 | This article is missing information about the details of the events of the four days.(May 2022) |
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| Date | 12–15 May 2022 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Windsor Castle |
| Theme | Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II |
| Website | platinumjubilee.com |
Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History was an equestrian event held in the grounds of Windsor Castle on four evenings from 12 to 15 May 2022, as part of Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. [1]
The event featured some of the world's greatest equestrian displays. [2] Each night, the event was attended by members of the royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar, the Princess Royal, and the Queen, who attended on 15 May. [3] Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi also attended the charity preview of the event. [3]
Split into four acts, "Queen Elizabeth I", "The Crown, Lost and Found", "The Crown Around the World", and "One United Kingdom Under One Crown", [3] the show featured more than 1,000 performers and 500 horses, and told the story of the monarchy from Queen Elizabeth I to Queen Elizabeth II.
The first act focused on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, which took the audience on a journey from the Spanish Armada through to Queen Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech. It also featured the celebrities of the time including playwrights William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Both the Corps of Drums of Her Majesty's Royal Marines and the Pony Club featured in this act; the Pony Club acted as the Queen's messengers, bringing news to the herald on the progress of the war with the Spanish Armada. [4]
The second act explored the era of James I, the Gunpowder Plot, the time of Oliver Cromwell, the death of Charles I and then the restoration of Charles II. The act also featured a segment on King Louis XIV of France, which included a performance from La Garde Republicaine from France. The Household Cavalry Musical Ride also performed in this act. [4]
The third act showcased the United Kingdom's history of world exploration, with a focus on famous explorers including Edmund Hillary, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, James Cook, Captain Bligh, Scott of the Antarctic, David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley. The act featured international displays, including the Secret Drum Corps from Switzerland, Kings Guard of Norway, The Royal Cavalry of Oman, Emerald Storm from Northern Ireland, The Bollywood Company from India, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, The Santa Siberian Huskies and Azerbaijan – Land of Fire. Comedy characters Barrington and Billington entertained crowds throughout the act. [4]
The fourth and the last act celebrated the strength of the UK's four nations and the Commonwealth, as well as Queen Elizabeth II and her achievements over the past seventy years. Performances were given by the Kings Troop, Massed Pipes and Drums, Dancers of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Emerald Storm and the Academy Voices (Welsh Choir). The act ended with a focus on the Queen's love of horses. The finale of this segment featured a parade of state coaches and royal carriages and the Queen's show horses and ponies. [4]
Performers included: [5] [6] [7]
Dame Helen Mirren played the role of Queen Elizabeth I with Omid Djalili as a court herald, and singers Katherine Jenkins, Gregory Porter and Keala Settle also gave performances. Julie Etchingham and Philip Schofield presented coverage of the event from a studio, along with Adjoa Andoh, Martin Clunes, Tom Cruise, Damian Lewis and Alan Titchmarsh in the arena.
Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Musical Ride performed ceremonial duties on former Musical Ride horses that were gifted to the Queen. [6]
The Queen's youngest granddaughter, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, drove in the carriage that once belonged to her grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, and had been featured in his funeral. [8]
The event was broadcast live on ITV at 20:00 BST on Sunday 15 May 2022.
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and the youngest niece of King Charles III. Born 8th in line to the British throne, she is now 16th.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is also known as the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, it is, with the State Opening of Parliament, one of the biggest events of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London.
The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British royal family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and then within the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is a ceremonial unit of the British Army, quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-era QF 13-pounder gun; six teams are used in the unit's Musical Drive. The Troop's duties include firing salutes on royal and state occasions, participation in parades, and the duties of the King's Life Guard at Horse Guards for one month each year. The unit provides the gun carriage and team of black horses for state funerals. The unit is most often seen providing gun salutes on state occasions in Hyde Park, and Green Park.
The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight-horse-drawn carriage used by the British royal family. Commissioned in 1760 by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III, and designed by Sir William Chambers, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. It was commissioned for £7,562. It was built for George III's coronation in 1761, but was not ready in time; it was completed in 1762.
The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army tasked primarily with ceremonial duties. Part of the Household Division, it is classed as a regiment of guards, and carries out mounted ceremonial duties on State and Royal occasions. The HCMR is one of two operational units that form the Household Cavalry (HCav), the other being the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR), a formation reconnaissance regiment, with front-line combat duties.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has, between 1969 and 2023, presented seven police service horses from the Musical Ride unit to two of Canada's monarchs: six horses to Queen Elizabeth II and one to King Charles III. PSH Burmese was used by Elizabeth for Trooping the Colour between 1969 and 1986. Charles has done the same with PSH Noble since 2023.
The Musical Ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a special unit showcasing the equestrian skills performed by 32 cavalry who are regular members of the force. It holds events held in Canada and worldwide to promote the RCMP. The first official ride was held in 1887 in Regina, District of Assiniboia, and was commanded by Inspector William George Matthews.
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, is the younger child and son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest nephew of King Charles III. At the time of his birth, he was 8th in line to the British throne. He is now 15th in line.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show is a horse show held annually since 1943 for five days in May or June in Windsor Home Park. The show is the only one in the United Kingdom to host international competition for dressage, show jumping, carriage driving and endurance riding. In addition, there are over 130 showing classes. It annually attracts more than 50,000 visitors and has key sponsors including Jaguar Landrover through their Defender brand, Hermes, Rolex, Pol Roger and many more.
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The Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1992 marked the 40th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. Contrary to her Silver Jubilee in 1977, it was not regarded as an "official" jubilee. However, the milestone was marked with a number of events and community projects.
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.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant was held on Sunday, 5 June 2022 near Buckingham Palace, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Conceived and directed by David Zolkwer with Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, it featured over 10,000 people from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and combined street arts, music, puppets, carnival and costume to celebrate the Queen's reign, as well as honouring the collective service of people and communities across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Trooping the Colour ceremony was held on Thursday 2 June 2022, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. Over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians came together in the traditional parade to mark the Queen's Official Birthday, which usually takes place on the second Saturday of June. It was the final Birthday Parade to take place under the reign of Elizabeth II before her death on 8 September later that year.
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The Platinum Jubilee Act of Loyalty Parade was a military parade held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland on 28 June 2022, organised as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Performed as a tribute to the Queen as Head of the British Armed Forces, on behalf of all three branches of the British Armed Forces, it featured all three services, with each of the single service Senior Representatives in Scotland present, together with Service Cadets.