The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms. A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days," held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Events in June Madaraka Day June 1 to commemorate when Kenya gained internal self-rule "The Queen" in this article means the monarch of the Commonwealth Realms The Queen's Official Birthday (sometimes known as "the The anniversary date itself was commemorated in church services across the land on 6 February 1977, and continued throughout the month. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays In March, preparations started for large parties in every major city of the United Kingdom, as well as for smaller ones for countless individual streets throughout the country.

National and international goodwill visits

No monarch before Elizabeth II visited more of the United Kingdom in such a short span of time (the trips lasted three months). For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located All in all, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip visited a total of 36 counties. A county is a Land area of Regional Government within a larger State. The trip started with record crowds gathering to see the Royals in Glasgow on 17 May. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. 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. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Among the places visited during the national trips were numerous schools, which were the subject of a television special hosted by presenter Valerie Singleton. A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event Valerie Singleton OBE (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as the longest-serving female presenter of

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. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The Kingdom of Tonga is an Archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean comprising 169 islands 36 of them inhabited stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The final stop on the international tour was a trip to Canada, in which Prince Charles joined the couple to greet the crowds. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

For full list of visits and events see List of Royal Visits and Events during 1977

June celebrations in London

On 6 June, the Queen lit a bonfire beacon at Windsor Castle, whose light spread across the night in a chain of other beacons throughout the country. During the Silver Jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 the Queen had the following engagements January February Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year See also Campfire. bonfire is a large controlled outdoor Fire. Beacons are aids to Navigation devices Intentionally conspicuous beacons help guide navigators to their destinations Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited Castle in the world and dating back to the time of On 7 June, crowds lined the procession to St Paul's Cathedral, where the royal family attended a Service of Thanksgiving alongside many world leaders, including United States President Jimmy Carter, as well as all of the living former Prime Ministers, stretching back from Harold Macmillan all the way to Harold Wilson. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The service was followed by lunch in the Guildhall, hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London Peter Vanneck. The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Cheapside and Basinghall Street, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. Air Commodore Sir Peter Beckford Rutgers Vanneck, GBE, CB, DL, AFC, AE ( 7 January, 1922 &ndash 2 August At the reception, the Queen was quoted as saying,

Elaborate street parties were thrown across the country, like this one in Plymouth. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London.

After the luncheon, the procession drove the royals down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where an estimated one million people lined the pavements to see the family wave to onlookers. The Mall (ˈmæl in London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. A further 500 million people around the Commonwealth watched the day's events on live television. 7 June was the day that streets and villages threw elaborate parties for all their residents, to honour the Queen and their country's rich history. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Many streets strung bunting (the little flags were usually modelled in pattern after the Union Flag) from rooftop to rooftop across the street. The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition to parties, many streets decorated motor vehicles as historical events from Britain's past, and drove them about town, organising their very own parades. In London alone there were over 4000 organised parties for individual streets and neighbourhoods. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A neighbourhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences) is a geographically localised Community within a larger City, Town or Throughout the entire day, onlookers were greeted by the Queen many times as she made several appearances for pictures from her balcony. Balcony (from Italian balcone, scaffold cf High German balcho, beam balk probably cognate with Persian term بالكانه

On 9 June, the Queen made a Royal Progress trip via boat down the River Thames from Greenwich to Lambeth, in a re-enactment of the famous progresses taken by Queen Elizabeth I. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London, Lambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth, although the area is now more commonly known as Waterloo, after the railway station whose viaduct separates the On the trip, the Queen officially opened the Silver Jubilee Walkway and the South Bank Jubilee Gardens, two of numerous places named after the festivities. In the evening, the Queen presided over a fireworks display and was subsequently taken by a procession of lighted carriages to Buckingham Palace, where she greeted onlookers yet again from her balcony. A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people usually horse-drawn

The Jubilee in popular culture

Before, during, and after the events of Jubilee, the event was addressed in many mediums of popular culture throughout the Commonwealth.

The most infamous event marking the Jubilee was the Sex Pistols' release of the vehement anti-monarchy song "God Save the Queen. The Sex Pistols are an English Punk rock band that formed in London in 1975 " God Save the Queen " was the second single released by the Punk rock band Sex Pistols. " The song was seen as an attack on both the royal family (which the Sex Pistols called a "fascist regime") and the United Kingdom as a nation. Originally titled "No Future," the end of the song calls for an end to "England's dreaming," as there will be "no future. " On 7 June, the high day of celebrations, the Sex Pistols attempted to interrupt the Jubilee festivities by playing their song from a boat on the River Thames. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. Police officials forced the boat to dock and a scuffle with fans ensued, resulting in the arrest of of several people associated with the Sex Pistols, such as the band's manager Malcolm McLaren, artist Jamie Reid, clothing designer Vivienne Westwood and Bromley Contingent members Tracie O'Keefe and Debbie Juvenile. Malcolm McLaren (born Malcolm Robert Andrew Edwards on January 22 1946 in London) is an English Impresario and musician Jamie Reid (born 1947 is a British artist and Anarchist with connections to the Situationists. Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI, (born 8 April, 1941) is an English Fashion designer largely responsible for bringing The Bromley Contingent is a label invented by journalist Caroline Coon about a group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols. Despite overwhelming public approval for the royal family, there was enough discontent within the British public that many agreed with the song's message, and subsequently bought enough copies during Jubilee Week to rocket "God Save the Queen" to #2 on the UK pop charts (amid claims, never proved or disproved, that it had sold enough copies to hit #1 but had been kept off for political reasons). During the festivities and in the immediate aftermath, radio stations were under strict orders not to play the tune.

The soap opera Coronation Street wrote an elaborate Jubilee parade into the storyline, having Rovers' Return Inn manageress Annie Walker dress up in elaborate costume as Elizabeth I. A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio. Coronation Street (commonly known as 'Corrie' is an award-winning Soap opera created by Tony Warren Anne 'Annie' Walker (née Beaumont) played by Doris Speed, is one of the original Coronation Street characters when the show began in 1960 Ken Barlow and "Uncle Albert" played Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing respectively. Ken Barlow refer to Ken Barlow (Coronation Street Ken Barlow (basketball Albert Tatlock is a Fictional character on the British television Soap opera Coronation Street. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (20 July 1919 &ndash 11 January 2008 was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer The Jubilee also figured into the time-travel storyline of a 1983 Doctor Who story, Mawdryn Undead. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Mawdryn Undead is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast

Lasting impact

Various places were named after the Jubilee. The under-construction Fleet Line of the London Underground was re-named the Jubilee Line, though it did not open until 1979. The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground ("the Tube" in the United Kingdom. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Other places named after the Jubilee were the Silver Jubilee Walkway and the South Bank Jubilee Gardens.

Apart from names, the Jubilee also saw the borough of Derby granted the status of a city. Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dˈɑːbɪ/ is a city in the East Midlands of England.

Similar parties and parades were planned for the Golden Jubilee in 2002. The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II 's accession to the throne See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.

External links

• Silver Jubilee page from royalinsight.gov.uk
• The Queen's Silver Jubilee address (4 May 1977), from the BBC
• This day in history (7 June 1977), from the BBC
• [1] advice on holding a street party