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The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II: An English Festivity with Roman Precedents
From: The British Museum
| By:
Ian Leins |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
How often have monarchs ruled for 50 years? Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee has had very few precedents in the history of the British monarchy, and owes a surprising debt to the style in which Roman emperors marked their reigns. The British Museum marks the Queen's Jubilee with Queen's Trail, which provides visitors with an introduction to many of the female monarchs represented in its collections, as well as to the portrayal of British queens on medals and money. Here curator Ian Leins gives us a broader history of monarchical celebrations and long reigns. |
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| Official commemorative Golden Jubilee £5 by The Royal Mint (2002). Design copyright of Ian Rank Broadley. | |
 n 6 February 2002, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II reached a remarkable milestone--the fiftieth anniversary of her accession. How remarkable was this achievement? Since the creation of the United Kingdom in 1707, only King George III and Queen Victoria have achieved longer reigns. In the preceding five centuries only Henry III, Edward III and James VI of Scotland had reached their fiftieth year. Although Queen Elizabeth II is only the third British monarch to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, the tradition of celebrating royal anniversaries stretches back at least to the third millennium BCE. |
Five thousand years ago, during Egypt's Early Dynastic period (3100-2613 BCE), the Pharaohs marked the thirtieth year of their reigns through the celebration of the Sed festival. This ancient festival allowed the Pharaoh to demonstrate his continued potency and suitability to rule. |
The Roman emperors also celebrated the anniversaries of their accession. These years were marked by extraordinary imperial largesse and sometimes occasioned the building of commemorative monuments, such as Diocletian's Decennalia column-base in the Roman forum. In a world without modern mass media, circulating coins and presentation medallions were produced, carrying the image of the emperor and messages of commemoration. Coin legends such as VOTA SVSCEPTA DEC III ('he has taken the vows for his third decade'), and SIC XX SIC XXX ('as 20 years, so 30 years') record the fulfilment and renewal of the emperor's vows to maintain good stewardship of the state. |
The roots of the term jubilee lie in the ancient Hebrew celebrations that freed all Jews from debt and slavery. The advent of this period, which occurred every fiftieth year, was signalled by the yobel, the blast of a horn. In 1300, the Jubilee (Holy Year) was adopted by Pope Boniface VIII, as a centenary year for reconciliation and the forgiveness of sin. In 1350, Pope Clement VI consented to the celebration of a second Holy Year just fifty years after the first, and the Papal Bull of 1470 established the lasting interval of twenty-five years. |
King George III: Establishing a tradition
Until the reign of King George III, it is unclear what form the celebration of a royal jubilee would have taken. Certainly, the fiftieth years of the reigns of Henry III (1216-77) and Edward III (1327-77) produced no commemorative medals or coinage. They were, however, occasions for celebration and largesse in the Roman tradition. |
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| Official medal struck for the Golden Jubilee of King George III (1810). | |
In October 1809, King George III became the first monarch since the creation of the United Kingdom to reach the fiftieth anniversary of his accession. At this time the potential of an anniversary festival was realised. The celebrations were clearly intended to restore public confidence, which had been affected by the declining mental health of the King and the continuation of the Napoleonic Wars. The event was initially without a title, until a letter to The London Times suggested that the term jubilee was an appropriate one. |
The Golden Jubilee festivities of 1809-10 included a grand fete and fireworks display at the Royal residence at Frogmore, as well as a service at St Paul's Cathedral. A struck bronze medal was also produced to commemorate the King's achievement. |
Queen Victoria
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| Badge produced in celebration of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897). | |
The celebrations for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 far surpassed those of George III. This event, and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of 1897, came at a time when the British Empire was at its most powerful. Imperialistic achievement and feelings of national pride were reflected in the scale of the jubilees, which were celebrated despite Britain's domestic economic problems. |
The Golden Jubilee included a procession through the streets of London, a service that was thought to be more impressive than the coronation, and a royal banquet to which numerous foreign kings and heads-of-state were invited. In contrast, the Diamond Jubilee of 1897 was billed as a celebration of the achievements of the British Empire. There was more of an imperial flavour to the festivities: the procession involved troops from all the territories of the Empire and the guests at the banquet included the prime ministers and heads-of-state of Britain's overseas colonies. |
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| Gold £5 proof (1887), showing the unpopular portrait of Queen Victoria. | |
