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
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II held at Government House on 4 and 5 May, a stamp exhibition was mounted at the National Trust headquarters and an exhibition of photographs of the Queen in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was displayed at the National Public Library. A Queen's Birthday parade took place, as did a Diamond Jubilee Beacon Event on 4 June, part of the wider plan to light such beacons at the same time across the Commonwealth. In the United Kingdom, national and regional events to mark the Diamond Jubilee were coordinated by the Queen-in-Council and her Royal Household at Buckingham Palace. As with the