Innholdsfortegnelse for The Queen - Platinum Jubilee Celebrations i The Royal Family Souvenir Series

As the nation prepares to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of our wonderful Queen Elizabeth II, we are delighted to bring you this commemorative edition to honour her glorious reign thus far. We have compiled some of the most stunning imagery that details the life – both personal and professional – of our Queen, from her earliest years as a young Princess, right up to the present day. Although she was not originally destined for the throne until circumstances changed the path of her life, Queen Elizabeth II is the UK’s longest-ruling monarch and has served our country with finesse. Her reign has spanned seven decades, all of which have offered their own societal changes. Throughout, she has struck a perfect balance of maintaining the traditions of the crown while keeping…

Having become one of the King’s five Counsellors of State towards the end of the 1940s meant that Elizabeth was able to stand in for her father when required. During the early 1950s this was required rather more frequently as King George VI’s health began to decline. While Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, were on a tour of Kenya, Australia and New Zealand, the news broke that the King had passed away. It was Philip who received the call and subsequently shared the news with his wife, the new Queen. The couple were staying at Sagana Lodge in Kenya and immediately postponed the rest of the tour. Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen on 6 February 1952. The new Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh returned immediately to England where they moved…

On 29 July 1981, the Queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was billed as a fairytale wedding, with Diana’s dress featuring, as per the bride’s instruction, the longest train in in royal wedding history at 25 feet. While the wedding kept to tradition for the most part, it was a thoroughly modern affair by royal standards. Diana was the first British citizen to marry an heir to the throne since 1660, perhaps paving the way for her future sons and their wives. Following the ceremony, the Queen travelled back to the Palace with father of the bride, Earl Spencer, while Prince Philip rode with Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd. 600,000 spectators lined the streets of London to wish the newlyweds…

This year, 2022, sees us celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Not only does this mean she has been head of the monarchy for 70 years, it also means she is the longest-reigning British monarch in history. This milestone was reached on 9 September 2015, when the Queen surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years and 217 days. The Platinum Jubilee will celebrate 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, and while she is the longestreigning incumbent monarch, and the documented longest-reigning female monarch, she has a little way to go to become the longest serving monarch in history. The longest-ruling sovereign monarch, verifiable by exact date, is Louis XIV of France who reigned for 72 years and 110 days. On her 21st birthday, the…

On 21 April 1926, at 2.40am, the Duke and Duchess of York welcomed their first child, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor into the world. She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V’s mother, and Mary after her paternal grandmother, the Queen Consort. However, her close family affectionately called her ‘Lilibet’, a nickname that came about from the way she first pronounced her own name. This endearing name proceeded to stick with her through the course of her life, even her future husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was known to call her by this. It’s difficult to image the Queen living anywhere other than Buckingham Palace, but as a child she grew up in a large house at 145 Piccadilly, London. It wasn’t until she was 10 years…

On the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen gave a speech and the Guildhall on 24 November 1992, remarking: ‘1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.’ So what happened to make the year of 1992 so dreadful? Firstly, the Queen’s son, Prince Andrew separated from his wife, Sarah, Duchess of York in April. A month later, Princess Anne divorced her husband Captain Mark Phillips, and on the same day the Queen’s nephew, Prince Albrecht of Hohenlohe-Langenburg died. In June, Diana Princess of Wales published her book Diana: Her True Story, which revealed her marriage problems, including Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.…

The 1940s was a decade of wartime and recovery but in true British style it was business as usual for the Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth (later, the Queen Mother) refused to evacuate her daughters, the princesses, insisting that the family stay together – and that they did. At the age of 14, Elizabeth addressed children who had been evacuated during Children’s Hour on BBC Radio. She was accompanied by her sister Margaret and this became one of her first duties as a young royal. Elizabeth’s first solo royal engagement was a visit to the Grenadier Guards tank battalion in April 1943 when she was 17. She then became one of five Counsellors of State just before her 18th birthday, which meant that she was able act on her father’s behalf…

While the 1990s were a low point for the Queen, they finished on a positive note thanks to the wedding of her youngest son, prince Edward to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. The Queen and her daughter in law have a close relationship, The Telegraph once reported: ‘She’s very much the Queen’s favourite, and you’ll notice that whenever there is a family holiday or gathering, Sophie and Edward often stay a while longer than the rest.’ With the world entering a new millennium, there was a tangible air of excitement and anticipation. The Queen’s Golden Jubilee was also on the horizon, surely this would be the decade to brighten the shadows of the 1990s… Things began well. On 4 August 2000, the Queen Mother celebrated her 100th birthday. The day itself…