British and international luxury brands including Burberry, Charlotte Tilbury and Moët & Chandon played small but significant roles in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which culminated on Sunday afternoon with a show in central London and a appearance of Queen Elizabeth on the balcony. of Buckingham Palace.
These brands were among the ‘platinum partners’, or main supporters, of the competition, alongside Jaguar, Land Rover, Lloyds Bank and others. They joined a host of other backers such as Sotheby’s, Fortnum & Mason, Boodles and mass names such as Meta, McDonalds and Cadbury who also contributed to the event.
The competition started in Whitehall on Sunday afternoon and passed through Admiralty Arch and The Mall. The final took place just outside Buckingham Palace around the Queen Victoria Memorial. The Queen, along with Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other members of the Royal Family appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowds.
Celebrities from various industries took part in the three-hour event, including Ed Sheeran, Heston Blumenthal, Jeremy Irons and Gok Wan. In the making for many months, the event was similar to the opening and closing extravaganzas of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
While the UK government has earmarked £28 million for many Jubilee events, Sunday’s pageant was the result of private fundraising efforts by Platinum Jubilee Pageant Ltd. It is estimated to have cost 15 million pounds.
As part of its support for the Jubilee weekend, Burberry has also partnered with Historic Royal Palaces to support Superbloom, an immersive floral display that circles the Tower of London.
The brand has contributed two original and immersive outdoor installations: a large Burberry-branded floating meadow that is moored directly opposite the Tower of London on the River Thames, and an art wall by digital artist Jon Emmony, which is on display at the entrance to Superbloom.
The brand has also partnered with primary school children to create artwork and messages for the Queen, marking her many decades on the throne. He worked with children from Armley Park Primary School in Leeds, close to Burberry factories in Yorkshire.
The children’s creations were enlarged and displayed at over 80 bus stops across central London, where the Platinum Jubilee Pageant took place.
Tilbury, meanwhile, was the Platinum’s official beauty partner. Jubilee Pageant, and also created themed collections and accessories to mark the occasion.
The makeup artist and entrepreneur said the Queen’s reign “has seen the most incredible transformations in the way we live our lives. Throughout it all, our Queen has embraced change, won our hearts, and led our country with pride for seven huge decades. I want to celebrate (her) timeless beauty, grace and dedication.
Another luxury name provided creative inspiration, rather than financial backing, during the Jubilee celebrations: the Queen’s longtime fashion designer, Norman Hartnell.
Hartnell’s design for the Queen’s coronation gown is the centerpiece of Superbloom at the Tower of London, which runs until September.
Known as the Queen’s Garden, it was installed in the Tower’s Bowling Green and features a combination of meadow flowers, topiary and summer-flowering perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses.
Developed by Grant Associates, lead designers of the Superbloom project, the garden is inspired by the colors, shapes and patterns deployed by Hartnell in the 1953 dress.
The exhibit features 12 cast glass shapes by artist Max Jacquard that represent national emblems in Hartnell’s design. At the center of these designs is a crown of glass, meant to recall the tower’s role as home to the crown jewels.
According to Matthew Storey, curator of collections at Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages state properties including Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, the design of the garden is based on the “levels of embroidery” of the coronation robe.
The glass is meant to add “glitter” to the display and echo the glitter and shimmering crystals of the original design.
Storey said the 27-year-old Queen, who was crowned on June 2, 1953, was adamant that the symbols on her coronation dress were correct. Hartnell had originally suggested floral emblems of Great Britain, but Her Majesty thought larger and also wanted to recognize Commonwealth countries.
The result of their conversations was a white duchess satin dress with floral emblems representing the Queen’s nine dominions, Great Britain and parts of the Commonwealth, chosen in shimmering threads, seed beads, sequins and crystals.
Hartnell even included the decidedly unglamorous leek to represent Wales and added an additional four-leaf clover to the left side of the skirt for good luck, so Elizabeth’s hand could rest on it during the historic ceremony. .
While luxury brands played a big role during the Jubilee, the film industry, and the Paddington Bear franchise in particular, took on a star twist on Saturday night in a surprise skit featuring the Queen.
“Happy Jubilee, Madam, and thank you…for everything,” the bear said, tipping his red hat to the Queen, who he discovered was also carrying a marmalade sandwich with her in case of an emergency.
The two were filmed having tea at Windsor Palace. At one point, the Queen pulls out a large sandwich from her signature black handbag. “I’m saving mine here for later,” she told the bear.
The skit, with Paddington voiced by Ben Whishaw, kicked off the Party at the Palace concert on Saturday night, which saw musical performances by Queen, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, Stefflon Don and Rod Stewart live at Buckingham Palace.
