Kensington High Street on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 22 June 1897

By 23 September 1897 Queen Victoria had reigned longer than any other British sovereign in history. It was thus resolved to celebrate in the following year the sixtieth year of her reign. The main Jubilee event was a state procession that made its way through London on 22 June. From Buckingham Palace the procession advanced to St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, south of the river to Westminster Bridge, to St. James's Park and then to Buckingham Palace again. Streets in other areas of London such as Kensington were decorated for the occasion.

Smith's evocative painting captures the excitement of the moment, and conveys the clatter and smells of late-Victorian street-life. The traffic includes several double-decker omnibuses, vans, a brougham and a victoria with lowered hood.