Queen Victoria

BIRTH AND FAMILY BACKGROUND 

Queen Victoria was born at 4.15 a.m. on May 24, 1819 at Kensington Palace in London.

Photograph by Alexander Bassano, 1882

Queen Victoria was the only child of Edward, the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III. He was a sadistic psychopathic man.

Princess Victoria's father died of pneumonia eight months after she was born. Her grandfather, George III, died blind and insane less than a week later. Princess Victoria's uncle, the Prince of Wales, inherited the Crown, becoming King George IV.

Her mother was Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a German princess, who later became Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, .

CHILDHOOD 

Victoria was only her second name: her first name was Alexandrina. Because of this first name, she was known as 'Drina' when she was young.

Victoria was a plain serious child. In her teenage years she was a dutiful and self-possessed girl who loved dancing.

Princess Victoria was good at languages, but was not a great speller and was a messy writer.

Though she occupied a high position in the line of succession, Victoria was taught only German, the first language of both her mother and her governess, during her early years. After she became three years old however, she was schooled in English.

She began her education at the age of 4, and studied in private lessons at Kensington Palace. Princess Victoria's educator was the Reverend George Davys and her governess was Louise Lehzen.

Portrait of Victoria aged four by Stephen Poyntz Denning, 1823

By the age of 16 Victoria spoke fluent French and German plus some Italian and Latin. She also had an advanced knowledge of astronomy, business, history and the major poets. Victoria enjoyed a thorough grasp of world affairs and had an astonishing retentive memory.

Victoria was eleven when she realised she would be next in line for the throne. When the implication sank in she had a good cry. Then she controlled herself and said solemnly to her Governess. "I will be good."

REIGN 

Queen Victoria succeeded her uncle William IV on the English throne on June 20, 1837, She wrote in her diary, "I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me 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 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."

On Victoria's succession to the throne Hanover became separated from England as female succession was not allowed in the German state.

After her first Privy Council meeting officials presented documents naming her Alexandrina Victoria. She told them to cross out the Alexandrina.

Victoria's coronation took place on June 28, 1838 at Westminster Abbey. Over 400,000 visitors came to London for the celebrations.

Coronation portrait by George Hayter

After her coronation Victoria endeared herself to the public when she sprung from her throne to help an elderly noble man who had stumbled on approaching her to pay his respects.

It was difficult for prime ministers when dealing with Victoria over affairs of state. In May 1839 Lord Melbourne's Whig ministry resigned and Robert Peel formed a Tory one. He intimidated that he should expect the Whig ladies of the bedchamber to be replaced by Tories but when Victoria objected to this she gained her point.

Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by train. On June 13, 1842 the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Prince Albert accompanied her on the inaugural royal train journey, from Slough (near Windsor Castle) to Bishop's Bridge (near Paddington). The first royal train trip lasted only 25 minutes.

She always pulled her carriage curtains when passing through rougher areas to avoid the distressing sight of a working class tenement.

On August 16, 1858 Queen Victoria cabled President James Buchanan over the first transatlantic cable. Her message was "The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the successful completion of this great international work, in which The Queen has taken the deepest interest. The Queen is convinced that the President will join her in fervently hoping that the electric cable, which now connects great Britain with the United States, will prove an additional link between the nations, whose friendship is founded upon their common interest and reciprocal esteem. The Queen has much pleasure in thus communicating with the President, and renewing to him her wishes for the prosperity of the United States."

The States of Victoria and Queensland in Australia were named after Queen Victoria, who signed the order creating the latter's Statehood in 1859. The Victoria colony was officially established in 1851 and achieved self government in 1855.

After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British East India Company, which had ruled much of India, was dissolved, and Britain's possessions and protectorates on the Indian subcontinent were formally incorporated into the British Empire. Victoria took the title "Empress of India" from May 1, 1876.

