Sponsor-free Jubilee? Not quite

AS LONDON WENT WILD celebrating Elizabeth II’s 60th year on the throne, Frontiers coughed gently and sought royal permission to ask an awkward question: ‘who was the rights-holder of the Diamond Jubilee?’ The event had all the commercial possibilities of a major sports property and seems to have been fully exploited but with no ultimate beneficiary. The official Diamond Jubilee emblem may have been designed by a 10-year old but it was protected under Crown Copyright and subject to brand guidelines drawn up by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office. Subject to these guidelines, it was made freely available for use including “commercial purposes and advertising” by practically anyone who cared to do so.