1897 VICTORIA PARADE
PRESS ASSOCIATION
On a bright 22 June 1897, the churchyard of St Paul’s Cathedral echoes with cheers and applause as Queen Victoria’s carriage, pulled by eight cream-coloured horses, passes through. This marks the end of a six-mile procession through London, lined by soldiers from all over the British Empire, and the start of an open-air service to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. The 78-year-old monarch – whose increasing frailty confines her to the carriage that day – writes in her diary that evening, “A never to be forgotten day. The cheering was quite deafening and every face seemed to be filled with real joy.”