There were seven attempts to assassinate the Queen; three of them occurred in 1842. The first one on June 10, 1840 occurred during Victoria's first pregnancy, when eighteen-year old Edward Oxford attempted to kill the Queen whilst she was riding in a carriage with Prince Albert in London. Oxford fired twice, but both bullets missed. Many suggested that a Chartist conspiracy was behind the assassination attempt; others attributed the plot to supporters of the heir-presumptive, the King of Hanover. These conspiracy theories afflicted Britain with a wave of patriotism and loyalty.

Edward Oxford shooting at Queen Victoria By G. H> Miles, 1840

On hearing of Abraham Lincoln's assassination Victoria commented "these American news are most dreadful and awful! One never heard of such a thing! "

The widow of Windsor’s withdrawal from public life in her later years meant a fall in Republican popularity for a time but the Golden then Diamond Jubilee celebrations helped the British public fall in love with her again.

The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on June 20, 1887 when she was 68-years-old.  The Queen celebrated her golden jubilee over two days. She began the first day with breakfast under the trees at Frogmore, the resting place of her husband, Prince Albert, near Windsor Castle, before a banquet at Buckingham Palace. On the second day, she led a procession and, in the evening, put on a gown embroidered with silver roses, thistles and shamrocks for a banquet and was then wheeled into the garden to watch the fireworks.

On September 23, 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II surpassed her on September 9, 2015.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee procession on June 22, 1897 followed a route six miles long through London and included troops from all over the empire.

Victoria described Lord Salisbury as her most outstanding prime minister.

MARRIAGE 

The idea of a marriage between Victoria and her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had always been cherished by their uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium, as well as Victoria's mother (Leopold's sister), Victoria, Duchess of Kent. In May 1836 the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his two sons paid a visit to Kensington Palace, where Princess Victoria of Kent lived, for the purpose of meeting her.

The visit did not by any means suit Victoria's uncle, King William IV, who disapproved of the match with his heir, and favoured Prince Alexander of Orange. But Princess Victoria knew of Leopold's plan, and William's objections went for naught.

In her diary Princess Victoria noted  that she was attracted by his intellect and also by his "exquisite nose and delicate moustachios." The parties undertook no formal engagement, but privately understood the situation as one which would naturally develop in time.

After Victoria came to the throne, her letters show her interest in Albert's being educated for the part he would have to play.

Victoria summoned Albert one afternoon and with characteristic directness proposed marriage herself as she was sure Albert would never have taken such a liberty as to propose to the Queen of England.

They became definitely engaged on October 15, 1839 and the Queen made a formal declaration of her intention to marry to the Privy Council on November 23.

They were married in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace on February 10, 1840 and had a two day honeymoon at Windsor Castle.

Marriage of Victoria and Albert, painted by George Hayter

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's wedding cake was 9 feet around, weighed 300 pounds and was 14 inches high. It was served at the wedding breakfast.

A giant wheel of Cheddar cheese was given to Queen Victoria for a wedding gift. It weighed 1,200 lbs and two Somerset villages combined to make it.

Despite not being the reigning monarch, Albert was the decision-maker of the family.

Many scholars have suggested that Prince Albert was not in love with young Victoria, and that he entered into a relationship with her in order to gain social status (he was a minor German prince) and out of a sense of duty (his family desired the match). Whatever Albert's original reasons for marrying Victoria may have been, theirs proved to be an extremely happy marriage.

Albert was not only the Queen's companion, but also an important political advisor, replacing Lord Melbourne as the dominant figure in her life. Having found a partner, Victoria no longer relied on the Whig ladies at her court for companionship.

Prince Albert died of typhoid fever in 1862. Following the death of her husband, Queen Victoria struggled with her grief. On one particular occasion when feeling suicidal she heard a voice saying, "For his sake, no, still endure". As a consequence the queen adopted the words "still endure" as a motto.

Every day for 40 years after Albert's death, Victoria ordered that Albert's clothes be laid afresh on his bed in his suite at Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria never really recovered from his death and was in continual mourning. The Albert memorial is a shrine to his memory at Windsor Castle.

CHILDREN 

The first child of the royal couple, named Victoria, was born on November 21, 1840. Eight more children would be born during the exceptionally happy marriage between Victoria and Prince Albert (four sons and five daughters).

