LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
Britain began celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years as queen this week and the celebration continues through today.
The queen, 96, tested positive for COVID-19 in February but bounced back to her full schedule after a few weeks of rest. On Thursday, the palace said she had experienced “discomfort” at jubilee events and needed rest. Here’s what’s coming up in the weekend of celebration:
Saturday: Platinum Party at the Palace. Diana Ross, Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys and Duran Duran are just some of the musicians set to perform at the BBC’s “Platinum Party At The Palace” concert from Buckingham Palace.
Today: The Platinum Jubilee Pageant. The weekend will wrap up with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a procession through the streets of London that will showcase iconic moments from the queen’s reign as well as highlight how society has changed over the past 70 years. The parade will be led by the gold state carriage and culminate with a performance by Ed Sheeran.
Seven facts for her seven decades as queen:
1: On Sept. 9, 2015, the queen became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. In a speech given on the historic day during an engagement at the Scottish borders, her majesty said, “Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones — my own is no exception — but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness.”
2: At least 35 countries have issued coinage with the image of the queen.
3: The queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the women’s branch of the British Army during World War II) in 1945, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to join the armed services as a full-time, active member. As a subaltern, she learned to drive and maintain vehicles.
4: There have been 14 U.S. presidents during her majesty’s reign, and, with the exception of President Lyndon Johnson (1963-69), the queen has met each one.
5: Her majesty’s first official overseas visit was in 1947 as Princess Elizabeth when she toured South Africa, Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) and the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (Botswana) with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The queen celebrated her 21st birthday in South Africa, which was marked by a speech broadcast across the Commonwealth. In the speech, the princess pledged nothing less than her life’s work to her subjects, saying, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”
6: Her majesty and Prince Phillip were married on Nov. 20, 1947, in Westminster Abbey.
Her majesty, then Princess
Elizabeth, carried a bouquet of flowers which included a sprig of myrtle taken from a bush grown from the original myrtle in
Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet. Her wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold, which came from the
Clogau St David's mine near
Dolgellau and the official wedding cake was made by
McVitie and Price Ltd., using ingredients given as a wedding gift by Australian Girl Guides.
7: In 2016, her majesty and Prince Phillip sent a message to British astronaut Tim Peake as he joined the International Space Station. He responded with a video message from space saying, “Thank you again for your well wishes, ma’am. I hope I can bring the country together to celebrate Britain in space and our great tradition of scientific exploration. And before I sign off, I’m not sure that this has ever been said in space before, so I’ll be the first: God save the queen.”