Out and About June 2022 -issue198

JUNE 2022 | 33
was a parade in 1897, to mark Queen Victoria’s
diamond jubilee, for 60 years of rule.
When was the last Jubilee celebrated? In the
Roman Catholic Church, jubilees began to be
celebrated formally in 1300 AD and are years of
forgiveness of sins and reconciliation. They are
celebrated every 25 years. The most recent year
of jubilee was 2000.
The Queen marked her 70th year on the throne
on 6 February this year, but she did not celebrate
her Platinum Jubilee until June. The reason for this
is because 6 February also marks the anniversary
of her father’s death, as she ascended the throne
the day that King George VI died in 1952.
The Platinum Jubilee celebration included
everything from the traditional Trooping the
Colour birthday parade for the queen to a starstudded
concert led by Diana Ross to thousands
of street parties across the country.
Elizabeth attended the Trooping the Colour
and a beacon lighting ceremony later that night,
but did not attend the Friday’s service after
experiencing “some discomfort” during previous
events.
The queen appeared outside of Windsor Castle
and touched a symbolic globe that set off a chain
of “Placing the ‘Tree of Trees’ at the heart of the
beacon lighting reflects the Royal Family’s long
history of championing environmental causes
and paid a fitting tribute to Her Majesty’s 70
years of service to the nation.
As the queen and William participated in
the beacon lighting ceremony, more than 1,500
beacons lit up across the U.K. and Commonwealth
countries and territories.