Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her demise in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than any previous British monarch and was referred to as the Victorian Era.
Ceylon was ruled by the British before it gained independence in 1948. Ceylon became a colony of the British in 1815 and Queen Victoria was the 4th monarch of British Ceylon. At the time that Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, Britain was largely a trade power. It was a time of great military, industrial, scientific and political renaissance. She was awarded the additional title ‘Emperor of India’ by the British Parliament.
Accession to the Throne
Queen Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the niece of William IV and his only living heir. She was crowned Queen in 1837, at the age of 18. Despite her youth, she had been educated and trained for the role of monarch from a very early age.
Marriage to Prince Albert
When she was 20, Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. She was initially keen to assert her authority over Prince Albert. However, after two years of marriage, Albert clearly became the dominant partner in the relationship while Victoria at the same time embraced the submissive and popular role of a wife since women were perceived at the time to be naturally inferior and dependent on men. Victoria began to increasingly rely on Albert in politics, and particularly matters of foreign affairs, while he became king in all but name. Queen Victoria was known as the ‘Grandmother of Europe’ as her children married royals and other aristocratic families based in many parts of Europe.
Considered one of the oldest parks in Ceylon, Victoria Park was built during her reign, however around 1958 it was renamed Viharamahadevi Park. The British Empire celebrated Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, and Ceylon being a stronghold of the British Raj celebrated the Golden Jubilee with all the pomp and circumstance.
A statue of Queen Victoria seated on her throne was built in 1897 by George W. Wade, who was reputed for the construction of statues of British Royals and politicians, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Queen, which was also called her Diamond Jubilee.
The Victoria Park located on the Nuwara Eliya – Uda Pussellawa Road was also constructed by the British in 1887 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. The principal event of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations was to be held on 28th June 1887 at the Galle Face Green. The event commenced with the Military Review at 7 a.m. in front of the Military Hospital with more than 800 commissioned and non-commissioned officers and the Royal Artillery taking part. The customary salute and inspection took place with the arrival of Governor Gordon and the Major General after which the Major General ordered to fire feu-de-joie, followed by three hearty cheers by the soldiers for the Queen.
Several thanksgiving services were also conducted in leading places of worship in Colombo.
The principal ceremony took place that evening with the Governor’s Pavilion which was located in front of the Colombo Club taking centre stage. On the day of the Jubilee, several of the poor villagers were fed, each being given a measure of rice and five cents which was equivalent to a penny.
Governor Arthur Hamilton-Gordon arrived at 4 p.m. in an open carriage accompanied by several high-ranking officials. After several planned processions and other events took place, a gun salute took place with fifty guns, followed by the National anthem ‘God Save the Queen’.
