Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: the big numbers

To some it’s a cause for celebration, for others just an excuse for a long weekend off work. Whatever your view, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee remains an impressive six decades of public life, taking in significant social and cultural change. Steven Perryman crunches some of the numbers

1 – The number of times the Queen has had to interrupt an overseas tour. The case in question was in 1974 during a tour of Australia and Indonesia.  She was called back to the UK from Australia when a general election in the UK was suddenly called.  The Duke of Edinburgh continued the programme in Australia, with the Queen re-joining the tour in Indonesia.

1 – The number of visits the Queen has made to the Republic of Ireland. It was an historic occasion: the first visit by a British Monarch since Irish independence (King George V’s had visited in 1911).

3 – The number of Diamond Jubilees of Heads of State celebrated throughout the world during the Queen’s reign. They are:

•    King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand celebrated 60 years on the throne in 2006
•    The former Sultan of Johor (now a part of Malaysia) celebrated his in 1955
•    The late Emperor Hirohito of Japan celebrated his in 1986.

12 – the number of Prime Ministers the Queen has given regular audiences to. They are:

•    Winston Churchill 1951-55
•    Sir Anthony Eden 1955-57
•    Harold Macmillan 1957-63
•    Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963-64
•    Harold Wilson 1964-70 and 1974-76
•    Edward Heath 1970-74
•    James Callaghan 1976-79
•    Margaret Thatcher 1979-90
•    John Major 1990-97
•    Tony Blair 1997-2007
•    Gordon Brown 2007-2010
•    David Cameron 2010 – present

30 – The number of corgis she has owned during her reign, starting with Susan who was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944.  A good proportion of these have been direct descendants from Susan.  She currently has three corgis – Monty, Willow and Holly.

35 – The number of Royal Variety performances she has attended. This year she has a dancing dog to look forward to.

59 – The number of times the Queen has made a Christmas Broadcast to the Commonwealth. The one year she didn’t – 1969 – a repeat of the film Royal Family was shown and a written message from the Queen issued instead.

129 – The number of times she has sat for a portrait during her reign. Rolf Harris is one of the many artists to paint her.

600 – the number of charities and organisations that the Queen is currently a patron of.

750 – The number of times the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service has been awarded to across all four countries in the UK. Winners of the award have included local scout groups, community radio stations, groups who care for the elderly and environmental charities. You can find out more on volunteering in our post.

50,000 – The number of people that the Queen has hosted at banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace.

404,500 – the number of honours and awards she has conferred over. AAT’s Chief Executive, Jane Scott Paul, is one of those, receiving an OBE in 2008 for services to the accountancy industry.

Steven Perryman is AAT Comment's former Content Editor.