Queen Elizabeth II is known for owning several corgi dogs, a striking collection of hats and handbags, the Crown Jewels, no fewer than six royal residences and, of course, the best seat in the Royal Box at the Wimbledon Tennis Club.
As well as all of that, however, the Queen technically owns almost half of the entire coastline of the United Kingdom (thanks to the official leases of her “Crown Estate” portfolio of land). She also famously can claim ownership of all the swans on the River Thames, due to an ancient 15th-century agreement overseen by two equally ancient English organizations called the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers. Plus, thanks to an even older law dating back to 1235, which, incredibly, remains on Britain’s statute books to this day, the Queen can also lay claim to all of the whales, sturgeon fish, dolphins, and porpoises in the UK’s waters, up to three miles out from the British shore. (Until recently, the Queen also technically owned all of the shellfish caught in Scotland’s waters as part of her Crown Estate, but that law has since been repealed. She does, however, lay claim to all of Scotland’s gold mines!)
Also among the Queen’s more unusual possessions, however, is an official gold record, presented to her by the Official Charts Company, which is charge of recording music sales in the United Kingdom. It’s a prize typically only awarded to rock stars and best-selling pop singers, so how has the Queen come to be the recipient of one?
If you’re thinking that you’d like to hear what the Queen’s singing voice sounds like, then unfortunately you are going to be disappointed. No, the gold record is not actually in recognition of a vocal recording made by the Queen herself. Instead, it recognizes a remarkable record set by a recording the Queen merely oversaw as part of her golden jubilee celebrations in 2002.
On June 4, 2002, to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s impressive 50 years on the British throne, a grand star-studded outdoor concert was arranged to take place at the Queen’s official London residence, Buckingham Palace. Among the parade of legendary performers on the playbill were the likes of Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Elton John, Shirley Bassey, Brian Wilson, Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Tom Jones, and Annie Lennox. Even Ozzy Osbourne took part in the show; ironically enough, so too did both the legendary British rock band Queen and the cast of the Queen musical, We Will Rock You.
Given its A-list attendees, the concert proved hugely successful, and several weeks later a recording of the performance was released by record label EMI. The recording sold an incredible 100,000 copies in the first week of its release alone, and in recognition of the achievement, the Official Charts Company sent Her Majesty a gold disc; despite her vocals, alas, not appearing on the recording at all.
To this day, the Queen remains the only member of the royal family ever to be awarded a gold record in recognition of album sales.