Victoria's family in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalte

Felix Mendelssohn’s famous "Wedding March" was played for the first time in 1858 when Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter married the Crown Prince of Prussia.

Edward (later Edward VII (1841 – 1910)) was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince. He was born at 10:48 in the morning on November 9, 1841 in Buckingham Palace. Edward was known as Bertie to the family throughout his life. Victoria was not impressed at her son's liking for actresses.

RELATIONSHIPS 

After Albert's death, a highlander called John Brown was appointed as Victoria's personal attendant. He addressed her as "Wumman" which she found refreshingly direct.

A romantic connection and even a secret marriage between Victoria and John Brown has been alleged. One recently discovered diary records a supposed deathbed confession by the Queen's private chaplain in which he admitted to a politician that he had presided over a clandestine marriage between Victoria and John Brown. Not all historians trust the reliability of the diary. However, when Victoria's corpse was laid in its coffin, two sets of mementos were placed with her, at her request. By her side was placed one of Albert's dressing gowns while in her left hand was placed a piece of Brown's hair, along with a picture of him. The rumors of an affair and marriage earned Victoria the nickname "Mrs Brown".

Victoria and John Brown at Balmoral, 1863. Photograph by G. W. Wilson.

On June 23, 1887, Victoria engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters, one of whom was Abdul Karim. He served her during the final fourteen years of her reign, gaining her maternal affection over that time and teaching her Urdu. In Victoria's last years, the impassive Abdul was the servant who pushed the infirm queen around her homes in her wheelchair.

APPEARANCE 

Queen Victoria was 5ft (152 cm) exactly, the shortest English monarch ever. "I am rather short for a Queen" she once said.

When first Queen, Victoria had little blue pop eyes, a centre parting, cupid bow mouth, tiny hands and feet and a good figure. Plump, in her later years she was nearly 12 stone 976 kgs) and her girth grew to within ten inches (25 cms) of her height. “She is not fat, but very small and not at all pretty, with I am sorry to say, a rather red nose.” Richard Wagner said of her.

Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1843

Queen Victoria had a 66 inch (167cm) bust towards the end of her life — nearly double the average chest size of a British woman today — though she was only 59 inches (150cm) tall.

One of her most precious treasures was the brooch, which once belonged to Robert the Bruce.

The English monarch's crown was a mass of precious stones. The headband was surmounted by fleur-de-lis and crosses pattée and by four half hoops in the form of branches of oak leaves in diamonds and pearl acorns supporting a mound and cross pattée.

Queen Victoria's insistence on continuing to wear wearing mourning clothes years after the death of her beloved Albert encouraged black sombre clothing to be the fashion. She also adopted a small white cap to cover her head.

She had a handkerchief embroidered with teardrops for use in mourning and refused to wear any other color gloves than black.

CHARACTER 

Victoria had a clear melodious and attractive voice.

Her first language was German not English and she was never able to speak English perfectly. (Her mother had spoken German in their home).

Victoria was shy and would give a little nervous laugh on meeting someone for the first time.

She wasn't interested in small talk and was only talkative amongst close family.

Victoria adopted her famous steely glare to hide her true feelings.

You were lucky if you got one smile per hour out of her. Strong willed and emotional, Victoria was often cross with quite a temper.

Despite being giggly when younger as Victoria got older her reaction to a joke or piece of silliness was "We are not amused."

She laughed most at other people's accidents such as when Napoleon III upset his coffee over his cocked hat or when the Duke of Argyll dropped one of her crowns and squashed it almost flat.

She had a spiritual yearning to be good. She wrote in her journal on New Year's Day 1881: "I feel how sadly deficient I am and how over sensitive and irritable and how uncontrollable my temper is when annoyed and hurt. But I am so overdone, so vexed and in such distress about my country, that must be my excuse. I will daily pray for God's help to improve."

HOMES AND TRAVEL

Victoria's birthplace and early home was at Kensington Palace, now the London Museum. She spent her childhood in rooms overlooking gardens at Kensington Palace. Until the age of 18 she slept in her mother's room.

