Queen Victoria replaced him. Salisbury remained prime minister for the remainder of Victoria's reign. On 23 September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. The Queen requested that any special celebrations be delayed until 1897, to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee, which was made a festival of the British Empire at the suggestion of the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain. The prime ministers of all the self-governing Dominions were invited to London for the festivities. One reason for including the prime ministers of the Dominions and excluding foreign heads of state was to avoid having to
Platinum jubilee Platinum jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand was the most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee; he died shortly after official celebrations in Thailand took place. The next currently reigning monarch who would celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II ("technically" only as Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as all of the other countries she is at present queen of had yet to gain independence at the time of her accession), should she still