Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Victoria
was born on 24th May, 1819, and was the only child of Edward Duke of Kent
and his wife Victoria Maria Louisa. The previous king had been her uncle,
William IV, who died in 1837 when Victoria was just 18 years old. Despite
her young age, she was determined to rule by herself, asking to be kept informed
about political matters and working closely with the Prime Minister, Lord
Melbourne.
In 1840 she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg. Together
they had nine children and were devoted to each other. Albert was very interested
in science and technology, and helped to organise the Great Exhibition of
1851. When Albert died in 1861 from typhoid, Victoria locked herself away
at her home at Osborne
House on the Isle of Wight. She remained away from the public eye for
25 years, and it wasn't until her Golden Jubilee in 1887 that she began to
appear in public again.
Victoria died in 1901, at the age of 81. During her reign, the British Empire
doubled in size, including Canada, Australia, India and parts of Africa and
the South Pacific. Victoria became Empress of India in 1878.
Apart from the Crimean War which began in 1853, Victoria's reign was peaceful, partly because through the marriages of her children she was related to many of the kings and queens of Europe, including Germany, Russia, Rumania, Greece, Norway, Belgium and Denmark.
Politics and the Law also changed greatly during Victoria's lifetime, with the beginning of the Liberal Party and the introduction of laws such as The Mines Act, the Education Act, Trade Union Act and Reform Act.
Below: Victoria as a young queen in 1840, and her husband Prince Albert.
Victoria kept a diary for most of her life. This is what she wrote about the day she became queen (20th June 1837):
I was
awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me that the Archbishop of
Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here, and wished to see me. I got out
of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing-gown), and alone,
and saw them. Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain) then acquainted me
that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes
past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen.
How would you feel if you found out you were the new king or queen?
To read some more pages from Victoria's diary, click here.
Victoria
had a good education, unlike many ordinary children of her time. Click
here to see examples of her handwriting and signature.
Can you make your signature as elaborate as Victoria's?
Queen Victoria was the great great grandmother of our present Queen Elizabeth II. Click here to see how they are related.
What
has Banbury Cross got to do with Queen Victoria?
The present Cross was built in 1859 to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria's
eldest daughter, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa, to Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia.
It holds statues of King Edward VII, King George V and Queen Victoria..
Victoria, Albert and some of their nine children.