A Motley Talk about Royal Jubilees
A ramble about Jubilees, and why King George did not attend his!
Dear Motley Officers, Crew & Friends, Queen Elizabeth II is the first British monarch to reach the 70th anniversary of her reign1.
The oldest ruling monarch (so far) has been Louis XIV from France, who reigned from 1643 (when he was five years old) until 1715 - a total of 72 years and 110 days.
A jubilee is associated with celebrating a monarch’s reign. In the same way as wedding anniversaries, each milestone is associated with a precious metal or stone; 25th (silver), 40th (ruby), 50th (golden), 60th (diamond), and 70th (platinum).
No British King has had a Diamond Jubilee celebration, but three Kings did rule for more than 30 years. Henry II (1154 to 1189, for 35 years), Edward III (ruled from 1327 to 1377 for 50 years) and George III (reigned from 1760 to 1820 for 60 years).
Edward III celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1376 with a jousting and mounted combat tournament, beginning with a magnificent procession, accompanied by trumpeters. I was going to say that it is a pity not to see jousting for the Queen’s Jubilee, but there is a Jousting Tournament at Stonor Park most summers.
King George III could be said to have started the fashion in public celebrations for royal jubilees. For his Golden Jubilee in 1809 shops were closed, and there was a procession to a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by banquets held in the King’s honour. Military deserters and prisoners of war were pardoned, and debtors were discharged. The King celebrated privately at Windsor Castle because of his deteriorating mental illness.
King George had been monarch for 59 years and 96 days when he died. Because of George’s poor mental health his son had been regent for ten years, so even if he had reached his Diamond Jubilee, a celebration would have been inappropriate.
Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Click here for a film of Victoria travelling to the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral. The queen suffered from arthritis and could not climb the cathedral steps, so the service was held outside the cathedral, so the queen could stay in her carriage.
Queen Victoria wrote in her journal: “A never to be forgotten day. No one ever I believe, has met with such an ovation as was given to me, passing through those six miles of streets, including Constitution Hill. The crowds were quite indescribable & their enthusiasm truly marvellous & deeply touching”. If you are interested in reading the full entry click here. Two and a half years later Queen Victoria died, aged 81. Queen Elizabeth also keeps a diary, I wonder if it will ever be made public.
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953, although she had been Queen for over a year. Traditionally coronations are delayed by a year to allow for a respectful amount of time to pass before holding celebrations. I say traditionally but actually it is a fairly modern convention. In troubled times coronations happened quickly. When King Henry I died in 1135, his nephew Stephen immediately popped over from his lands in northern France and had himself crowned King.
This was despite Stephen previously pledging loyalty to Henry’s daughter Matilda, who expected to be Queen when her father died. Unfortunately for Matilda, when her father died she was further away in Anjou, in the middle of France. This situation happened a few times, as medieval aristocracy also had lands in France. The lesson is to stay in the same country as your dying monarch.
Matilda and Stephen fought a bloody civil war, only resolved when both agreed that Matilda’s son should become King Henry II when Stephen died, which he did the next year (1154).
There were lots of fun Jubilee events, mostly over the weekend of 2 to 5 June. YouTube will have a lot of videos (I won’t add links as they change all the time). Look for the Platinum Jubilee Parade videos - a typically idiosyncratic British parade, covering the decades of the second Elizabethan Era.
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This article was originally published as a Motley Extra. Details of the June 2022 Jubilee celebrations, the history behind them and ideas for celebrating at home, have been removed.