Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria


The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 June 1887 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a banquet to which 50 European kings and princes were invited.

History

On 20 June 1887 the Queen had breakfast outdoors under the trees at Frogmore, where Prince Albert had been buried. She then travelled by train from Windsor station to Paddington then to Buckingham Palace for a royal banquet that evening. Fifty foreign kings and princes, along with the governing heads of Britain's overseas colonies and dominions, attended. She wrote in her diary:
The following day, she participated in a procession in an open landau through London to Westminster Abbey escorted by Colonial Indian cavalry.
During prayers for the Queen at the Abbey, a beam of sunlight fell upon her bowed head, which the future Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii observing noted as a mark of divine favor.
On her return to the Palace, she went to her balcony and was cheered by the crowd. In the ballroom she distributed brooches made for the Jubilee to her family. In the evening, she put on a gown embroidered with silver roses, thistles and shamrocks and attended a banquet. Afterwards she received a procession of diplomats and Indian princes. She was then wheeled in her chair to sit and watch fireworks in the palace garden.
At the Jubilee she engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters, one of whom was Abdul Karim.
A commemorative bust of Victoria was commissioned from the sculptor Francis John Williamson. Many copies were made, and distributed throughout the British Empire.
A special Golden Jubilee Medal was instituted and awarded to participants of the jubilee celebrations.
Writer and geographer John Francon Williams published The Jubilee Atlas of the British Empire especially to commemorate Victoria's Jubilee and her Jubilee year.
Many cities commissioned new buildings to mark the event, including Leeds' 'Queens Arcade'.

Royal Guests at the Jubilee celebration

British Royal Family