The Jubilee Celebration took place on Tuesday June 22nd. Queen Victoria was taken in her carriage from Buckingham Palace to a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral before processing in a magnificent Empire Pageant through the streets of London.
The procession went from St. Paul’s firstly to the Lord Mayor’s residence at Mansion House, then went across the Thames through Southwark and returned via Westminster Bridge, then along the Houses of Parliament and eventually back to the palace.
The grandeur and scale of this spectacle were almost beyond comprehension. Along the route were hundreds of thousands of spectators, on every pavement and in every window amidst numerous decorations, flags and bunting. Flanked by lines of guardsmen and constabulary, the procession itself was made up of dignitaries, troops and bands from all over the Empire. Mark Twain, who was watching, wrote that “For varied and beautiful uniforms and unceasing surprises in the way of new and unexpected splendors, it much surpassed any pageant that I have ever seen”.