70 years on the throne
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her anniversary without much celebration
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates seven decades on the throne this weekend. Photo: Yui Mok/Pool PA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
A very special anniversary is coming up for the Queen: Elizabeth II has been leading her country through ups and downs for 70 years. But the big party has to wait a little longer.
Few Britons know their country with another head of state: Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating seven decades on the throne this weekend.
Sunday 6 February marks the 70th anniversary of the then 25-year-old becoming Queen. Her father George VI. died on February 6, 1952, and his eldest daughter became his successor. No monarch before her has long reigned on the throne of the United Kingdom.
According to insiders, the day she became queen is still personally closely linked to the death of her beloved father for the 95-year-old queen. She usually spends the anniversary of her accession to the throne without public appointments, quietly at her East English country estate in Sandringham – not only in times of Corona. Her platinum anniversary is also the first anniversary that she has to deny without her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
Steinmeier congratulates the Queen
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated the Queen on her anniversary on Friday and emphasized her contribution to German-British reconciliation. “Countless people around the world admire you for your tireless service at the head of your country and the Commonwealth of Nations over an exceptionally long period of time,” he wrote. “We Germans are no exception here. On the contrary, we owe you a special thank you.»
Thanks to the Queen’s commitment, the German-British friendship has developed positively to an extent “as few Germans would have dared to hope for at the time of her accession to the throne, a few years after the end of the Second World War”. Her seven visits to Germany also contributed to this.
Big celebration in early June
The throne jubilee in Great Britain is not to be celebrated until the beginning of June. Concerts, shows, parades and street festivals are planned across the country for several days, the British even get an extra day off for this and the pubs should be allowed to open longer. If the Windsors have their way, it should be a year in which the monarchy will once again be widely celebrated after a long time.
At Windsor Castle, the Queen recently looked at greeting cards from past anniversaries and also dared to take a look at the first submissions for her “Platinum Pudding”. Creative gourmets can submit recipes under the call for entries. The winning recipe should be made available to the public and enjoyed at large “Jubilee Lunches” during the celebration weekend in June and “by future generations”, the palace said.
«Recipe for the perfect queen»
For the Golden Jubilee 20 years ago, the monarch received a special recipe from a then nine-year-old boy named Chris. “Pour 500 milliliters of royal blood into a large mixing bowl, then add a cup of courage,” says the “Recipe for the Perfect Queen” published by Buckingham Palace on Friday. Next, mix in a pint of hard work, a tablespoon of health, and a beautiful smile. «Simmer for 50 years. Throw in a dash of loyalty and you have your perfect queen.”