Victoria's first act after her coronation was to remove her bed from her mother's room who had dominated her until her coronation.

Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live at the 602-roomed Buckingham Palace. She moved there on July 13, 1837.

Victoria and Albert loved the Highlands of Scotland and brought Balmoral Castle there. Albert resigned it in Scottish baronial style. She spent so much time at Balmoral that at one time a "vacant" sign was jokingly hung on the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Balmoral Castle Pixiebay

Victoria's happiest times were spent at Balmoral or Osborne House in the Isle of Wight with Albert. Victoria said of Balmoral "Every year my heart becomes more fixed in this dear paradise."

In the 40 years after Albert's death Victoria only spent 20 nights at Buckingham Palace. She was called "The Widow at Windsor" as after death of Albert Victoria continually mourned his death and spent most of her remaining 39 years locked away at Windsor.

Osbourne House was her home at the time of her death.

Queen Victoria loved the French Riviera. Her first trip was to Menton, the last hilltop stop before Italy and she made nine journeys to the wintering resort in total, helping to bring its international reputation.

The telephone was demonstrated to Queen Victoria at Osborne House by Alexander Graham Bell in January 1878. She immediately commissioned installations throughout the British royal residences.

When Queen Victoria installed a telephone at Osborne House, it was one of only two phones in Britain. The only person who could possibly ring her was a member of her household staff.

FOOD AND DRINK 

Queen Victoria had an excessive liking for beef marrow, which she ate on toast for tea every day. She also enjoyed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding followed by mind numbingly cold ice cream.

Queen Victoria decreed that only roast beef of mutton, followed by milk puddings are suitable fare for her children and grandchildren.

A great advocate of fresh air, Victoria loved picnics. After a gentle ramble around her Balmoral estate, she headed for a spot under the trees where an army of footmen and maids set out the provisions on fine china, all on a white linen tablecloth.

Queen Victoria and family outdoor picnic 1860s.

Queen Victoria would eat her food so fast that she could eat a seven course dinner in 30 minutes. Her dinner guest were always told to eat a dinner before arriving because they would not be able to keep up with her majesty's pace; as when she had finished each course, the plates would have to be taken away whether you had finished yours or not.

Queen Victoria poured scotch into her claret, which combined with eating too quickly caused persistent flatulence.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS 

Queen Victoria was a fair watercolor artist.

Queen Victoria, sketch of new Balmoral Castle, 1852 

A great fan of Mendelssohn, Victoria and Albert loved to pass musical afternoons in Mendelssohn's company playing the composer's "Songs Without Words" and singing selections from his oratorios.

"The Day thy Gavest" by John Ellerton was Victoria's favourite hymn. She chose this hymn to be sung at the 60th anniversary of her reign in 1897.

She wasn't widely read but read the classics. Victoria liked Alfred Tennyson's poetry and sentimental novels.

Queen Victoria wrote an average 2,500 words per day, and her personal diaries grew to a total of 122 volumes.

Victoria wrote with her left hand and was a good writer going by her diary.

After Albert's death she spent a lot of time at Balmoral. As a result she was a prolific letter writer. She was a better communicator by pen than by speech.

Victoria enjoyed the theater but not "coarse" plays such as Shakespeare.

She collected dead flowers taken from the graves of deceased royals. Victoria began her collection with some that grew on Albert’s last resting place and it took off from there.

Despite her dislike for it, she was one of the most photographed people of the nineteenth century.

Earliest known photograph of Victoria, here with her eldest daughter, c. 1845

In her last ten years Victoria grew to be a lover of movies especially films about children. Her favorite was thought to be The Pillow Fight about four naughty girls having a pillow fight.
                       

PETS 

Queen Victoria owned a total of 88 pets during her lifetime and lent royal approval to the RSPCA She especially loved lap dogs.

The Princess was 13 when she was given a King Charles Spaniel whom she named Dash, and as Victoria was raised largely isolated from other children, her pet soon became a much loved companion.

