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
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and is circumscribed by the inscription "ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF" (Latin for "Elizabeth II by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith"). The reverse shows a faceted hexagon with a crowned royal cipher, inscribed with the years 1952 and 2012. Eight Commonwealth realms in the Caribbean—Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—have each issued a Diamond Jubilee medal. The obverse bears the same effigy of the Queen as does the British medal circumscribed by the words "DIAMOND JUBILEE HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II".