LONDON.- This year, Her Majesty The Queen has become the first British monarch to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee after 70 years on the throne. To mark this momentous occasion, The National Archives is digitising records from their collections about Her Majesty’s life, coronation and reign as well as revealing interesting and intriguing tales. One such document being made available digitally is the coronation oath with the Queen’s signature – an iconic document that is very rarely seen.

Along with a fantastic new film about Her Majesty’s reign, the ‘Royalty on Record’ portal also features new blogs including some about the tumultuous history of the royals. One blog will look at the investiture of the Prince of Wales while another will explore the Cabinet Papers and records of the Ministry of Works to explore the first coronation ceremony to be televised and how this came about.

If you prefer listening rather than looking, join one of the intriguing events as part of the Royalty on Record season. Experts will take you to the coronations of major royal figures, explaining the importance of the ceremony, the lavishness of the day, and providing contemporary discourse.

On 27th May uncover the history of Charles II’s coronation and understand the politics at play behind the lavish ceremony. 10th June sees Tracy Borman – author, Tudor historian, broadcaster and joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces – explore 1,000 years of the British monarchy in her talk, ‘Crown & Sceptre: A new history of the British Monarchy’. On 17th June hear how the coronation of King Richard III and Queen Anne in summer 1483 was a spectacular celebration of the power of medieval English monarchy. And, on 1 st July, uncover the gripping story of Thomas Ashe, author of The Claustral Palace: or Memoirs of The Family – an unpublished Regency novel that threatened to cause a royal scandal. All events are viewable for 48 hours after the live date and time and all tickets are on a pay what you can basis.

If you want to visit The National Archives home in Kew, see the new free showcase display of records from the Queen’s coronation ceremony until 11th June 2022. Look at records from the ceremony which took place in Westminster Abbey on 2nd June 1953.

Head to www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/jubilee for regularly added content in the run-up to the Jubilee Bank Holiday. Expect new blogs to be published on the televising of the coronation, the Investiture of Prince Charles in 1969, Queen’s visit to The National Archives in in 1978 and the History of Jubilees. Plus read about the coronation wardrobe and what was fashionable at the time.