Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was the first time that any monarch in British history celebrated a platinum jubilee, as is the case in the histories of the other Commonwealth realms.[n 1]
Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
6 February 2022
Initiatives to commemorate the jubilee were announced by the governments of many realms—including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the United Kingdom—of territories, such as the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar, and celebrations were also held in other Commonwealth member states, like the Gambia, Malaysia, Malta, Pakistan, and Samoa. Leaders from across the world, including from China, North Korea, France, Germany, Israel, and the United States, sent messages of congratulations to the Queen on reaching the milestone. In the United Kingdom, there was an extra bank holiday on 3 June and the usual spring bank holiday was moved from the end of May to 2 June to create the four-day Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend from Thursday, 2 June, to Sunday, 5 June.[1] Commemorative stamps and coins were issued by several Commonwealth nations and beacons were lit in every Commonwealth capital for the first time. In many places, trees were planted in the Queen's honour.
The Queen died in her Platinum Jubilee year, on 8 September, at the age of 96. Her funeral was held on 19 September 2022 and she was buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel later that day.
Jubilee visits[edit]
Antigua and Barbuda[edit]
The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar visited Antigua and Barbuda in April.[638] Ahead of the visit, the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission penned an open letter criticising the royal family's past comments on slavery.[639] During their visit on 25 April, the couple interacted with local craftspeople, creatives and community groups, and visited Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and the National Sailing Academy.[640] At Government House, they presented platinum jubilee medals to three people to recognise their service to national security.[641] During their meeting with Prime Minister Gaston Browne and his cabinet, Browne stated that the country would continue to have the Queen as head of state but said it aspires "at some point to become a republic".[642] He also asked the couple to use their "diplomatic influence" to get "reparatory justice" for Antigua and Barbuda.[642]
Australia[edit]
The Princess Royal, accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, toured Australia from 9 to 11 April.[643] On the first day of her visit, she opened the 200th Sydney Royal Easter Show, which she first opened with her parents and brother Charles in 1970. She had last attended the event in 1988.[643] She had an engagement as patron of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, before attending a dinner at the Sydney Olympic Park.[643] The couple also met with representatives of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the Royal Australian Corps of Signals and Royal Australian Corps of Transport.[643]
Online significance[edit]
In May 2022, jubilee-themed emojis and stickers were released on social media, including Twitter and Instagram.[690][691][692]
Research into Google Search's trend data found that the UK, US, Canada, and Australia were the global hotspots for the word "Jubilee" from 2 June to 5 June. During the jubilee central weekend, Canada saw 227,000 searches for the word jubilee on Google, while over 200,000 were recorded in Australia. In the US, a total of 1.9 million searches for the word jubilee was made on Google.[693]
British slang "Platty Joobs" also became a trend online for the Platinum Jubilee.[694]