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Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria

50th anniversary of the British monarch's accession

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria
Summary

50th anniversary of the British monarch's accession

FieldValue
nameGolden Jubilee of Queen Victoria
imageWilliam Ewart Lockhart, Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Service, Westminster Abbey, 21 June 1887 (1887–1890).jpg
image_size300px
captionQueen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Service, Westminster Abbey, 21 June 1887 (1887–1890) by William Ewart Lockhart
date2021 June 1887
genreJubilee of British monarch
country{{Plainlist
prevGolden Jubilee of George III
nextDiamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria
  • United Kingdom
  • British India
  • British Empire
Two sides of a coin, with head view of Victoria on one side and a design on the other
Victoria's [[Golden Jubilee]] silver [[double florin]], struck 1887

The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which 50 European kings and princes were invited.

Background

Westminster Abbey prepared for the Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving, showing the [[Coronation Chair]] on a raised [[dais]] and the temporary galleries built into the [[transept]]s. These alterations were the only part of the jubilee to be financed by the government.

As the fiftieth anniversary of Victoria's accession approached, public anticipation of national celebrations began to grow, encouraged by the Liberal politician, Lord Granville. At the previous royal jubilee, the Golden Jubilee of George III, the king had been ill at Windsor Castle, so there was little precedent to follow. In 1872, the recovery of Edward, Prince of Wales from a bout of typhoid fever was marked by Victoria processing through London to a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral; despite the queen's reluctance, this had proved to be a resounding success which had silenced the many critics of the monarchy. For the Golden Jubilee, Victoria had informed the Conservative prime minister, Lord Salisbury, that she intended to have a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey, and ignoring the Biblical tradition that the start of the fiftieth year should be celebrated, the jubilee should mark the completion of fifty years. The service should reference Victoria's coronation, although the queen would not wear a crown or robes of state. This entailed considerable alterations inside the Abbey, which Lord Salisbury reluctantly agreed to finance, but he insisted that the queen should underwrite the rest of the costs.

The Queen's Jubilee message

On the occasion of her Golden Jubilee, Queen Victoria wrote a message of thanks to her people, which was then published in the London Gazette and national newspapers:

Celebrations

India

The Golden Jubilee in India; a triumphal arch over the Queen's statue in Bombay.

The first official Golden Jubilee celebrations were in the Indian Empire, and began in February to avoid the summer heat. Events took place across India on Jubilee Day, 16 February, orchestrated by the Viceroy, Lord Lytton, although his attempts to link the event with the perceived success of the British administration were mostly ignored by local rulers. A durbar in Bombay (now Mumbai) was attended by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. Additionally, Victoria had a contingent of cavalry from the British Indian Army brought to London to be her personal escort, and engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters, one of whom was Abdul Karim. Invitations to the jubilee celebrations were extended to the rulers of the Indian Princely States, several of whom were willing to make the lengthy journey to London.

20 June

On 20 June 1887, the Queen had breakfast outdoors under the trees at Frogmore, where Prince Albert had been buried. She wrote in her diary:

The garden party at Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee, 20 June 1887

She then travelled by train from Windsor station to Paddington then to Buckingham Palace for a lunch.

21 June

Queen Victoria leaving Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey, 21 June 1887

The next day, the Queen participated in a procession in an open landau, drawn by six cream-coloured horses, through London to Westminster Abbey escorted by Colonial Indian cavalry. She refused to wear a crown, wearing instead a bonnet and a long dress. The procession through London, according to Mark Twain, "stretched to the limit of sight in both directions". The spectators were accommodated on terraced benches along 10 miles of scaffolding erected for the purpose.

At Westminster Abbey, there was a Service of Thanksgiving held for the Queen's reign. During the service, a beam of sunlight fell upon her bowed head, which the future Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi observing noted as a mark of divine favour.

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.

The Queen's landau processing along Regent Street, escorted by [[British Indian Army]] horsemen and the [[Household Cavalry]].

The Queen reflected on the day in her diary:

22 June

Jubilee statue of Victoria by Joseph Edgar Boehm at Castle Hill, Windsor, unveiled by the Queen on 22 June.

The next morning, Victoria went to St James's Palace to visit her elderly aunt, the dowager Duchess of Cambridge. In the afternoon, the Queen attended a party in Hyde Park for 26,000 schoolchildren, who were all given a glass of milk, a bun and a Jubilee mug. Returning to Windsor by train, the Queen then unveiled a bronze statue of herself in Castle Hill by Sir Edgar Boehm, before viewing a torchlight procession by the schoolboys of Eton College.

Aldershot review

On 9 July, Victoria and other members of the royal family attended a Jubilee Field State Review of the British Army at Aldershot. The total number of troops participating was over 58,000; including 21,200 regular soldiers, 4,500 Militia, 270 Yeomanry and 33,000 Volunteers. The Queen, with an escort of the 10th Royal Hussars in which Prince Albert Victor was serving, received an address by the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, and then watched the entire force march past in review. Although the ground had been watered that morning by two traction engines, the passing of so many boots and hooves threw up great clouds of dust, to the annoyance of the huge crowd of spectators. Following lunch in a specially erected pavilion, the Queen returned to Windsor by train.

