The Dregruk Empire
29-01-2007, 10:58
On 22 September 1896, Victoria surpassed George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. In accordance with the Queen's request, all special public celebrations of the event were delayed until 1897, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, proposed that the Diamond Jubilee be made a festival of the British Empire. Thus, the prime ministers of all the self-governing colonies were invited along with their families. The procession in which the Queen participated included troops from each Dominion, British colony and dependency, together with soldiers sent by Indian princes and chiefs (who were subordinate to Victoria, the Empress of India). The Diamond Jubilee celebration was an occasion marked by great outpourings of affection for the septuagenarian Queen, who was by then confined to a wheelchair. The celebrations also coincided with heightened security prompted by the assassination plot on her life by Irish nationalists on her Golden Jubilee 10 years earlier.
The streets of London were cleared and tidied in preparation for the procession in which the Queen and foreign dignitaries would be participating. Eager citizens had arrived the night before to get a good spot by the side of the road. Union Jacks dotted the windows of houses all along the way.
At Buckingham Palace, the Queen awaited the arrival of her guests with quiet dignity.
The streets of London were cleared and tidied in preparation for the procession in which the Queen and foreign dignitaries would be participating. Eager citizens had arrived the night before to get a good spot by the side of the road. Union Jacks dotted the windows of houses all along the way.
At Buckingham Palace, the Queen awaited the arrival of her guests with quiet dignity.