The production of commemorative medals had taken off with the Golden Jubilee of 1887. Numerous designs commissioned by cities, towns, companies and individuals supplemented the officially produced medal. The Golden Jubilee also occasioned the introduction of a new circulating coinage. The so-called 'Jubilee Coinage' included a new portrait, replacing the image of an 18-year-old Victoria with a more mature likeness of the Queen, who was now almost 70. The new portrait was, however, deeply unpopular and was replaced almost immediately by a more flattering likeness. |
Industrial production techniques opened the way for the development of affordable popular memorabilia, especially in the form of ceramics. Commemorative plates, bowls, jugs and even teapots were produced to celebrate the jubilee year. |
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| Official medal struck for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1897). | |
An official commemorative medal was also produced for the Diamond Jubilee. The medal, by G.W. De Saulles, included two portraits (one contemporary, the other of a youthful Queen Victoria), as well as Latin inscriptions meaning 'Victoria successfully completed the sixtieth year of her reign, 20 June 1897' and 'Length of days in her right hand; and in her left hand glory'. Badges represent a new form of memorabilia produced to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee. In fact, the first badges produced in Britain mark this event (along with those manufactured during the Boer War). |
King George V
The Silver Jubilee of George V took place in 1935. It was the first Silver Jubilee, as Queen Victoria's twenty-fifth anniversary (1862) had come too soon after the death of Prince Albert in December 1861. After the Great War and the post-war rebuilding that had dominated George V's reign, the country embraced the Silver Jubilee as a celebration of peace. A great variety of memorabilia was produced, including an official medal by the renowned artist Percy Metcalfe. |
Queen Elizabeth II
In 1977, Elizabeth II matched the feat of her grandfather, George V, by reaching her Silver Jubilee year. It came during a decade of economic and political turmoil, and fluctuating support for the monarchy. Although the Jubilee was well received by many, with lavish street parties staged throughout the country, it was not without controversy. Anti-Royalist feeling was significant: it was characterised by the Sex Pistol's concert on the River Thames during the Jubilee Weekend, and the release of their single 'God Save the Queen'. |
As part of the 1977 Silver Jubilee programme, the Queen toured extensively throughout Britain and the Commonwealth, and personally stressed that the keynote of the Jubilee should be the 'unity of the nation'. The Covent Garden Gala, fireworks on the River Thames and the lighting of beacons throughout Britain were some of the notable events of the summer of 1977. A commemorative coin showing the Queen on horseback, badges, T-shirts, ceramics and even Jubilee socks were produced for the occasion. |
The 2002 Golden Jubilee
The Royal Family has attracted a great deal of criticism in recent years, and the reaction of the public to the Golden Jubilee was far from certain. A message issued by the Queen on the anniversary of her accession stated: |
This anniversary is for us an occasion to acknowledge with gratitude the loyalty and support which we have received from so many people since I came to the Throne in 1952.
The focus of the jubilee had changed--the Golden Jubilee was presented as a chance for the Queen to thank the people, rather than for the people to thank the Queen. |
Many features of the 2002 Golden Jubilee programme echo those of previous jubilees. A tour of communities throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, the lighting of beacons, fireworks, and a state procession and thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral preserve the now traditional elements of such an event. The Jubilee Weekend (1 to 4 June, 2002), however, included many innovations intended to reflect the diversity of the audience. The pop concert held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and a pageant that included members of the Notting Hill Carnival ensured the event had universal appeal. |
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| Official commemorative Golden Jubilee £5 by The Royal Mint (2002). Design copyright of Ian Rank Broadley. | |
The Royal Mint has issued a commemorative £5 coin for the 2002 Jubilee. A new and unusually animated bust of Queen Elizabeth was chosen for one side, while a second portrait similar to the equestrian portrait of the 1977 Jubilee crown was used on the reverse. The reverse also includes the double inscription 'ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REGINA FID DEF' and 'AMOR POPULI PRFSIDIUM REG' (`The love of the people is the Queen's protection'). The second half of this inscription was first used on the coins of Charles I (1625-49), and is thought to reflect his concern about popular discontent--something that has been a concern of the current Royal Family. |
The unexpected popularity of the Jubilee celebrations seems to have demonstrated the continued public affection for the Queen, and the success of the British monarchy in establishing a new role for itself. The Golden Jubilee of 2002 represents not only a remarkable achievement in terms of the longevity of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, but also a landmark in the history of the British monarchy. |
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