Why is the Platinum Jubilee so important? When the Queen reached 70 years on the throne on February 6, 2022, she became the first British monarch ever to make it to a Platinum Jubilee. She had already broken the record of the longest-reigning British monarch back in September 2015 when she overtook Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years 216 days.

What makes the moment particularly noteworthy is that, in addition to being the first to reach 70 years, the Queen will almost certainly be the last and therefore only British monarch ever to mark a Platinum Jubilee. A reign of such length requires not only living a long life but also coming to the throne young; she became Queen aged just 25 when her father died at age 56. With future monarchs looking set to consistently take over when they are older, it’s almost impossible to see how any king or queen can manage 70 years in the future.

The term jubilee applies to a milestone moment, celebration or anniversary and a royal jubilee is simply a significant milestone in the reign of the sovereign. Several British monarchs have marked Silver Jubilees by reaching 25 years on the throne, including the Queen’s grandfather King George V who reigned for 25 years and 259 days. The Queen is one of only six British monarchs to reach a Golden Jubilee of 50 years on the throne. When she passed the milestone in 2002 at age 76, Buckingham Palace highlighted that she was the oldest sovereign to do so and that the youngest was James VI of Scotland who was 51 years old when he marked 50 years on the throne as he was just one when he became king. The other four to reach Golden Jubilees were Queen Victoria, King George III who reigned for more than 59 years, Henry III of England who reached 56 years, and Edward III of England who made it to 50 years.

The Queen is the longest reigning monarch alive in the world today, a title she took over when King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died in 2016, by which point he had reigned for more than 70 years. However, she is not yet the longest-reigning monarch in the world ever.

As we reach the end of the first half of the summer term, this final week has been very exciting with TIPS week for year 7 and 8, and a brilliant Sports Day, where we persisted against the (sometimes) torrential rain. Finally, today the school celebrates the Platinum Jubilee with a hearty rendition of ‘God Save the Queen’ and strawberries and cream. Here’s a short, but patriotic compilation of the best jubilee/coronation classical music there is!

Miss Murata, Composer in Residence