The BLT Episode 4: The Jubilee Special

It’s not every week that there is a Platinum Jubilee! We’ve chosen to focus this week’s BLT on Her Majesty, looking into some of the curiosities of the crown.

It’s a different experience, basing an episode on just one person. Normally, the challenge and joy of the BLT is looking for connections to weave together a collection of miscellaneous stories through visual thinking and storytelling. This week, we searched for lesser-known facts that are all tied to our centrepiece—the Queen—and illustrated them onto a commemorative china plate worthy of the Royal Collection.

Our longest-serving Monarch’s reign has been extraordinary from the start. At just 27 years old, her coronation was first to be televised. 27 million people in the UK watched the elaborate three-hour-long ceremony. This was the vast majority of the 36 million-strong population at the time. Read more about her coronation here.

There are some peculiar powers and perks that have endured from times gone by.

One of the more unusual traditions is the lamprey pie presented to the Queen on special occasions (like jubilees) from the City of Gloucester. Lampreys are jawless eel-like creatures, known as the ‘vampires of the sea’ thanks to their parasitic blood-sucking habits. They have become a protected species in the River Severn, so the lampreys now have to be shipped from Canada, where they are considered a pest. The expensive delicacy is offered as a ‘quit-rent’: A kind of tax to pay for land belonging to the crown.

The Queen, as Head of State, tends to remain neutral on political matters, but she does have the ability to make her views known.

One example of this is in Australia, where she has the ability to get the prime minister sacked and replaced. Although she’d be unlikely to do so except for in extreme circumstances, technically, she can instruct her representative, the Australian governor-general, to give the Australian prime minister the boot.

The Queen is better travelled than any Monarch before her, having visited over 100 countries. One thing she doesn’t have to stress about is losing her passport. Along with driving licences, British passports are issued in the name of Her Majesty, so it is unnecessary for her to carry them.

There are many things the modern Royal needs, including, apparently, a personal cash machine. Despite the fact she famously never carries cash, the Queen had her personal ATM provided by the exclusive bank Coutts, and she keeps it in her basement.

Though many regal traditions remain unchanged, the role of knights has evolved since Medieval times. They can still be appointed by Monarchs, but the Queen’s knights are less likely to be found on horseback wearing armour, being selected not based on their bravery as warriors, but on their contribution to their country.

At the beginning of the year, Professor Chris Whitty became Professor Sir Chris Whitty.

The calm, reassuring expert who became the trusted face of government briefings was among those knighted by the Queen for his role in battling Covid-19.

Find more about the Queen’s unusual powers here.

As we mentioned above, this week’s BLT is served on a commemorative plate.

We were inspired by the various iterations that have been made during her reign - especially the mis-produced ones. The spelling of ‘Jubilee’ as ‘Jubbly’ is also where we got our title idea from. Which we imagine is said in the voice of our national treasure: Del Boy!

We love using visual thinking and visual storytelling to create connected and layered whiteboard animations like this. We’d love to talk to you about how your message could look as a whiteboard animation, contact us today!