Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning British monarch and overtook Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years, in September 2015. Therefore, to celebrate the unprecedented anniversary, events and initiatives are taking place throughout the year, culminating in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday, 5, June.
The four days of celebrations include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen's 70 years of service. In the virtual map organized by the UK government, there are 2,429 public events and 3,178 street parties or private events shared so far. In the London area, there are 298 events for those who want to celebrate.
Events
As the weekend ahead is known as "The Jubilee weekend", this Thursday and Friday are Bank holidays, and there are many events planned across the country. Celine Mehers, a French expat who lives in Petersfield, South West of London, shares the events are organized in her area. There is a town festival with a “myriad of stalls and no doubt copious amounts of memorabilia and other flags”. Also, there is a street party in her street, which consists of decorating houses with bunting, a tombola, and other games for children.
Besides, Celine shares that there's an opportunity for sharing during the Platinum Jubilee. “Residents will share food and drinks and get to meet their neighbors all along the street. A very British affair which hopefully will be blessed with decent weather, which is another popular topic of conversation around here”, she shares.
Street parties
There are many ways people can get involved in The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. The UK has a long history of organizing street parties to celebrate national events, and this time isn't different. The government is welcoming everyone to host parties right across the bank holiday weekend or as part of The Big Jubilee Lunch.
The Big Lunch
The Big Jubilee Lunch will be taking place on Sunday, 5 June, to coincide with the Platinum Jubilee. Since the idea began in 2009, The yearly Big Lunch has encouraged communities to celebrate their connections and get to know each other.
Beacon lighting
The UK has a long tradition of celebrating Royal Jubilees, Weddings, and Coronations through beacon lighting. Everyone could light beacons or get involved in beacon lighting within their communities on the evening of 2 June.
The Queen's Green Canopy
All people can plant trees from October 2021 (when the tree planting season begins) through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022 as part of the Queen's Green Canopy.
Challenge: design a jubilee crown
Celebrating the Platinum Jubilee, Angellica Bell, a British television and radio presenter, presents the Platinum Jubilee Creative Challenge – which encourages everyone to design a Jubilee Crown. Participants can share their creations – from poems and videos to whatever else they'll be making for the jubilee weekend, paying tribute to The Queen.
Expats in and out of the UK: what's the importance of the Platinum Jubilee?
Celine Mehers, who has been living in the UK for 25 years, comments that “Queen Elizabeth is the embodiment of Britishness: Dignified, unwavering in her dedication to duties and slightly old-fashioned!” For Celine, her 70 years as a monarch are impressive and represent a certain stability and continuity through some tumultuous times. “I think the slogan “Keep calm and carry on” perfectly reflects what the Queen represents. As far as the Brits are concerned, there seems to be a huge amount of respect and tenderness towards her, and she is seen as a symbol of steadfastness and resilience by most”.
Celine's youngest child is now in secondary school, but her niece and nephew who are aged 3 and 6 have been having picnics in honor of the Queen. “They are making paper crowns, masks of the Queen, and obviously, strings of bunting in the famous red, white and blue colors!” On the other hand, Celine talked to teenagers in her region about the Queen, realizing they support last year's opinion poll by YouGov, which shows that young people in Britain no longer think the country should keep the monarchy and more now want an elected head of state. The main question Celine heard from teenagers was: “Yes, she is a very sweet old lady, but what does she do? What is she for?” According to the survey by YouGov, 41% of those aged 18 to 24 thought there should now be an elected head of state compared to 31% who wanted a king or a queen.
On the other way around, some British expatriates living in France didn't want to give an opinion about the Jubilee, as they don't see themselves as either “pro or anti-monarchy”. Davey Stevens, a British digital nomad, comments on that and criticizes international media coverage of the Queen as mere entertainment. “Not many people abroad realize that the monarchy is not universally loved in the UK, although to be fair much of the south of England is not aware of that either. In some parts of Europe and the USA I have lived in, they are widely reported on, but generally in gossip magazines that would also cover the Kardashians.”
