“No one ever has met with such an ovation”

This year Elizabeth II marks her platinum jubilee – the first time any monarch has completed 70 years on the throne in the history of the British crown. A raft of celebrations is planned across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world: from street parties to a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace, a new jubilee garden (“Superbloom”) in the Tower of London moat, and even a platinum pudding competition.

While the scale of the celebrations is likely to eclipse any other in the history of the British monarchy, Elizabeth II is by no means the first sovereign whose jubilee has inspired their subjects to pull out all the stops. The history of official jubilee celebrations only goes back as far as George III (reigned 1760-1820). But the origin of jubilees can be traced to the Bible – the Old Testament uses the term to describe the marking of a 50-year milestone. Since then,