The Courtier: On jubilees

Hugo Vickers | 8th November 2021 | Magazine

The best gift to the Queen is one given in her name for the benefit of the local community

If you are planning to build a new village hall, call it the Jubilee Hall and you will surely get it built. Subtly, the message is that celebrations should be inspired to happen behind the scenes, and then happen “spontaneously”.  As I write, it is only 72 days until the Queen reaches the milestone anniversary of her Platinum Jubilee, a remarkable 70 years of reign.  Unlike Prince Philip, who was not excited at the prospect of reaching his centenary, there is every indication that the Queen is keen to achieve this milestone, and she is evidently aware that there is still Louis XIV’s reign of 72 years and 110 days to beat.   Until very recently, there was no suggestion that she would not make it. But then there was a hint of concern – The Queen looked tired when she returned from Scotland, as well she might have done, having stood for an hour and a half in high-heeled shoes after opening the Edinburgh parliament. We were told she was exhausted, though we were not at first told she had u...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



Scott Colvin on a life in public affairs

Mace | February 9, 2026

Scott Colvin, Group Director of Public Affairs at Aviva, on why business is taking public affairs seriously and why he turned down a top job at No 10

The end of an era: The decline and fall of the Tory Party

Mark Fields | December 3, 2025

Former MP Mark Field – author of tell-all memoir The End of an Era – reflects on where it all went wrong for his party

Scathing criticism

Christopher Silvester | December 3, 2025

From self-lacerating memoir to by-election madness and a Labour Together takedown, The Mace’s literary editor Christopher Silvester rounds up the latest political books.

Telling a human tale

Christopher Silvester | December 3, 2025

From self-lacerating memoir to by-election madness and a Labour Together takedown, The Mace’s literary editor Christopher Silvester rounds up the latest political books.

Frankly: Nicola Sturgeon

Christopher Silvester | December 3, 2025

From self-lacerating memoir to by-election madness and a Labour Together takedown, The Mace’s literary editor Christopher Silvester rounds up the latest political books

Zack to the future

Thomas Edwards | November 24, 2025

What will the Greens’ new eco-populist leader Zack Polanski – who now heads Britain’s third-largest political party – do for his next trick?

From the Floor: Beverley Nielsen’s Labour Conference Diary

Beverley Nielsen | October 2, 2025

Optimism, strategy and late-night gossip: Beverley Nielsen shares her experience of Labour’s four-day conference in Liverpool.

The Dark Arts

Adam Solomons | September 15, 2025

‘There’s no crystal ball – it’s best to be honest’: the lobbyists rethinking how to campaign amid Trump’s chaos.

Birmingham Dance Card

Gawain Towler | September 5, 2025

With the party's two-day conference starting in a week, Reform Board member Gawain Towler asks: is British business ready for Reform and will they show up to the

Will the EU agree to extend its favourable trade terms for Ukraine?

Pieter Cleppe | May 23, 2025

The EU must decide by 5 June whether to extend tariff-free trade with Ukraine. MEPs warn reintroducing duties could undermine support for Kyiv. Internal opposition, especially from farmers,