The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was the high noon of the British Empire. On 22 June 1897, the elderly Queen gave thanks to God for her reign of 60 years. Her British subjects joined in a festival of celebration and self-congratulation. The British Empire in Jubilee Year was the largest Empire the world had known. It was 91 times the area of the mother country, a quarter of the earth's surface. In their 'jubilation,' the British compared themselves to Imperial Rome, and assumed that God was on their side. As they watched the great Jubilee military procession through London, they cheered the 'Soldiers of the Queen' who had fought 70 colonial wars during the 60 years Victoria had been on the throne.