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Why the Queen & Prince Philip are literally 1 in a million (and Google doesn’t even know the answer)…
Google has the answer to everything. Well actually not quite everything, it seems…
Her Majesty the Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at their Wedding in 1947
That’s because when I sat down to write this blog about the Queen and Prince Philip’s Platinum Wedding Anniversary in November this year, I thought it would be interesting to see how many couples actually celebrate 70 years of marriage.
The answer is Google doesn’t know.
And the more I dug around, the more I realised the reason why. It’s incredibly rare.
So if Google can’t tell us, let’s see if we can come up with an answer.
Fundamental to the problem is that there is simply no central record of how long marriages last until one of the couple passes away. But perhaps we can make some assumptions based on some of the statistics that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) do publish.
How likely are two people to both make it past their 90th Birthday?
In 1947 the median age for marriage was 23.7 for men and 20.5 for women[i], making Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten pretty typical of their generation, marrying aged 21 and 26. It also means it’s fair to work on the basis that for nearly any couple celebrating their Platinum Wedding Anniversary, they are both going to be in their nineties.
So the chances for making it past the age of 90 in England and Wales is 0.8%[ii]. That means that the chances of two people BOTH making it is:
0.008 x 0.008 = 0.000064
0.0064% chance of two people both making it past their 90th birthday.
How many people were married in 1947?
Fortunately, it is much easier to uncover how many people married in 1947. In fact 1947 is the very first year that the ONS not only holds data for the total number of marriages in England and Wales but also in which month they took place.[iii]
Certainly by choosing November, they were not following the trend. In fact with fewer than 30,000 marriages that month, it was the third least popular month for weddings that year.
Overall, the young princess and her naval officer beau were one of 401,210 couples to tie the knot that year. Statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland appear more difficult to track down but it would be reasonable to extrapolate the numbers based on the overall UK population split, which suggests a figure for the whole of the UK.
466,000 UK marriages in 1947.
But what about divorces?
Data is not easily available for 1947 but it can be found for English and Welsh marriages in 1950[iv]. According to the ONS, 8.6% of marriages at that time ended in divorce, so we should discount them out from our 466,000 UK marriages.
466,000 x 91.4% = 426,000 non-divorce marriages in 1947.
How many Platinum Wedding Anniversaries might we expect this year?
So we have now have two critical pieces of data. The chances of two people making it past the age of 90 – the realistic milestone age to celebrate a Platinum Wedding Anniversary – and the number of marriages in 1947 that did not end in divorce.
Based on that we can multiply the two numbers together to give us a pretty reasonable estimate of the number of couples who will celebrate 70 years of marriage this year.
426,000 x 0.0064% = 27 Platinum Wedding Anniversaries
So, although there are no official statistics to back it up, it seems likely that only around 30 couples will join the Queen and Prince Philip in celebrating their Platinum Wedding Anniversary this year. Or to put it another way – just 60 people in the UK will mark 70 years of marriage in 2017 – that’s 1 in a million.
That’s why for me, forget the Jubilees; forget the birthdays. For the Queen and Prince Philip their Platinum Wedding Anniversary is the pinnacle of their long list of incredible milestones. And we, the British people, must join them in marking this historic moment.
[i] www.census.gov
[ii] www.theguardian.com
[iii] www.ons.gov.uk
[iv] www.ons.gov.uk
FIRST LOOK: NEW STAR WARS Stamps feature beloved fan-favourites and two NEW characters
Revealed for the first time today, Royal Mail are set to release 8 new STAR WARS stamps, to mark the release of the new film in the popular sci-fi franchise, The Last Jedi.
Scheduled for release on 12th October 2017, the new stamps will feature beloved ‘Aliens and Droids’ from the complete saga, including one never-before-seen image of the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, and one brand-new character, Porg.
Royal Mail’s second STAR WARS stamp issue
The stamps are Royal Mail’s second STAR WARS stamp issue, following on from the successful ‘Heroes and Villains’ release in 2015, ahead of the premiere of the first film in the new trilogy, The Force Awakens.
Here’s your first look at the new stamps alongside a bit of info about each one…
MAZ KANATA
MAZ KANATA
Location: Takodana / Maz’s castle exterior
Ships: Kylo Ren’s command shuttle / First Order TIE fighters
Secondary character: HURID-32
Deep within the fringes of the galaxy lies a secret castle hideaway presided over by the wise, boisterous figure of Maz Kanata. Over a thousand years old and an ex-pirate herself, Maz holds court within the galaxy’s underworld: smugglers, bounty hunters and thieves. Maz has also been a friend to Jedi, and her castle contains secrets that tell of one Luke Skywalker.
CHEWBACCA
CHEWBACCA
Location: Starkiller Base
Ships: Millennium Falcon
Secondary character: Chewbacca
Faithful co-pilot and companion to Han Solo for many years, Chewbacca was one of the heroes of the Rebellion. Brought back into the orbit of the Resistance after many years of freelance adventuring, Chewbacca witnesses the tragic death of his best friend, Han Solo. All he has left is his ship, the Millennium Falcon, and a new companion, a Force-attuned loner named Rey.
SUPREME LEADER SNOKE
SUPREME LEADER SNOKE
Film: The Last Jedi
Ships: Star Destroyer / First Order TIE fighters
Secondary character: Praetorian Guard
A shadowy figure who leads the First Order, Snoke trained Kylo Ren in the dark side of the Force. He orders the creation of a giant planet-sized superweapon called Starkiller to destroy the New Republic government and commands Ren to hunt down the last Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. Next, he issues a chilling command: Ren is ready to complete his training…
PORG
PORG
Location: Ahch-To
Ships: Millennium Falcon
Secondary character: Beaks
Small, flightless birds called porgs are native to the remote planet Ahch-To, where Luke Skywalker is living in exile. The planet is covered with water and rocky islands and is home to the ruins of the first Jedi Temple, where porgs have peacefully made their home. The birds are ill-prepared for the arrival of strangers when Rey and Chewbacca land there in the Millennium Falcon.
