red Cross- the Queen has been a patron for this charity for 65 years. She helped raise the profile of the charity and organised a celebration of the charities 150th birthday during the pandemic.
- Royal British Legion- every year the Queen wears poppies and gathers with other royals at the Cenotaph in London to pay her respect and help raise money for veterans and their families.
Fact four:
Over her reign, the Queen has owned over thirty corgis which have become synonymous with her majesty over the years. Her first corgi was gifted to her at the age of eighteen which she named Susan. All her corgis are descendants of Susan as the Queen breeds her dogs. She now has four dogs: two corgis, a cocker spaniel, and one accidental dorgi due to one of her corgis mating with Princess Margarets’ daschund.
The Queen also owns over 100 horses that are used for racing. She has around 25 horses in training each year. She has won around £70 million in prize money from her winning horses. The Queen is a patron of over thirty animal charities too!
Unmarked swans on the Thames are regarded as the Queens as well as all the whales, sturgeons, and dolphins in the sea around the UK.
Fact five:
The Queen was in Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip, when she became Queen of England. Sadly, her father died on the 6th of February 1952 whilst they were away. They went to Kenya for the first part of the royal tour standing in for her father, King George VI who was too ill to go on the tour. The coronation took place sixteen months after due to the tradition of allowing an appropriate amount of time to pass after a monarch dies before crowning the new monarch.
What does the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee represent?
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee represents seventy years of service on the throne. The Queen is the first monarch to reach this milestone. Jubilees began in the Roman Catholic Church marking years of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation. These were celebrated every twenty-five years; therefore, the British monarchy began to emulate these Jubilees for the time spent on the throne.
The four days of celebrations will include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service. How will you be celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee in your classroom?
If you think you know about the Queen, then take our Platinum Jubilee quiz and see how many you get right! You might just learn things you didn’t know before.
