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To kick things off, the country will dedicate a new dessert to their 95-year-old monarch after a nationwide cooking competition.
Buckingham Palace on Monday announced a full line-up events to mark the Platinum Jubilee, which started immediately with an invite to the British public to create a pudding in tribute of the queenâs long reign.
Royal-inspired dishes can go on to become national favorites. After the queenâs coronation in 1953, the florist and author Constance Spry and the cordon bleu chef Rosemary Hume came up with âcoronation chickenâ to mark the event â a cold chicken salad dish with a creamy mayonnaise sauce that has somehow remained popular. Victoria sponge cake was named after Queen Victoria, the current queenâs great-great-grandmother, who, until 2015, was the longest-reigning monarch.
The new pudding competition is for any British resident who is at least 8 years old. It will be judged by Mary Berry, the queen of television baking, Monica Galetti, a judge from the Masterchef cooking show and Buckingham Palace head chef Mark Flanagan.
The event will be organized by the upmarket London department store Fortnum & Mason.
There is no rule book for how to celebrate a British monarchâs 70 years on the throne, but the idea of a baking competition seemed to go down well. The Times of London, in an editorial, said, âBritish food has historically received a bad rap, but there is one culinary tradition in which everyone can surely agree that Britain reigns supreme: puddings.â
The word âpuddingâ in Britain has a broader definition than it does in the United States and generally means all desserts rather than just the soupy, gelatinous ones.
The main focus for celebrations, however, will be in May and June, which is when Britain expects â or can reasonably hope for â better weather.
In May, more than 1,000 performers and 500 horses will put on a show in Windsor, which will be televised, and showcase highlights from the queenâs 16th century namesake, Elizabeth I, all the way up to the present â making for a lot of history.
During a long weekend already dubbed Jubilee Weekend, from June 2 to 5, two of the queenâs private residences â Sandringham and Balmoral â will be open to visitors. Street parties will be planned across the country, where the queenâs subjects will presumably wolf down large portions of the soon-to-be announced âplatinum pudding.â A live concert is planned outside of Buckingham Palace with some of the worldâs "biggest entertainment stars.â
Also during the weekend, over 1,500 beacons will be lit for the monarch, stretching from the Scottish Highlands to the Channel Islands. Capital cities in Commonwealth countries will also light beacons even though some of them have parted ways with the British monarchy.
Royal jubilees tend to be a high water mark for pageantry, which is saying a lot in Britain. During the queenâs Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the monarch led a 1,000-vessel flotilla down the River Thames. Music legends Paul McCartney and Elton John serenaded the queen at a concert outside of Buckingham Palace.
But despite attempts by the House of Windsor to focus attention this year on the queen, who remains popular with the public, the festivities could also be overshadowed by ongoing controversy surrounding Prince Andrew, the queenâs second son. Andrewâs lawyers are currently seeking to persuade a New York court to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit against him.
Itâs unclear what events the queen herself will take part in. A combination of health issues and coronavirus restrictions has kept the British monarch from many public engagements since she spent a night in hospital in October for what Buckingham Palace said were âpreliminary investigations.â
Commentators said that other senior royals, including Prince Charles and Prince William, are expected to play key roles at many of this yearâs events.
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