Diamond Jubilees and The Royal Mint

This year the Queen celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. The event is known as a Diamond Jubilee. She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 following the death of her father George VI. She was 25 years old. The only other monarch to reign for so long was Queen Victoria ( ). Queen Elizabeth II The Jubilee will celebrate her long reign and devotion to Britain and the Commonwealth.

Celebrating a Diamond Jubilee A Diamond Jubilee is a chance to celebrate and thank a monarch who has dedicated themselves to serving their country. In 2012 we are celebrating the dedication of Queen Elizabeth II, much like the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated in Medals being given out in the grounds of Buckingham Palace after the Diamond Jubilee parade in 1897 Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Procession Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebration in Prestwich Key Questions: 1.What do we mean by ‘serving their country’? 2.What can you tell about Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations from the videos and pictures? Gold Bronze Silver Royalty and nobility Officers and officials Military personnel Medals were given out after the Diamond Jubilee Parade. Can you guess who got which medal?

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Medal In 1897 the Royal Mint made a beautiful medal to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was designed by George William De Saulles and inspired by the first and final portraits on the coins of Queen Victoria, created by William Wyon and Sir Thomas Brock.

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth II The Queen has already celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee in Jubilees and Milestones in the Queen's life Celebrating the Golden Jubilee Celebrating the Silver Jubilee On each occasion hundreds of thousands of people found new and traditional ways to celebrate alongside her; taking part in street parties and filling the Mall outside Buckingham Palace with colour, flags, songs and joy.

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth II As part of the build up to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year the Royal Mint projected images of the Queen’s portraits on the wall of the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Crown, 1977 George V Silver Jubilee Crown, 1935 Since 1935 and the Silver Jubilee of George V, it has become traditional for the Royal Mint to make crown coins to celebrate special occasions. Here are some examples: Elizabeth II Coronation Crown, 1953 Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Crown, 2002 In keeping with this tradition the Royal Mint has created a Diamond Jubilee crown coin.

The Diamond Jubilee Crown This year the Jubilee crown was designed by the artist Ian Rank-Broadley. Here he is standing by the plaque he created for the Supreme Court, bearing a portrait of the Queen wearing her Garter robes. This plaque inspired his design for one side of the Jubilee coin.

The Diamond Jubilee Crown Ian Rank-Broadley’s design… Reverse - Back Obverse - Front Wearing the tiara given to the Queen by her grandmother Queen Mary The Queen wearing her Garter robes The young portrait of the Queen is inspired by the portrait that appeared on her first coins in 1953 Using the young and most recent portraits of the Queen symbolises the 60 years that have passed since her accession

Mary Gillick Portrait The first portrait that appeared on the Queen’s coins in 1953 was designed by the sculptor Mary Gillick. Ian Rank- Broadley used this portrait as the inspiration for his reverse design. This portrait was adopted for the earliest coins of the Queen’s reign. Mary Gillick shows the Queen wearing a wreath in the style of many British coins struck between the 17th and early 19th centuries. It remained in use for United Kingdom coins until decimalisation, and still appears on the special silver coins minted each year for the Royal Maundy. Mary Gillick

Mary Gillick Portrait Inspirations A coin of Elizabeth I Mary Gillick’s portrait of Elizabeth II Ian Rank-Broadley’s Diamond Jubilee reverse On coins of Elizabeth I the inscription encircles the whole portrait. This is different from many later coins where the inscription is broken at the neck. A coin of George VI On Mary Gillick’s design the inscription encircles portrait in the same way it as on coins of Elizabeth I. The era of Elizabeth I is said to be ‘golden’ by many. What does this mean and what do you think Mary Gillick is trying to say? Ian Rank-Broadley’s use of the 1953 design reflects his admiration of the work of Mary Gillick. In his new design he has chosen to add an olive branch, the symbol of prosperity, and has placed the inscription horizontally.

The Diamond Jubilee Crown Key Question: What similarities and differences can you spot between the Queen Victoria medal and Queen Elizabeth’s coin? Can you explain these? Click for some clues! Raised rim Face value inscribed on coin ‘Old Head’ ‘Young Head’ Inscription from the Book of Proverbs Olive branch Long inscription Date of accessionDate of Diamond Jubilee Matt surface, not polished Straight inscription on both (unusual for coins)

One final link to the past Remember how the inscription on the Elizabeth II coin was different from the inscription on Queen Victoria’s medal? The inscription here translates as ‘God direct my steps’ These words were actually used on a coin from the reign of Queen Victoria, William Wyon’s beautiful ‘Una and the Lion’ five-pound coin of It is believed that these are the words Victoria said when she became Queen at the age of 18. Key Questions: 1.Why do you think Ian Rank-Broadley chose to use these words for his inscription? 2.How effective is this? 3.How important do you think it is to link the past with the present on such an occasion? Explain your answer.

Activity Ideas Some activities you might like to consider: Queen Victoria’s Diaries: extracts are available do download as a pdf from the Royal Mint Museum website or by following this link Queen Victoria's Diaries. Pupils could write their own diary as a character living at the time or comment on Queen Victoria’s reaction to the Jubilee celebrations.Queen Victoria's Diaries Medal design: just as the Victoria Medal and the Diamond Jubilee Crown symbolise the passing of time, pupils choose a topic (for example the school) and design an obverse and reverse for a medal to show how this has changed through time. Queen Elizabeth II: pupils undertake a research project into some of the things the Queen has done during her 60-year reign. They could choose a decade or theme to research and present their findings to the class/ produce a booklet/poster. Queen Elizabeth II: pupils could put together a scrap book that follows the course of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.