Spithead review

A watercolour by [[William Lionel Wyllie]] showing the royal yacht reviewing the lines of warships at the Spithead review.

On 23 July, Victoria and the royal family attended a Jubilee Fleet Review at Spithead offshore from Portsmouth. Present were more than one hundred Royal Navy warships and dozens of other vessels. The British fleet included 26 ironclads, 14 cruisers, 31 gunboats and 38 torpedo boats; between them these ships carried 442 guns and were manned by 16,136 officers and ratings. Also present were several foreign warships, as well as troopships, large merchant ships, yachts and numerous small craft filled with spectators. The Queen and other important guests passed along the lines of anchored ships in a flotilla led by the royal yacht, . That night, the ships were illuminated by their searchlights. A report for the United States Navy described the review as "the most imposing ever seen afloat".

Other events

At the Jubilee, the Queen engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters; Mohammed Buksh and 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 British towns and cities commissioned new monuments, public clocks or buildings to mark the event, including Queen's Arcade in Leeds, the Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate, the Jubilee Clock Tower, Weymouth, the Jubilee Clock Tower, Brighton and the Clock Tower, Crewe.

On 20 September 1889, using £70,000 raised to mark her Golden Jubilee, Queen Victoria issued a Royal Charter and the Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute for Nurses was constituted.

Royal guests at the Jubilee celebrations

British royal family

  • The Queen
    • German Empire The German Crown Princess and Crown Prince, the Queen's daughter and son-in-law (representing the German Emperor)
      • Prussia Prince and Princess Wilhelm of Prussia, the Queen's grandson and granddaughter-in-law
      • Saxe-Meiningen The Hereditary Princess and Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, the Queen's granddaughter and grandson-in-law (representing the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen)
        • Saxe-Meiningen Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen, the Queen's great-granddaughter
      • Prussia Prince Henry of Prussia, the Queen's grandson
      • Prussia Princess Viktoria of Prussia, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Prussia Princess Sophia of Prussia, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Prussia Princess Margaret of Prussia, the Queen's granddaughter
    • The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Queen's son and daughter-in-law
      • Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the Queen's grandson
      • Prince George of Wales, the Queen's grandson
      • Princess Louise of Wales, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Princess Victoria of Wales, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Princess Maud of Wales, the Queen's granddaughter
    • Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, the Queen's son-in-law
      • Princess and Prince Louis of Battenberg, the Queen's granddaughter and grandson-in-law
      • Russian Empire Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, the Queen's granddaughter and grandson-in-law (representing the Emperor of Russia)
      • Grand Duchy of Hesse Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Grand Duchy of Hesse The Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, the Queen's grandson
      • Grand Duchy of Hesse Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, the Queen's granddaughter
    • The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Queen's son and daughter-in-law
      • Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, the Queen's grandson
      • Princess Marie of Edinburgh, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, the Queen's granddaughter
    • Princess and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the Queen's daughter and son-in-law
      • Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, the Queen's grandson
      • Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, the Queen's grandson
      • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, the Queen's granddaughter
    • The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne and Marquess of Lorne, the Queen's daughter and son-in-law
    • The Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, the Queen's son and daughter-in-law
      • Princess Margaret of Connaught, the Queen's granddaughter
      • Prince Arthur of Connaught, the Queen's grandson
    • The Duchess of Albany, the Queen's daughter-in-law
    • Princess and Prince Henry of Battenberg, the Queen's daughter and son-in-law
      • Prince Alexander of Battenberg, the Queen's grandson Other descendants of the Queen's paternal grandfather, King George III and their families:
  • The Duke of Cambridge, the Queen's first cousin
    • George FitzGeorge, the Queen's first cousin once removed
    • Augustus FitzGeorge, the Queen's first cousin once removed
  • Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Grand Duchess and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen's first cousin and her husband
    • Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen's first cousin once removed and his wife
  • The Duchess and Duke of Teck, the Queen's first cousin and her husband
    • Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the Queen's first cousin once removed
    • Prince Adolphus of Teck, the Queen's first cousin once removed
    • Prince Francis of Teck, the Queen's first cousin once removed
    • Prince Alexander of Teck, the Queen's first cousin once removed
  • Princess Frederica of Hanover and Baron Alphons von Pawel-Rammingen, the Queen's first cousin once removed and her husband
  • The Hon. Aubrey FitzClarence, the Queen's first cousin twice removed (and great-grandson of King William IV)

