Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrates 70 years on the throne this year.
The 70th anniversary of her reign is called the Platinum Jubilee . It is very rare for a Platinum Jubilee to be held, and only three people in history have been able to celebrate it before Queen Elizabeth.
The fourth person in history to celebrate the "Platinum Jubilee"
Queen Elizabeth, the fourth monarch, is celebrating her 70th anniversary on the throne.
The first in history was Louis XIV of France in 1713. The second was John II of the Principality of Liechtenstein in Central Europe in 1928. And the third was King Rama IX of Thailand in 2016, who celebrated his 70th anniversary of reign.
Queen Elizabeth, whose full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of Windsor, ascended to the throne at the young age of 25, and is the fourth monarch of the House of Windsor.
The House of Windsor is the name of the royal family that includes not only the United Kingdom but also the Commonwealth of Nations, a group of 54 member countries. Although it is independent from the United Kingdom, New Zealand is also one of the countries that belong to the Commonwealth, and is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth as its King.
A portrait commemorating the 70th anniversary. The British Royal Family actively uses social media to promote an open royal family.
NZDF also participates
Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952. This year marks the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, and various celebratory events and ceremonies will be held throughout the year. During the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations that began on June 2, many public events were also held.
On June 2nd, the Royal Family held the Queen's Official Birthday Parade in London, with over 1,400 military personnel, about 200 horses, and a musical troupe of over 400 people taking part.
A contingent from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) also took part in a 3.2km celebratory march by military personnel on June 5th.
Six Maori warriors, carrying traditional weapons, led the procession of soldiers and sometimes performed as if to protect the line from a distance, attracting great attention from the audience.
WATCH🎬See our contingent performing a haka before international militaries in London.
— NZ Defense Force (@NZDefenceForce) June 8, 2022
This took place upon the completion of their march to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's #PlatinumJubileePageant . #Force4NZ pic.twitter.com/zgtPRErmoM
This is the haka performed by the delegation. In Japan, it is famous for being performed by the All Blacks before rugby matches, but the haka is also used for all kinds of celebrations and ceremonies.
The New Zealand Army has taken part in every celebration marking the reign of a British monarch since Queen Victoria's 60th anniversary in 1897.
Gun salute from Wellington
In New Zealand, 21 gun salutes were fired from a battery at Point Jerningham in the capital, Wellington, to mark the start of the 70th anniversary commemorations on June 2nd and to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday (a national holiday in New Zealand) on June 6th.
21 shots are fired to celebrate the Royal Family or the monarch of a country, and on special occasions, an extra 20 shots are fired. When Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, died, a 41-shot salute was fired in his honor.
By the way, 19 guns are customarily fired when a political leader such as a prime minister greets a country. When the Prime Minister of Samoa visited New Zealand on June 14, 19 guns were fired in celebration.
[Bonus] What is the Queen's official birthday?
The Queen's Official Birthday is a day to celebrate the birthday of the British Queen, like the Emperor's Birthday in Japan. In New Zealand, it was June 6th this year, but in fact Queen Elizabeth's birthday was April 21st, 1926. In New Zealand, the first Monday in June is designated as the Queen's official birthday, and this day is a public holiday.
In the UK, the second Saturday in June is the Queen's Official Birthday. Until the 19th century, the monarch's birthday was a public holiday, but it was moved to June so that the event could be held when the weather was good. Queen Elizabeth's predecessor used to celebrate it on the second Thursday in June, but in 1959, she moved it to another Saturday.
Not only in New Zealand, but also among the Commonwealth countries, the holidays celebrating the Queen's official birthday vary.
