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Had been there any years throughout the Queen’s reign that had been extra thrilling than 2012? Not many, anyway. In a yr that additionally noticed a wildly profitable Olympic Video games in London—that includes the Queen and James Bond, after all—the monarch additionally celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, turning into solely the second sovereign in British historical past to mark such a milestone.
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The Queen often marks her Accession Day privately, as it’s also the anniversary of the demise of her father, King George VI. However on February 6, 2012, the Queen made a go to to King’s Lynn close to Sandringham to greet well-wishers on the daybreak of the sixtieth yr of her exceptional reign.
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Her dad and mom had been clearly near her coronary heart that day. On her jacket, she wore a diamond and pearl jewel, the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch, that belonged to the late Queen Mom.
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The Queen was busy with Diamond Jubilee-related occasions for the following a number of months, together with a tour that took her throughout the nation. On Might 13, she and the Duke of Edinburgh joined different family members in Windsor for the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, a part of the annual Royal Windsor Horse Present.
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For the pageant, she wore Queen Alexandra’s Marriage ceremony Earrings, a three-stranded pearl necklace, and the Coral Rose Brooch.
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On Might 18, the Queen hosted a particular Sovereign’s Jubilee Lunch for her fellow monarchs and heads of state at Windsor Fort. Right here, she welcomes King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden to the fortress for the occasion. Lots of the sovereigns who had been in attendance are additionally associated to the British royal household. Carl Gustaf, for instance, is the grandson of Princess Margaret of Connaught and the great-grandson of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.
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The Queen (pictured right here with Beatrix of the Netherlands) wore the Duchess of Cambridge’s Pearl Pendant Brooch for the luncheon.
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The next day, the Queen and her royal friends attended the Armed Forces Parade and Muster in Windsor, with greater than 2500 troops taking part within the occasion.
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The Queen selected a favourite brooch from her late mom’s assortment for the occasion: the Queen Mom’s Palm Leaf Brooch.
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The Diamond Jubilee celebrations had been in full swing in June, with a weekend of festivities that started with the Epsom Derby on June 2.
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For the Derby, the Queen wore Queen Mary’s Russian Sapphire Brooch. The jewel was Queen Mary’s wedding ceremony present from Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia (aunt of King George V) in 1893.
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On June 3, the royal household boarded the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, for the Diamond Jubilee Water Pageant on the River Thames in London.
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The Queen sparkled within the Jardine Star Brooch for the particular pageant.
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On June 4, Buckingham Palace was rocking for the Get together on the Palace, a star-studded live performance. Many members of the royal household had been in attendance, though the Duke of Edinburgh, who had fallen unwell after the water pageant, was hospitalized simply earlier than the live performance and sadly needed to miss the remaining jubilee festivities.
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The Queen, who lit a beacon outdoors the palace throughout the night, wore particular pearls for the occasion: the Girls of Devonshire Earrings and the Queen Anne and Queen Caroline Pearl Necklaces.
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The celebrations culminated on June 5 with a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a luncheon on the Guildhall, and a balcony look at Buckingham Palace.
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The Queen took the diamond theme of the occasion significantly on this event, carrying the Cullinan III & IV Brooch along with her pearls. That is the brooch that she jokingly calls “Granny’s Chips,” as a result of she inherited the (in no way small) diamonds from her grandmother, Queen Mary.
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The Queen wrapped up the festivities with a balcony look that bolstered the succession, standing between her eldest son (then the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III) and her eldest grandson (then the Duke of Cambridge, now the Prince of Wales).
