A Canadian library is planning to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s Sapphire Jubilee with a special exhibition of royal memorabilia.
The Central Library of the Hamilton Public Library in Ontario will display, with the help of community partners, a collection of rare royal portraits, memorabilia and even a Royal Standard that once flew over Buckingham Palace.
The exhibit is open from 5 February to 6 February at the Central Library in the Hamilton Room on the first floor.
Queen Elizabeth is the first monarch in British history to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee. She broke her great-great-grandmother’s previous record in 2015 when she became the longest-reigning monarch in history that September.
Queen Victoria previously reigned for 63 years from 1837 to 1901.
The only other monarchs to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee are King Louis XIV of France, who reigned for 72 years (the longest reign in European history); Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, who reigned for 68 years; Prince Johann II of Lichtenstein, who reigned for 70 years; and the recently-deceased King Bhumibol of Thailand, who reigned for 70 years.
The Queen will not officially celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee, as she remembers the date as the anniversary of her father, King George VI’s death. There will be no public celebrations unlike those of her Golden and Diamond Jubilees, and the Queen and Prince Philip will not make any official appearances on that day, although she will continue to receive her government papers.
The Royal Mint has struck coins to celebrate her Jubilee, which features her profile on one side and perhaps her most famous quote on the other: “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”
As previously reported on Royal Central, although there are no celebrations planned for this Jubilee, when the Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee (70 years) in 2022, those celebrations will be on a much larger scale than anything previously seen. The Queen will celebrate her 96th birthday that year.
