The mother of the English nation. The creator of the Victorian Era. The longest-reigning monarch in British history. What was her life like? Why was she so influential in history? How did she manage to command such respect? Queen Victoria has been a mystery to many historians; her life story commanding both admiration and pity. Perhaps by examining closely the events of her life, the riddles which present themselves in it can be made that much more clear.
Few people at the time would have ever guessed that the little Victoria would become the queen of England. King George III, her paternal grandfather had been provided with no less than fifteen children, eight of them sons, by his wife Charlotte. As Victoria's father, Edward, Duke of Kent, was only the fourth-oldest; there seemed little chance that any of his offspring would ever wear the crown. However, a strange turn of events was soon set in motion. George, Prince of Wales, had a single daughter who died in childbirth. William, Duke of Clarence, the third brother, had ten children, but these were unable to succeed to the crown, being the offspring of a lovely actress. All told, the twelve surviving brothers and sisters produced only three legitimate heirs: a daughter born to the Duke of Kent, and two sons, both named George, born to the dukes of Cambridge and Cumberland. However, Victoria being the descendant of the oldest sibling, the right of primogeniture put her next in line for the throne after her uncle, George IV.
Born on May 24, 1819, Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria, but went by "Drina" as a child. Her father and mother had been living abroad until shortly before she was born, but they returned to England for the birth, thinking that their daughter, if she became the future queen, should better gain the people's trust if she claimed England as her homeland. The Duke and Duchess of Kent set up their household in Kensington Palace, where Victoria was born. The young infant would never be fortunate enough to see her father. Tragically, he died when she was only eight months old.
Victoria spent her entire childhood in the gloomy rooms of the Palace. She was denied the friendship of anyone her own age as a supposed measure to protect her from being influenced in her political opinions. Her only companion was her half-sister Feodore, her mother's child by an earlier marriage. She found a good friend in her governess, Louisa Lehzen, however, and one who would be with her for much of her life. Victoria began lessons at age five. She had tutors in English (German was the principal language of the household.), history, dancing, piano, singing, geography, and foreign languages. Her Uncle Leopold oversaw much of her education and became almost a father-figure to the little girl. At the age of twelve, Victoria learned for the first time, through her royal genealogy studies, that she was heir to the throne of England. She supposedly said, after hearing of this, "I will be good." This quote was popularized during her reign and was much celebrated by the English people. It was to prove true; Victoria was a moral and upright ruler in contrast to the royal family before her for several generations who had scandalous, immoral lifestyles.
At the age of thirteen, Victoria's mother began making autumn progresses, taking her daughter on tours of the kingdom so that she might be familiarized with the country and with the home of her future subjects. Victoria began to develop quite definite opinions and tastes as she matured. By age fourteen or fifteen, she began adding italics and capitals to her letters and diaries; a style that would remain with her for the remainder of her days. She also became more enthusiastic about dancing and music, especially opera. Her lifelong love of horses and dogs also became evident at this time. In 1835 she turned sixteen was confirmed, and received her first communion. Concerning this event, Victoria wrote in her journal: "It is a very solemn and impressive ceremony, and when one recollects and thinks that we take it in remembrance of the death of our blessed saviour, one ought, nay must feel deeply impressed with holy and pious feelings!"
In 1836, Victoria's Uncle Leopold arranged for Ernest and Albert, sons of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, to visit her for three weeks. He intended that Albert should marry his niece when she had become queen. Victoria liked both exceedingly, but especially Albert, whom she later described in a note to her uncle:
"I must thank you, my beloved Uncle, for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me in the person of dear Albert. Allow me then, me dearest Uncle to tell you how delighted I am with him in every way. He possesses every quality that could be desired to make me perfectly happy. He has besides the most pleasing and delightful exterior you can possibly see. I have only now to beg you, my dearest Uncle, to take care of the health of one so dear to me, and to take him under your special protection. I hope and trust that all will go on prosperously and well on this subject of so much importance to me."
Throughout the years leading up to Victoria's coming of age, her mother, the Duchess of Kent, had been plotting with an adviser, Sir John Conroy, to rule as regent should King George IV die. This could only come to pass, however, if he died before Victoria turned eighteen. As her eighteenth birthday approached, the duchess became more and more nervous, even trying to extend the regency to last 'til age twenty-one.