Foreign royals

  • Ernst, Prince of Leiningen and Marie, Princess of Leiningen, the Queen's half-nephew and half-niece-in-law
    • Princess Alberta of Leiningen, the Queen's half-great-niece
  • Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the Queen's half-nephew
  • Victor, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the Queen's half-nephew and half-niece-in-law
    • Countess Feodora Gleichen, the Queen's half-great-niece
    • Count Edward Gleichen, the Queen's half-great-nephew
    • Countess Valda Gleichen, the Queen's half-great-niece
  • Saxe-Meiningen Ernst, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, the Queen's half-great-nephew
  • Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Queen's brother-in-law and first cousin
  • Belgium Leopold II of Belgium and Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians, the Queen's first cousin and his wife
    • Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess Louise of Belgium and Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Queen's first cousins once removed
  • Austria-Hungary Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, husband of the Queen's first cousin once removed (representing the Emperor of Austria)
  • Kingdom of Portugal Carlos, Prince Royal and Amélie, Princess Royal of Portugal, the Queen's first cousin twice removed and his wife (representing the King of Portugal)
  • Denmark Christian IX of Denmark, father of the Princess of Wales
    • Kingdom of Greece George I of Greece, brother of the Princess of Wales
      • Kingdom of Greece Constantine, Duke of Sparta, nephew of the Princess of Wales
      • Kingdom of Greece Prince George of Greece and Denmark, nephew of the Princess of Wales
  • Baden Prince Ludwig of Baden, nephew of the German Crown Prince (representing the Grand Duke of Baden)
  • Sweden Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway, nephew-in-law of the German Crown Prince (representing the King of Sweden and Norway)
  • Kingdom of Saxony Albert, King of Saxony
  • Kingdom of Italy Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (representing the King of Italy)
  • Restoration (Spain) Infante Antonio and Infanta Eulalia of Spain (representing the Queen Regent of Spain)
  • Kingdom of Hawaii Queen Kapiʻolani
  • Kingdom of Hawaii Princess Liliʻuokalani (sister and heir apparent of King Kalākaua)
  • Bavaria Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (representing the Prince Regent of Bavaria)
  • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (representing the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)
  • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Prince and Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar
  • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
  • Empire of Japan Prince Komatsu Akihito (representing the Emperor of Japan)
  • Siam Prince Devawongse Varoprakar (representing the King of Siam)
  • Qajar dynasty Prince Abu 'n Nasr Mirza Hissam us Sultaneh of Persia (representing the Shah of Persia)
  • Anhalt Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt (representing the Duke of Anhalt)
  • Hyderabad State Nawab Sir Asman Jah representing Asaf Jah VI Mahboob Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar.
  • Bhagvat Singh, Maharaja of Gondal
  • The Thakore Sahib of Liinri
  • The Thakore Sahib of Morvi
  • Nripendra Narayan, Maharaja of Cooch Behar and Suniti Devi, Maharani of Cooch Behar
  • Lakshmeshwar Singh, The Maharajah of Darbhanga
  • Khengarji III, Maharaja of Kutch
  • Shivajirao Holkar, Maharaja Holkar of Indore
  • Prince Philippe, Count of Paris and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans, Countess of Paris
    • Prince Phillipe, Duke of Orléans
    • Princess Hélène of Orléans
  • Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres
    • Prince Henri of Orléans
    • Princess Marguerite of Orléans
  • Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale

Other notable guests

  • Mildred Childe Lee

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Hibbert, Christopher (2000) Queen Victoria: A Personal History, London: HarperCollins,
  • St Aubyn, Giles (1991) Queen Victoria: A Portrait, London: Sinclair-Stevenson,
  • Waller, Maureen (2006) Sovereign Ladies: The Six Reigning Queens of England, London: John Murray,

References

  1. (June 1, 2002). "Victoria Marked Golden Jubilee With Fireworks". Oxford Review.
  2. Woolerton 2022, pp. 20-21
  3. Brown & Snape 2010, Chapter 5
  4. (29 April 2022). "Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee". The Royal Family.
  5. Taylor 2018, pp. 229-230
  6. Woolerton 2022, p. 27
  7. Woolerton 2022, pp. 27-28
  8. "History of Jubilees: Queen Victoria". [[British Royal Household]].
  9. Liliuokalani. (1990). "Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen". Mutual Publishing.
  10. Chapman & Raben 1977, p. 8-9
  11. . ["'Field State Review, Aldershot, July 9 1887.'"](https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1959-01-34-1). *National Army Museum*.
  12. . (14 July 1887). ["Royal Review at Aldershot"](https://papuraunewydd.llyfrgell.cymru/view/3785432/3785438). *The Flintshire Observer*.
  13. . (1888). ["General Information Series: Volume VII - Information from Abroad"](https://books.google.com/books?id=-PKgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA123). *Navy Department, Office of Naval Intelligence*.
  14. (2011). "Francis John Williamson".
  15. "F.J. [Francis John] Williamson". The Elmbridge Hundred.
  16. "Francis John Williamson (1833–1920)". The Victorian Web.
  17. Howard N Cole.. "Coronation and Royal Commemorative Medals.".
  18. Cope, Zachary. (12 August 1955). "The Early History of District Nursing". Nursing Times.
  19. "Mildred Childe Lee – Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)".
  20. {{London Gazette. (5 January 1888)
  21. Hibbert, pp. 447–448; St Aubyn, p. 502; Waller, p. 441
  22. Hibbert, pp. 448–449
  23. Hibbert, pp. 449–451
  24. Hibbert, p. 447; St Aubyn, p. 503; Waller, p. 442
  25. Hibbert, p. 454
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