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
Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria Her daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, reads a letter from Victoria to London Hospital governors, showing her concern for John Merrick, in the 1980 film "The Elephant Man". On television, Victoria has been portrayed by: "Monty Python's Flying Circus" portrays Queen Victoria as a slapstick prankster and includes a sketch in which she says "We are not amused" in German accented English. Another Monty Python sketch contains a footrace in which all the contestants are dressed as Queen Victoria. In a series of sketches portraying the Phantom Raspberry Blower, the "Two Ronnies" dress an entire squad of policemen as Queen