A golden jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.
The golden jubilee is a royal ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the accession of the king. The Thai word is kanchanaphisek (กาญจนาภิเษก). The first Golden Jubilee of Thailand was the celebration of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
King Rama IX celebrated his golden jubilee on 9 June 1996, having acceded to the throne in 1946 which makes him Thailand's longest-reigning monarch and the longest-living monarch today.
The largest faceted diamond in the world, known as the Golden Jubilee Diamond, was purchased as a gift for the King on the 50th anniversary of his coronation by Thai businessmen. Currently, the diamond is located in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the crown jewels.
In 1996, Banharn Silpa-archa, the Prime Minister, and the Thai people celebrated the King with a large celebration, lasting several days.
The symbol of the golden jubilee of King Bhumibol Adulyadej was designed by Wiyada Charoensuk, who won the contest for the design.
There are three parts to the design:
The Fine Arts Department wanted this design to:
In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, a golden jubilee celebration is held in the 50th year of a monarch's reign. The golden jubilee of George III of the United Kingdom was celebrated on 25th October 1809, prior to the actual 50th anniversary in 1810.
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her golden jubilee in 2002, having ascended the throne in 1952.
In 1887 the United Kingdom and the British Empire celebrated Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. Victoria marked 20 June 1887—the fiftieth anniversary of her accession—with a banquet, to which fifty European kings and princes were invited. Although she could not have been aware of it, there was a plan by Irish Republicans to blow up Westminster Abbey while the Queen attended a service of thanksgiving. This assassination attempt, when it was discovered, became known as the Jubilee Plot. At the time, Victoria was an extremely popular monarch.