BB-8
BB-8
Location: Jakku
Ships: First Order TIE fighters
Secondary character: Luggabeast / Teedo / BB-8
The plucky droid named BB-8 is a loyal companion to Resistance fighter Poe Dameron in the fight against the First Order. Assigned to Poe to provide flight assistance when piloting his X-wing fighter, BB-8 is separated from his master in a deadly battle with Kylo Ren. Forced to seek new allies, the droid runs into a scavenger named Rey and a renegade stormtrooper called Finn.
R2-D2
R2-D”
Location: Coruscant / Grievous’s flagship interior
Ships: Jedi starfighters
Secondary character: R2-D2
This trusty little droid has had an adventurous life, first on board Queen Amidala’s ship during the Battle of Naboo, then in the Clone Wars alongside Anakin Skywalker, and with Luke Skywalker in the fight against the Empire. In recent years, R2-D2 has been in a state of semi-retirement, secretly harbouring the only map that pinpoints the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker.
C-3PO
C-3PO
Location: Tatooine / Jabba’s Palace exterior
Ships: Death Star II
Secondary character: Jabba the Hutt / C-3PO
As a boy on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker built a protocol droid as a helper for his mother. C-3PO became an expert in matters relating to diplomacy, but he was not equipped for a life of excitement, danger and adventure. Thrust into battles during the Clone Wars and the Rebellion against the Empire, this reticent, nervous droid has time and again helped his friends save the day.
K-2SO
K-230
Location: Scarif
Ships: U-Wing / X-wings
Secondary character: Pao
A reprogrammed Imperial security droid with a bluntly honest way of talking, K-2SO is firmly on the side of the Rebel Alliance in the fight against the Empire. K-2SO’s ability to blend in when doing reconnaissance work behind Imperial lines is a distinct advantage. He can pilot many types of spaceship and scan and access Imperial communications systems.
The Force is strong with Royal Mail’s official Star Wars stamps
Brilliantly rendered in exquisite detail by British Artist Malcolm Tween, the 8 stamps depict the most popular ‘Aliens and Droids’ featured in the iconic blockbuster films.
Two of the stamps feature exclusive never-before-seen images of two characters; one – Supreme Leader Snoke – we’ve seen briefly before, whilst the other – Porg – is a brand new character from the new film.
Incorporated into each stamp is a secondary character and scene forming unique images that can be found nowhere else.
The four ‘droid’ stamps utilise UV ink to emphasise some of the design features of the stamp. These will come visible only under a UV light.
Star Wars Stamps Framed Collector Card
If you’re interested…
You can reserve all of the new Star Wars stamps right now on a limited edition Collector Card – professionally framed and ready to hang.
The Secret Life of Isaac Newton…
English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist, Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most famous scientists of all time. He is renowned for producing the single most influential book on physics ever written, The Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, but not many people know that discovering why apples fell from trees and changing the way we understand the universe were not the only problems he dealt with…
Newton and the Counterfeiter
The Tower of London – Home of The Royal Mint for 500 years. From 1279 – 1812.
In 1695, The Royal Mint discovered that a large number of the UK’s circulating coins were fake. In fact, 10% of England’s coinage was known to be phony. Unable to keep up with the increasing intelligent counterfeiting methods they turned to England’s ‘brightest mind’ for help.
Sir Isaac Newton was appointed warden of The Royal Mint, with a sole purpose of enforcing laws against counterfeiting.
Most counterfeits were easy targets for Newton, but one man in particular kept eluding his grasp – William Chaloner.
Chaloner was a nail maker by trade but found a more worthwhile application for molten metals. The counterfeiter’s self-made wealth enabled him to pose in a way that matched his intellect.
Newton wanted nothing more than to finish Chaloner. He went into full detective-mode.
Newton undercover
Sir Isaac Newton
Newton constructed a strong case, using his network of informants and spies around London in a systematic way to form a complete representation of Chaloner’s actions. He even went undercover himself to obtain evidence from witnesses at pubs around the city. By the time the trial came, he had gathered eight witnesses.
The treason charge stuck – on March 3rd 1699, William Chaloner was sentenced to hang.
Later that year, Newton was made the Master of the Mint, a position he would hold until his death in 1727.
Master of the Mint
Newton took up his duties with effect from Christmas Day 1699. Immediately his active involvement in the affairs of The Royal Mint became undoubtable, he took the role very seriously before retiring from his duties at Cambridge in 1701.
He survived the political upheavals of those distressing times and in 1705 he was knighted by Queen Anne, making him just the second scientist ever to be knighted.
The first gold standard
During his role as Master of the Mint, Sir Isaac Newton wrote a report to the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury, as a result the relationship between gold and silver coins was forever changed by Royal proclamation at the end of 1717. It forbid the exchange of gold Guineas for more than 21 silver shillings. This meant that silver coins were being used to pay for imports, subsequently Britain saw a silver shortage – effectively moving the country from the silver standard to its first gold standard.
His Legacy to our coinage
The UK Sir Isaac Newton 50p
As a result of Newton’s vision, coins struck by The Royal Mint remain unrivalled in their accuracy and purity. He helped to make Britain’s currency one of the most respected and admired in the world. As one of the most famous figures to ever hold the role of Master of the Mint and author of the single most influential book on physics ever written it is entirely appropriate he is celebrated on a UK coin.
If you’re interested…
A brand new UK 50p coin has just been issued by The Royal Mint to commemorate the 375th anniversary of Sir Isaac Newton’s birth and his outstanding legacy.
You can own one today.