Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
Awarded by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms
Type	Medal
Eligibility	A Commonwealth citizen who was alive on 6 February 2002
Awarded for	Having made an honourable service in military, police, prison, and emergency forces, or for outstanding achievement or public service
Status	No longer awarded
Precedence
Next (higher)	Dependent on state
Equivalent	Dependent on state
Ribbon of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (French: Médaille du jubilé de la Reine Elizabeth II) was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II. The medal was physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada, where it contained unique elements; as an internationally distributed award, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal holds a different place in each country's order of precedence for honours.

Design

The medal is a circular, cupronickel (British) or gold-plated, bronze (Canadian) medal with a thin raised edge and, on the obverse, an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The Canadian version shows the effigy crowned with the George IV State Diadem and circumscribed by the words QUEEN OF CANADA • REINE DU CANADA, while the reverse features a stylized maple leaf with CANADA at the bottom and the years 1952 and 2002 on the left and right of the Royal Cypher and crown. The medal distributed in the rest of the Commonwealth shows the Queen, wearing St. Edward's Crown, circumscribed by the inscription ELIZABETH • II • DEI • GRA • REGINA • FID • DEF; on the reverse is the shield of Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom flanked by the years 1952 and 2002. The medal is worn suspended from a broad royal blue ribbon with red outer stripes and, at the centre, double white stripes with a red stripe between.

Eligibility and allocation

In Canada, the medal was administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall and was awarded to Canadians who made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community, or to Canada over the previous fifty years. Various organizations were invited to propose the names of candidates for the medal; this included all levels of Canadian government, educational and cultural organizations, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, veterans' groups, sports associations, and philanthropic and charitable bodies. Of the 46,000 medals issued, approximately 9,600 medals were awarded to members of the Canadian Forces according to a system that distributed them proportionately by service (navy, army, air force), rank, and years of service, occupations, and regular force and reservists, including Rangers and honorary appointees.

Members of the British Armed Forces regular, reserve, and cadet branches who were enrolled as of Accession Day and had been so for five years were given the medal in the United Kingdom. 94,222 members of the Army received the medal, as did 32,273 in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and 38,889 in the Royal Air Force.

Precedence in each realm

Some orders of precedence are as follows:

Country	Preceding	Following
Canada Order of precedence	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
New Zealand Order of precedence	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
United Kingdom Order of precedence	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

The medal was not awarded by New Zealand. However, it was accorded a place in the country's order of wear to accommodate British citizens who had received the medal in the UK and subsequently joined the New Zealand Defence Force.

See also

• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
• Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal