Teenager’s design chosen as official emblem of Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

The design is set on a purple backdrop, a colour closely associated with the Queen

Edward Roberts with his winning design for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee emblem (Getty Images)

A university student’s “elegant” design has been selected as part of a competition to find the official emblem of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which will take place in June 2022.

The emblem, created by 19-year-old graphic design student Edward Roberts, features a stylised crown that incorporates the number 70 on a round background similar to a royal seal.

The contest was launched by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in conjunction with Buckingham Palace in June, and was open to young people aged between 13 and 25.

Roberts, a student at the University of Leeds, said he is “over the moon” that his design will appear on the Platinum Jubilee’s official merchandise and social media.

“It’s just an amazing feeling to win it, I couldn’t believe I’d won it really. I thought I had achieved something by getting to the top 100 so to even win it - I was over the moon,” he said.

The panel of judges, which included graphic designers, artists, experts from the V&A and the Royal College of Art, and a representative from the royal household, described Roberts’ emblem as “ingenious“ and with a “human touch”.

Explaining his thought process behind the design, Roberts said he had a “eureka moment” when thinking of ways to symbolise the Queen’s historic reign.

Having surpassed Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history in 2015, the Queen will become the first to celebrate 70 years on the throne in 2022.

“I was thinking of ways I could re-create the continuity of the Queen’s reign in the design and I had a eureka moment.

“I thought if I could create a continuous line that incorporates the key features of St Edward’s crown that would be a really good way of representing the continuing reign of the Queen,” he said.

He added: “I wanted the design to also symbolise a royal seal and put it within a circle to give the impression of a royal wax seal and I think that’s come across really effectively in the design.”

Paul Thompson, the vice-chancellor of the Royal College of Art, said the emblem design “beautifully captures” the Queen’s reign.

“This clean graphic design takes us on a simple line journey to create the crown and the number 70, beautifully capturing the continuous thread of Her Majesty The Queen’s 70-year reign.

“Drawn on a computer, the ingenious emblem works across all scales and the flow of the line gives us a sense of a human touch behind the digital design process,” he said.

As the winner of the competition, Roberts will be invited to attend the Jubilee celebrations, which will take place over a four-day public holiday, from 2 June to 5 June.

The festivities will include a “Platinum Pageant” which will parade through the streets of London and a live concert at Buckingham Palace.