Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II | |
---|---|
Genre | Commonwealth realms |
Date(s) | 6 February 1977 |
Country | |
Previous event | Silver Jubilee of George V |
Next event | Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II |
The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the
National and international goodwill visits
No monarch before Queen Elizabeth II had visited more of the United Kingdom in such a short span of time (the trips lasted three months). All in all, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip visited a total of 36 counties. The trip started with record crowds gathering to see the Queen and Prince Philip in Glasgow, Scotland, on 17 May. After moving to England (where a record one million spectators came to greet the couple in Lancashire) and Wales, the Queen and Prince Philip wrapped up the first of their trips with a visit to Northern Ireland. Among the places visited during the national trips were numerous schools, which were the subject of a television special hosted by presenter Valerie Singleton.
Later in the summer, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a Commonwealth visit that first brought them to island nations such as Fiji and Tonga, following up with longer stints in New Zealand and Australia, with a final stop in Papua New Guinea before going on to the British holdings in the West Indies. The final stop on the international tour was a trip to Canada, in which Prince Charles joined the couple to greet the crowds.
Jubilee celebrations
Australia
During the Queen's Silver Jubilee tour of Australia in March 1977, a Silver Jubilee Parade was held in front of Parliament House in Canberra.[1]
The Royal Australian Mint released a commemorative Silver Jubilee 50c coin, which featured twenty-five representations of St Edward's Crown.[2]
Two commemoratives stamps were released by Australia Post to celebrate the Jubilee.
Australian artist, Paul Fitzgerald, was commissioned to complete the only official portrait of the Queen during the Silver Jubilee year.[3]
The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours in Australia were announced on 14 June 1977.[4]
Silver Jubilee celebrations culminated in December 1977 with 35,000 serving personnel taking part in open parades across Australia.[1]
Canada
The Queen and her husband visited Canada in 1977 to mark her Silver Jubilee. During the tour, the Queen attended the opening of the Parliamentary session and delivered the Speech from the Throne, the second time in Canadian history that she had done so.[5]
To mark the milestone, Canada instituted a Silver Jubilee medal on 6 February 1977. It was awarded to individuals who had been deemed to have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community or to Canada.[6]
A 25-cent stamp was issued to celebrate the Silver Jubilee in Canada.[7]
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Endowment Fund for Study in a Second Language was launched that provided funding for young Canadians interested in increasing their proficiency in another language.[8]
New Zealand
During the Queen's Silver Jubilee tour of New Zealand from 22 February to 7 March 1977, she and Prince Philip visited 11 centres in New Zealand. The Queen opened the Beehive, Parliament's new executive wing in Wellington.[9]
A set of stamps was released by New Zealand to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee.
To commemorate the Silver Jubilee,
The 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours in New Zealand were announced on 11 June 1977.[11][12]
United Kingdom
On 3 May, a humble address was presented to the Queen on the occasion of her Silver Jubilee.[13] The next day, she addressed Parliament at Westminster Hall, and her speech was deemed controversial by some parliamentarians. The Queen referred to "keen discussion of proposals for devolution to Scotland and Wales within the United Kingdom". While she could "readily understand these aspirations", the Queen added that she could not "forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Perhaps this Jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of this United Kingdom". The SNP MP Donald Stewart later asked if Prime Minister James Callaghan accepted "responsibility" for the Queen's remarks.[14][15]
On such an occasion we think of the Throne as an institution and of the Queen as a person. In conjunction with Parliament, the Throne as an institution enables us to maintain a stability that is widely admired overseas. Together, the Sovereign and Parliament provide the instruments by which momentous changes have been, are and will continue to be reconciled with continuity in our country.
James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1977[13]
On 6 June, the Queen lit a
When I was twenty-one I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God's help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret nor retract one word of it.
After the luncheon, the procession continued down
On 9 June, the Queen made a
Lasting impact
A fountain in the central lawn of the New Palace Yard was installed in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee and recalls the lost medieval fountain of Henry VI.[16] The fountain stands in an octagonal pool in the centre of which is a large welded steel sculpture by Walenty Pytel. The sculpture is decorated with depictions of birds and beasts from six continents and is surmounted by a gilded crown.[17]
Various places were named after the Jubilee. The under-construction "Fleet line" of the
Apart from names, the Jubilee also saw the borough of Derby granted the status of a city.
Similar parties and parades were planned for the Golden Jubilee in 2002.
For the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012, a 100 m (330 ft) by 70 m (230 ft) print of a photograph of the British royal family taken during her Silver Jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace was erected in front of the Sea Containers House under renovation.
Commemorative memorabilia
A round silver pendant, designed by the then newly retired English
Around the edges of the pendant can be seen Silver Jubilee 1977, (C) JP 77 P and a full hallmark: JP (maker's mark for John Pinches), 925, London Assay Office mark for imported silver, date stamp C (for year 1977) and queen's head (for silver jubilee year).
In popular culture
Before, during, and after the events of Jubilee, the event was addressed in many media of popular culture throughout the Commonwealth.
With the official UK record chart for Jubilee week about to be released, the
On 7 June, Sex Pistols manager
On 6 and 7 June, Queen finished their A Day at the Races Tour by playing two concerts at Earls Court, London to commemorate the Jubilee.[20] The concerts also saw the band use a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[21]
The
See also
- List of events during the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
- 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours
- Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- Rosa 'Silver Jubilee'
- List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign
- List of jubilees of British monarchs
References
- ^ ISBN 9781107043657
- ^ "Royal Australian Mint unveils commemorative coin for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee". Royal Australian Mint. 4 April 2022.
- ^ "An Australian paints the Queen". The Australian Women's Weekly. 15 June 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ "Australian Government Gazette – Special" (PDF). Government House of The Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Jubilees and Coronation". Government of Canada. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal (1977)". veterans.gc.ca. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Canada Post pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee
- ^ "What Are the Plans for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in Canada?".
- ^ Royal tours: Queen Elizabeth II
- ^ Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust Act 1977
- ^ "No. 47237". The London Gazette (4th supplement). 11 June 1977. pp. 7127–7132.
- ^ "Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday honours list 1977" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 66. 16 June 1977. pp. 1660–1662.
- ^ a b Address To Her Majesty (Silver Jubilee)
- ^ Platinum Jubilee: how will Parliament Address the Queen?
- ^ A speech by The Queen to Parliament on her Silver Jubilee
- Houses of Parliament. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-333-57688-5.
- ^ Savage, Jon, England's Dreaming, pp. 364–365; Leigh, Spencer (20 February 1998). "Music: Charting the Number Ones That Somehow Got Away". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ Savage, Jon, England's Dreaming, pp. 358–364; Strongman, Phil, Pretty Vacant, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Whitfield, David (3 April 2019). "Freddie Mercury's sister Kashmira on the success of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' - and what happened when the Queen legend used to visit her in Nottingham". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (20 December 1978). "Pop Music Review: Putting Queen in Audio Seat Queen for a Night". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.