Jubilee Memorial
The monument was built in 1897 to celebrate 60 years of Queen Victoria’s reign. It is Grade 2 listed.
Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her reign. It took place 1897 (20th June). This was a private occasion, marked with service in St Georges Chapel, Windsor.
The Queen wrote in her journal:
This Eventful day, 1897, has opened, and I pray to God to help and protect me as he has hitherto done these sixty eventful years!... The Lord will surely help me every step of the way…
On 21 June a dinner was held in Buckingham Palace. This was for Royal Visitors… only! There was a termed festival of the British Empire the following day. The event continued throughout the City of London, across the London Bridge and through South London as well. This was before returning over Westminster Bridge back to the Palace.
Before this, the Queen made a progress by carriage to St Pauls cathedral. This is where a short thanksgiving was held outside the building – Victoria being unable by this date to manage the steps.
On 23 June 10000 school children gathered outside Buckingham palace to greet the queen. The celebrations continued for another week with events including a state banquet and garden party.
About Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria was born on the 24th of May 1819 and lived in Kensington Palace with her parents Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg Saalfield and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Her father was the fourth son of George III so this made Victoria fifth in line to the throne. When she was a child she had a lot of rules to follow she even had to sleep in the same room as her mother so she could keep good control on her behaviour. This made Victoria very stubborn so she started writing a diary to control her emotions she continued with this almost her whole life.
When Victoria was crowned Queen the first thing she did was have one hour to herself something she had never done before! Her coronation was the following year on the 28th of June 1838 at Westminister Abbey at 18 years old.
Victoria is known for her long and happy marriage with Albert. They met when she was 16 and he was actually her cousin and because she was queen he could not propose to her, so she proposed to him instead and they got married the following year. They were together until Albert’s death in 1861 and Victoria was left with her nine children.
Victoria died at 81 years old on the 22nd January 1901 at her estate in the Isle of Wight. Her son Albert Edward inherited the throne. She had been a trustworthy queen for years and until 2015 she was the longest reigning queen in the entire history of the British Empire.