In 2017, the term sapphire jubilee or blue sapphire jubilee was coined for the celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (see Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II). Previously, the sapphire wedding anniversary was understood to be the 45th, and this would be expected to carry over to regnal anniversaries as with silver, golden, and diamond jubilees.
Notable person | Year of Sapphire Jubilee |
---|---|
King Louis XIV of France [1] | 1708 |
King Ferdinand III of Sicily | 1824 |
Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary [1] | 1913 |
Prince Johannes II of Liechtenstein | 1923 |
King Sobhuza II of Swaziland [1] | 1964 |
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand [1] | 2011 |
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms [1] | 2017 |
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of years have passed.
Silver jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark.
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniversaries, although the human lifespan makes this usage more common for institutions.
In popular culture, sets of precious substances may form hierarchies which express conventional perceived relative value or merit. Precious metals appear prominently in such hierarchies, but as they grow, gems and semi-precious materials may be introduced as part of the system. The sequences can provide interesting examples of the arbitrariness of semiotic signs.
A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary.
The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days", held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday. The anniversary date itself was commemorated in church services across the land on 6 February 1977, and continued to be for the rest of that month. In March, preparations started for large parties in every major city of the United Kingdom, as well as for smaller ones for countless individual streets throughout the country.
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 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.
Canadian royal symbols are the visual and auditory identifiers of the Canadian monarchy, including the viceroys, in the country's federal and provincial jurisdictions. These may specifically distinguish organizations that derive their authority from the Crown, establishments with royal associations, or merely be ways of expressing loyal or patriotic sentiment.
Commemorative coins have been issued by the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom since 1935. Initially they only came out to mark events of great interest, but since the turn of the millennium have been minted yearly.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of over 70 years is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history.
Queen Elizabeth II owned a historic collection of jewels – some as monarch and others as a private individual. They are separate from the gems and jewels of the Royal Collection, and from the coronation and state regalia that make up the Crown Jewels.
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for Queen Victoria.
A ruby jubilee marks a 40th anniversary.
Pietro Annigoni completed a number of portraits of Queen Elizabeth II between 1954 and 1972. In 1955, he painted her for the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and in 1969 for the National Portrait Gallery. The two portraits were united for the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition; The Queen: Art and Image, held to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. In 1972, Annigoni completed a circular drawing of the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to mark their silver wedding anniversary.
The Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II on 6 February 2017, marked 65 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II was the first British monarch to have a sapphire jubilee.
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, there were no widespread public celebrations of the Ruby Jubilee; it was a low-profile event. However, there were some observances to mark the milestone.