On the night of 23 June 1897, one participant described the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in her diary as a “never to be forgotten day”. Few had a better view of the festivities than Queen Victoria herself, and she was clearly touched by the warmth of the crowds, as the rest of her entry shows: “No one ever, I believe, has met with such an ovation as was given to me, passing through those six miles of streets… The crowds were quite indescribable and their enthusiasm truly marvelous and deeply touching. The cheering was quite deafening and every face seemed to be filled with real joy.” Their ecstatic disposition reflected deep affection for a beloved monarch who had become a bastion of strength, and pride in an Empire that dominated the globe.
By this time Victoria had surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest reigning monarch in England or Scotland's history, and presided over an Empire that comprised some 300 million people, covering more than a quarter of the world. Britain was a nation without equal, standing in ‘splendid isolation'. What was ostensibly billed as a celebration of Victoria's reign developed into a demonstration of Britain's imperial reach, a move welcomed by the ageing monarch despite her earlier hopes for a quiet commemoration. This would be a celebration not merely of one woman's longevity, nor even just of national unity, but of the greatest Empire the world had yet seen as it reached its zenith.
The term ‘Diamond Jubilee' was unknown before this occasion; it was created specifically for this, as there was no precedent for a 60th anniversary of a ruling monarch. The 50th had been a Jubilee, so one suggestion put forward from her home secretary was for the ‘Jubilissimee' – literally, the ultimate Jubilee of Jubilees. The term ‘diamond' was already understood to mark the completion of 60 years of married life, but Queen Victoria's private secretary did not think she would approve. She did: the Diamond Jubilee it was.
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