# What would Queen's 70th anniv. be called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040 "2014-06-30T22:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/21 "2014-07-01T17:06:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > What is it, exactly, about platinum that is so valuable? I understand that it’s rare. Does that fact alone make it a precious metal? Why is “platinum” used to denote very valuable things, like a 70th anniversary or a first-class credit card? Rarity is part of it. Other properties are relevant as well, though. It’s shiny (or, as the professionals would say, lustrous), always important in picking valuable stuff. It’s both ductile and malleable, so it’s easy to make into jewelry or coinage. It’s also extremely nonreactive, which means it doesn’t corrode or tarnish, both appealing qualities for a ‘precious metal’. Incidentally, the crown of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother, not the current monarch), is made of platinum. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/22 "2014-07-01T17:12:55Z")
Alumin(i)um was once worth the same as silver, though this is less a function of its “precious” nature than the fact that it was hard to work with so nobody refined it. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/23 "2014-07-01T17:40:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Alumin(i)um was once worth the same as silver, though this is less a function of its “precious” nature than the fact that it was hard to work with so nobody refined it. It was actually worth significantly more. From the wikipedias: > [@](#): > > Prior to commercial electrical generation in the early 1880s, and the Hall-Héroult process in the mid 1880s, aluminium was exceedingly difficult to extract from its various ores. This made pure aluminium more valuable than gold. Bars of aluminium were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855. Napoleon III of France is reputed to have given a banquet where the most honoured guests were given aluminium utensils, while the others made do with gold. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/24 "2014-07-02T04:43:22Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > What is it, exactly, about platinum that is so valuable? I understand that it’s rare. Does that fact alone make it a precious metal? Why is “platinum” used to denote very valuable things, like a 70th anniversary or a first-class credit card? Three years ago, for a little while, the spot Gold price was higher than the spot Platinum price. But usually, Platinum is a little higher. Today, gold is about 0.89 of the price pf platinum. Their prices rise and fall according to different market forces. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/25 "2014-07-02T09:57:26Z")
To be the longest reigning monarch the Queen only has until September 2015 to go. Then she’ll beat out her great-great-grandmother Victoria. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/26 "2014-07-02T10:35:25Z")
> [@Suicide](#): > > in the record business, it goes gold record then platinum record then double platinum no stinkin’ diamonds there A diamond record is one that’s sold 10,000,000 copies in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/27 "2014-07-02T11:17:52Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > I know this probably comes up every time someone starts one of theses types of threads, but she is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and her realms overseas. The last Queen of England was Queen Anne from 1702 - 1707, when she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. It is just pedantry to claim there is no queen of England when, in fact, as part of the United Kingdom, England DOES have a queen - even if no individual since 1707 has had the title “Queen of England”. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/28 "2014-07-02T14:28:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Alumin(i)um was once worth the same as silver, though this is less a function of its “precious” nature than the fact that it was hard to work with so nobody refined it. Not so much hard to work with as hard/expensive to refine. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/29 "2014-07-02T15:59:38Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > According to Charles, it’s her “Isn’t she dead yet?” anniversary. Nah, it’ll probably be his “Sod this, I give up” Anniversary. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/30 "2014-07-02T16:08:09Z")
Considering that Queen’s first single wasn’t until “Keep Yourself Alive” in 1973, their 70th anniversary is still quite a long ways off. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/31 "2014-07-02T16:27:14Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > > [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > > > I know this probably comes up every time someone starts one of theses types of threads, but she is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and her realms overseas. The last Queen of England was Queen Anne from 1702 - 1707, when she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. > > It is just pedantry to claim there is no queen of England when, in fact, as part of the United Kingdom, England DOES have a queen - even if no individual since 1707 has had the title “Queen of England”. Sometimes we refer to her as “Queen of England” simply because it’s shorter than saying “Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and her realms overseas.” ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/32 "2014-07-06T23:06:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Sometimes we refer to her as “Queen of England” simply because it’s shorter than saying “Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and her realms overseas.” OK everyone, point taken, but how about Queen of UK, or even just Queen Elizabeth II? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/33 "2014-07-08T20:55:47Z")
“Enough” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/34 "2014-07-08T21:06:01Z")
70th = platinum 80th = mithril ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040/35 "2014-07-08T21:27:27Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > To be the longest reigning monarch the Queen only has until September 2015 to go. Then she’ll beat out her great-great-grandmother Victoria. She’ll be the longest reigning monarch _ **in the British Isles** _ then. Elsewhere, there have been longer reigns. [Sobhuza II of Swaziland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobhuza_II) had the longest verified reign: just short of 83 years (1899-1982), beginning when he was four months old. Louis XIV of France (72 years, 110 days) had the longest reign among major European monarchs, although several rulers of minor German states had longer reigns. The present Queen isn’t even the longest-reigning current monarch: that honor belongs to [Bhumibol\_Adulyadej](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej) of Thailand, who became king in 1946 (six years before Elizabeth II). Then there is the curious case of [Michael of Romania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_of_Romania). He first became king of Romania in 1927, at the age of six; almost 87 years later, he’s still alive and kicking. (Of course, what with Romanian dynastic politics and history what they’ve been, he’s only actually been king for ten of those 87 years, and exercised substantial political power for maybe nine months.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-queens-70th-anniv-be-called/692040.md?page=1)