Golden Jubilee

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Golden Jubilee, 1887. The fiftieth anniversary of Victoria's accession saw a well-orchestrated outburst of loyalty. Lord Rosebery assured the queen that the previous fifty years would be considered ‘the golden age of English history’. The Round Tower at Windsor was illuminated by electrical light, prisoners amnestied, medals struck, statues erected, the fleet reviewed at Spithead, and a thanksgiving service held at Westminster abbey with music by the late Prince Albert. ‘And all was the most perfect success,’ wrote Victoria afterwards. It set the pattern for the Diamond Jubilee of 1897 and subsequent royal celebrations.

J. A. Cannon

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