Portrait of Victoria with her spaniel Dash by George Hayter, 1833

Dash remained with Victoria after her accession as queen in 1837. Following her coronation, the Duke of Wellington reminded the newly crowned queen that it was Dash's bath night, so Victoria returned to Buckingham Palace and ran up to her rooms to give her beloved pet his usual bath.

In 1860 Queen Victoria fell in love with the Rough Coated Collie. On a holiday at Balmoral Castle and on her return to London several of the breed accompanied her.

Queen Victoria was the first western person to own a Pekingese dog. A fawn and white bitch, she named it Looty.

Queen Victoria loved Pomeranians so much that she owned 35 of the little dogs over the last 13 years of her life. She won six prizes at Crufts in 1891 for her Pomeranian dogs.

In her old age Victoria had a black and white Persian cat called White Feather, upon her death it became the pet of Edward VII.

At one time, Victoria had a pet African grey parrot called Coco who greeted her every day by screeching "God save the Queen".

The Prince of Wales with a parrot by Queen Victoria

                       

BELIEFS 

The English Queen did not believe in hell, in fact she was disgusted by the idea, and she had doubts of the Trinity and a horror of evangelical religion. However Victoria took her position of head of the Church of England seriously and she mandated that an Anglican church should be within five miles of every British Isles citizen.

Victoria often fell to sleep during sermons. She preferred short, simple services, and personally considered herself more aligned with the presbyterian Church of Scotland than the episcopal Church of England.

Following Albert's death, Victoria started reading a number of theological works to find out about eternal life as she hoped to meet her beloved husband again. She especially found comfort in a book, New Philosophy. All About the Future, which challenged Christian teaching on the afterlife. Connected with this was her interest in spiritual mediums.

By 1887 when Queen Victoria celebrated her fiftieth anniversary on the throne, she had a simple faith believing in the reuniting with loved ones after death including herself with Albert and God working out everything for the best here on Earth.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 

Queen Victoria was the first known carrier of a hereditary illness later dubbed the "royal disease," now known as hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder.

In September 1835 when preparing to embark on a "Royal Tour", the young Princess complained of sickness. The tour went on but soon she was seriously ill and nearly lost her life.

Chloroform became an established means of anaesthesia after Queen Victoria allowed herself to be chloroformed by Dr John Snow to diminish the pains during the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold in 1853. This quietened the religious objections based on the third chapter of Genesis where Eve was told "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children."

Victoria had an operation for a somewhat undignified abscess in the area of her royal armpit in 1871. Unfortunately the carbolic acid disinfectant was accidentally squirted into the still awake royal highnesses' face.

The 1897 St Paul's Cathedral service for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria had to be held outside the building as the queen was too infirm to climb the stairs.

Queen Victoria aged 80, 1899

During the last two decades of Queen Victoria's life her medical advisors felt she was being a hypochondriac as she was summoning her doctor up to six times daily. It was only when the Queen's body was being prepared after she'd died that it was discovered she had a badly prolapsed uterus and a hernia. This prognosis had been delayed as no doctor was allowed to see her majesty with her clothes off.

LAST YEARS AND DEATH 

Queen Victoria's last words were a reference to the Boer War were "Oh that peace may come."

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, at 18.30, at the age of 81. Her son and successor, King Edward VII, and her eldest grandson, Emperor Wilhelm II, were at her deathbed.

Victoria was the first British Royal to have a State Funeral rather than a quiet burial at night. "Will she be happy in Heaven?" wondered a member of the royal household. "I don't know" replied her son, Edward VII "She will have to walk behind the angels and she won't like that!"

Victoria was buried alongside Prince Albert at Frogmore, Berkshire.

Queen Victoria was buried in a white dress and her wedding veil, alongside many mementos. Prince Albert's dressing gown and a plaster cast of his hand was placed beside her, and a lock of her favorite servant John Brown's hair along with his photo was placed in her left hand.

HG Wells wrote that Queen Victoria sat on England like a giant paperweight and after her death things blew all over the place.

Sources Food for Thought by Ed Pearce,  The Modern Encyclopedia