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QUEEN WITH THE GOLDEN TOUCH

As a new millennium dawned, the Golden Jubilee showed the Queen to be a sovereign for the 21st century

he was a glamorous 27year-old when Britain first huddled round the telly, put out the flags and trestle tables in the street, dressed up, danced, ate, drank, laughed, shed the odd tear and generally felt better about itself. That was in 1953, as the country and the world celebrated the Coronation of Elizabeth II, just over a year after her accession to the throne.

Fast forward to 1977 and she was a middle-aged mother-of-four as she marked her Silver Jubilee. Yet Britain reacted in exactly the same way. Another 25 years later, as silver turned to gold, it was a proud grandmother who brought the country together once again in 2002 to mark her half-century as monarch. And, a decade further down the line, in that delirious Olympic summer of 2012, she was, by now, a greatgrandmother as we marked only the second Diamond Jubilee in our history. So all the indications are pretty clear about what Britain, the Commonwealth and much of the planet can look forward to in the months ahead as we prepare to salute the first Platinum Jubilee Britain has ever seen.

The idea of a jubilee comes from the Old Testament. According to the book of Leviticus, there would be great celebrations across ancient Israel every 50th year, involving the release of prisoners and the forgiveness of debt. The idea only took off as a royal concept during the long reign of George III, following a suggestion in The Times. As he approached his 50th anniversary on the throne in 1810, it was decided that there should be great celebrations. King George might have lost America and he had already suffered one mental breakdown, but he was seen as wise, extremely dutiful, devoted to his wife and a focal point of national pride in the face of the predatory Napoleon Bonaparte across the Channel. His even longer-reigning granddaughter, Victoria, would mark both Golden and Diamond Jubilees. It was her grandson, George V, who then had the idea of also marking 25 years. He was well aware he would not reign for 50 years but the country believed that 25 was certainly worthy of a great celebration. His Silver Jubilee was, therefore, the catalyst for wildly successful festivities in 1935. Now his granddaughter has beaten the lot of them.

As we dust off the bunting once again, some things will remain unchanged from these previous occasions, notably the sense of uncomplicated pride and affection, and the blend of grandeur, fabulous pageantry and down-to-earth community-focused fun. The Platinum Jubilee will be a moment to reflect on how much the country has changed yet how the central figure at the apex of our society has not changed one bit. For all the distractions and problems within her family, the Queen has always treated her duty to the nation and her people as a completely separate obligation.

As we shall see, some of the greatest moments of her reign have been set against a backdrop of crisis and tragedy. Once again, like many of her subjects, she has endured personal loss in the midst of an international crisis but she has always believed in the power of finding positives amidst the gloom. The Platinum Jubilee, she fully accepts, will certainly be an excuse for some shameless nostalgia but it will also embrace the young just as much as the old, if not more so. For if we can plot one theme running through these heady high points in our post-war royal history, it is that when the Queen holds a national party, everyone is invited.

A SPECIAL SHOW THAT SAID BRITAIN STILL MATTERS

In the first few months after the Queen came to the throne in February 1952, it was abundantly clear to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and to the Palace, that there was a lot of work to do before Britain was ready to invite the world to tune in for the biggest moment since the end of the Second World War. ‘Can’t have a coronation with bailiffs in the house,’ warned the PM, observing – in a very Churchillian way – that Britain was tatty and more or less broke. The country was still on rations and large parts of the capital were still a bomb site. So there was to be no rush. Britain needed to get its act together and

make this a very special show. For if there was one message which we wished to impart from this great show of pageantry it was this: Britain is back, Britain is rejuvenated and Britain still matters.

In time-honoured fashion, Churchill and the Palace old guard began by looking at the plans for previous coronations and working from those. After all, this is a ceremony rooted in ritual which has barely changed since the earliest recorded coronation rites on these shores, the crowning of King Edgar at Bath in 973AD. The key elements have been the same ever since: the presentation of the new sovereign to the people, the swearing of an oath, the anointing with holy oil and the placing of the crown upon the head. In pretty short order, however, it was clear that this was going to be a very different sort of event from anything that had gone before. That is because a post-war, aspirational democracy was not content to let this historic moment be some sort of private bash for the aristocracy. Everyone wanted to be there and, thanks to the new medium of television, they could be. Initially, the powers that be – notably the Church of England but also the Palace and the Government – took a dim view of this vulgar medium gatecrashing a sacred constitutional moment. However, the press and public, along with MPS on all sides, were adamant that a new sort of Britain needed a new sort of coronation. The Queen could see the argument. Her main concern was not the intrusion but the fact that any glitches would be shown up for the world to see. In the end, popular opinion won out and television sales saw the biggest spike in British history.

THE NOTION OF COMMUNITY CELEBRATION TOOK ROOT

Westminster Abbey’s normal seating capacity of 2,200 was extended to more than 8,000 through the use of temporary grandstands and by cramming seats into every available nook. The BBC went as far as measuring the heights of all its cameramen and selecting the smallest in order to give them optimum room for manoeuvre. Millions made plans to head for the centre of London to enjoy a glimpse of the pageantry. But what about everyone else? Right across the country, people began to plan two things. First, how were they going to watch the event? Second, how were they going to celebrate? The answer, in both cases, was to get together with the

THANKS TO THE MEDIUM OF TELEVISION, EVERYONE COULD BE THERE

neighbours. And thus, this notion of community celebration took root.

The country had seen it eight years earlier with the celebrations to mark Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945, the day the lights came back on and the bombings stopped. Back then, there had been celebrations in the street on an ad hoc basis. Yet VE Day could not really be planned. It was all fairly last minute, there was no focal point and there was no television. The Coronation, announced a year in advance, allowed for plenty of forward planning.

So committees were drawn up; different neighbourhoods began organising food and parades and competitions for children. It meant the whole country was invested in the sense of fun, excitement and pageantry months ahead of time.

And come the day, it more than lived up to expectations, not least because

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2022-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

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