Throughout the decades, street festivities have featured Union flags, fancy dress, and jelly and ice cream, with Britons erecting bunting to commemorate Her Majesty The Queen’s reign since her coronation in 1953.
As communities around the country prepare for Platinum Jubilee street festivities on Sunday, MailOnline looks back at how neighborhood gatherings became inextricably tied with royal milestones.
Millions of people celebrated the Queen’s Coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, with street gatherings and celebrations.
Around 27 million people in the UK watched the almost three-hour-long televised event at home, with more tuning in from across the globe.
Conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, she was the sixth Queen to be crowned in her own right, and 39th sovereign crowned at the abbey.
In the lead-up to the occasion, posters were put up, in some cases almost a year in advance, announcing forthcoming parties for the coronation.
There were fancy-dress and tea parties for children, and Coronation Road in east London lived up to its name on Coronation day when residents decorated every house and 27 royal shields adorned the street.
In many images captured from the day, Britons can be seen in their Sunday best with huge celebratory bashes in the streets, fuelled by cakes and sandwiches.
In the Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilees that followed in 1977, 2002 and 2012 respectively, there were similar scenes as millions continued to show their appreciation to Her Majesty.
The scenes are set to be matched this weekend as thousands of street parties are held across the country to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Street parties in the UK began before 1953, in the form of ‘peace teas’, to mark the end of the First World War in 1919.
They were focused primarily on bringing joy to children in times of hardship, many of whom had been orphaned in the war or became sick during the Spanish Flu pandemic.
Mass celebrations in streets were also held for the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935, and the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, as well as VE and VJ days after the Second World War.
In 1977, Britain and the Commonwealth marked the Queen’s Silver Jubilee with a host of festivities.
In February, the anniversary month of her accession, church services were held across the country, with members of the royal family spending the anniversary weekend at Windsor Castle.
On May 4, both Houses of Parliament presented loyal addresses to The Queen at the Palace of Westminster. In her reply, the Queen said that jubilee celebrations should highlight the unity of the nation.
Wanting to meet as many Britons as possible, she began a large-scale tour that summer.
In three months, she visited 36 counties, starting in Glasgow in May 17. Her visit drew out the largest crowds the city had ever seen, with more than a million people attending her Lancashire visit, before concluding in Northern Ireland.
She and the Duke of Edinburgh also visited Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tasmania, Tonga, the West Indies and Western Samoa.
National celebrations peaked in June, when the Queen lit a bonfire beacon on June 6, to start a train of beacons across the country.
The next day, she arrived in a Gold State Coach at St Paul’s Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving, joined by heads of state from around the world and former British prime ministers.
The Queen and members of the royal family then enjoyed a lunch at the Guildhall, with the Queen making a speech.
‘My Lord Mayor, when I was 21 I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God’s help to make good that vow,’ she said.
‘Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret nor retract one word of it.’
As her procession worked its way up The Mall back to Buckingham Palace for a balcony appearance, an estimated 500 million people watched on their televisions.
In London alone, 4,000 street parties were reportedly held to mark the occasion. Parties were filled with blue, red and white decorations and centred around the children enjoying party food on a long table down the middle of the street.
Balloons, bunting and party hats can be seen in many of the pictures from the weekend, with children digging into sandwiches and cakes prepared by their families.
On Fulham’s Orbain Road, Postman Terry Connor, 38 put the finishing touches to the kerb stones with his paint brush before the party started.
For 10 days, two hours a day, he painted them red, white and blue — a total of nearly half a mile. His wife Esther, adorned the front of their home with dozens of flags and pictures, Jubilee tea cloths, bunting and 80 homemade paper flowers.
In Cardiff, the residents of Llanmaes Street threw a street party, as was their tradition for all all royal weddings and jubilees. Throughout the Queen’s reign, Rita Spinola and her friends Dolly King and Shirley Burnet organised 13 parties on the close-knit Cardiff street.
On June 9, the Queen journeyed down the Thames from Greenwich to Lambeth, in a nod to Elizabeth I’s barge trips down the river.
She then opened the Silver Jubilee Walkway and the new South Bank Jubilee Gardens, with a firework display.
After arriving back at the palace, the Queen was met again by cheering crowds as she waved from the balcony.
To mark the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh toured the country again, visiting all regions in the UK, including the Isle of Skye.
They also visited Commonwealth countries, Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
In June, celebrations began with a classical music concert in Buckingham Palace’s gardens.
The Queen attended a Jubilee Church Service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor and a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.
At a Guildhall lunch similar to that of her Silver Jubilee, the Queen said: ‘I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you – here in Guildhall, those of you waiting in the Mall and the streets of London, and all those up and down this country and throughout the Commonwealth, who may be watching this on television.
‘Thank you all for your enthusiasm to mark and celebrate these past 50 years.’
The celebrations culminated in a concert starring Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Elton John and Shirley Bassey at Buckingham Palace.
In 2012, more regional tours of the UK and the Commonwealth marked the Diamond Jubilee.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh travelled extensively across the UK that year, with other royals visiting parts of the Commonwealth.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. And the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travelled to Tuvalu to mark the occasion.
To mark the June weekend, the Queen visited the Epsom Derby on the Saturday.
On the Sunday, families across the nation held street parties, as a jubilee pageant took place along the Thames.
Around 1,000 boats assembled along a London stretch of the river, with the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh on the Royal Barge.
There was again a concert held outside Buckingham Palace. Organised by Gary Barlow for the BBC, it featured Will.i.am, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones and Kylie Minogue.
Similarly to the 2002 celebrations, the Queen then lit the last of 2,006 ceremonial beacons.
The Queen also attended a St Paul’s Cathedral service, followed by a lunch at Westminster Hall.
After returning to Buckingham Palace via carriage, she appeared on the balcony to a flypast and rifle salute.
The Queen marked her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017, and was the first British monarch to reach the milestone.
Buckingham Palace re-released a photograph of Her Majesty wearing sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift, to mark the occasion.
The year was not as highly celebrated as previous jubilees, due to the big plans for her 70th anniversary on the throne this year.
Next month, there will be a four day bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2 to Sunday, June 5.
On the Thursday, the Queen’s birthday parade, known as Trooping the Colour, will see more than 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians march together down The Mall from Buckingham Palace.
Members of the royal family will also join the parade on horseback and in carriages, with the parade closing with an RAF flypast.
Beacons will again be lit for the jubilee, with the main one at Buckingham Palace alight from Thursday.
On the Friday, the Queen will attend the traditional Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, before attending the the Derby at Epsom Downs on Saturday.
The BBC will once again stage a live concert from Buckingham Palace on Saturday, followed by street parties and the Platinum Jubilee pageant on the Sunday.
