By Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19020908

It’s now one of the best known phrases in royal history and it was inspired by a celebration of sixty years of marriage. Without a Diamond Wedding anniversary, there would be no Diamond Jubilee. This sparkling celebration of sixty years of rule, rare even in modern times, owes its name to the celebrations for six decades of marriage.

The term ‘Diamond Jubilee’ was coined in the early 1890s by a cunning politician who wanted to impress Queen Victoria. And the way to her heart, as everyone knew then, was via any reference at all to her long dead husband, Prince Albert.

Since her consort had passed away in 1861, Victoria had been devoted to his memory, dressing in black and even making her son and heir pose for a wedding photo next to a bust of his departed papa.

One of her main observations at the Jubilee of 1887, marking the fiftieth anniversary of her reign, was that she had been alone at them. Her beloved husband was only a memory at this most majestic moment of her life.

It wasn’t that Victoria didn’t enjoy the party. She had had a marvellous time and her diaries suggest that she was quite determined to make sure everyone knew that she was the star of the show. But the lack of her consort at this special time hit her hard.

However, her pain wasn’t shared. The party had been so successful that a large part of those in charge wanted to do it all over again to mark sixty years of rule. The only problem was that the enthusiasts didn’t include Victoria herself.

She was distinctly ‘not amused’ by the idea of holding a celebration for the sixtieth anniversary of her reign. For a start, jubilee means fifty years. Changing up the numbers was a radical idea. More importantly for Victoria, the 1887 festivities had been funded, in large part, by her. She had so many royal relations around Europe that had to be invited that the government had said that she should foot the bill. There was no way she was emptying her purse again.

But the government could see the PR appeal of a giant celebration with the Queen Empress at its heart. Victoria wouldn’t listen until a politician decided to activate the Albert option. He suggested that this party might echo the rather rare feat of reaching a sixtieth wedding anniversary. That celebration was already known as a diamond anniversary. Why not, he whispered in the queen’s ear, have a diamond jubilee? It might be the wedding anniversary she might otherwise never know. Victoria was sold.

And so the Diamond Jubilee was born. The date was set for June 1897, the 60^th anniversary of her accession. But Victoria’s lovestruck heart didn’t rule her head. As the politicians were so keen on this party, they were paying for it. When they argued that a major cost were her European royal relations, she cut the majority from the guest list, Instead, representatives of her many realms were invited and the event turned into a major diplomatic event, too.

The curmudgeonly queen had one more request before the taper was lit on these Jubilee fireworks. Her mobility was suffering and so the final condition on putting her at the centre of this wedding inspired Jubilee was that she didn’t have to get out of her carriage during any public event. This posed a slight problem for the Service of Thanksgiving. In 1887, it had been held at Westminster Abbey with the queen walking down the long aisle. Alone. Victoria refused point blank to do that again.

St Paul’s was then suggested as an alternative although the idea put forward by one of her sons, to carry his mama up the famous steps of the cathedral while she was still in her carriage, was quickly rejected with only the prince in question wondering why. Instead, the service would be brought out of the church to the queen who would pull up outside to be surrounded by clergy and choristers who would conduct the ceremony around her carriage. Game, set and Jubilee match to Victoria.

The name of a ‘Diamond Jubilee’ stuck and now it is one of the best known of all royal phrases. Victoria’s great, great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated her own in 2012, perhaps the most successful year of her historic reign.