Victoria turned eighteen on May 24, 1837. The king was seriously ill. One month later, on June 20, Victoria was awakened early in the morning by her mother with the message that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain were in the next room and wished to see her. They had come to tell her that the king had died during the night and, consequently, she was the new queen.
The first day of her reign was both terrifying and exciting for the young queen. She held her first Council, with Lord Melbourne (the prime minister) and two of her uncles in attendance. She held an audience with Lord Melbourne, "whom I saw in my room, and of COURSE quite ALONE as I shall always do all my Ministers." More interviews with different Officers of State followed, as well as talks with Baron Stockmar, whom her Uncle Leopold had sent as an adviser for her.
Lord Melbourne, though, proved to be the best advisor of all. He and the Queen quickly became close friends. They spent many hours together, discussing every imaginable topic. The queen enjoyed grilling the elderly man about things such as Lord Duncannon's teeth, the inebriate habits of servants, the amount of pastry he ate as a boy, and the difficulty of breaking cannibals from their habits. With the date of her coronation in June, 1838 drawing near, the queen became more and more occupied with balls, rides, politics, and the discharge of her duties as Sovereign.
The Coronation day, June 28, was a huge success. Gigantic crowds turned out to line the roads to Westminster Abbey, the ceremony went forward with hardly any mistakes, and (best of all) Lord Melbourne was exceedingly proud of her.
By 1839, the young queen had another issue on her mind. Uncle Leopold, now King of Belgium, and Lord Melbourne both thought Victoria should marry soon. Leopold, as aforementioned, desired the queen to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. He had not reckoned with the changes in Victoria's feeling about marriage since she'd seen Albert last. Then she had been a lonely young girl under the control of a strict mother. Now Victoria was a gay, young queen; moving in the best society and finally enjoying her longed-for freedom. She did not care for the idea of marriage one bit. It would only mean more constant submitting and being ordered about, she thought. She finally agreed to have her two cousins visit --- she had not seen either for three years --- and would, after that time, make her intentions known to her uncle. In a letter to him she stated,
"Even if I should like Albert, I can make no final promise this year, for at the very earliest any such event could not take place till two or three years hence. For independent of my youth and my great repugnance to change my present position, there is no anxiety evinced in this country for such an event."
She also informed her uncle that if she saw him "as a friend, and as a cousin and as a brother but not more," she would not consider marrying Albert. After two days of dancing, riding, drawing, and playing games, though, Victoria had made up her mind; she would marry Albert. She proposed to him because, as she afterwards said, Albert "would never have presumed to take such a liberty as to propose to the Queen of England." He consented and the wedding date was set for the following February.
Albert, his father, and his brother arrived in England once more on February 8, two days, before the wedding date. The marriage ceremony was held at the Chapel Royal, St. James's and the banquet afterwards at Buckingham Palace. That afternoon, the couple drove to Windsor Castle for a two day honeymoon. This was the longest Victoria would agree to; she believed her duties to the country took precedence even over her new husband.
From the first, Victoria's marriage was very happy. She idolized her husband and Albert, if not consumed by such violent passion as she, loved her very much. Despite her extremely high regard for her husband, Victoria still insisted on being sole monarch of her realm; she thought that a German as King would alienate the English people so Albert was made a Field Marshall and given an allowance by Parliament, but not made a Peer, much less King. Albert however intended to be the Queen's sole counselor in official matters, as well as her beloved husband. When he reproached Victoria for not speaking about problems of the realm and political matters to him, she consulted Lord Melbourne, who urged Victoria to be perfectly open to her husband about her political affairs. Lord Melbourne even saw to it that Albert should receive Foreign Office dispatches and occasionally sit in on meetings with the Queen's ministers. This excellent advice proved just the thing for keeping the marriage running smoothly and both partners happy.
The Queen's first child was born November 21, 1840, a tiny girl named Victoria after her mother. The family was delighted with her, although when the baby's sex was announced to the Queen she was heard to say, " Well, next time it will be a Prince." Albert cared for her constantly during her convalescence and helped manage Victoria's dispatches from the Foreign Office. Despite the happiness of the queen and her family, the Whigs, Lord Melbourne's party, were in trouble. The party was losing popularity swiftly; in the elections that followed, they lost the government majority to the Tories. Lord Melbourne would have to step down for Sir Robert Peel, the Tory leader. Victoria was heartbroken to lose her good friend, but with Albert to advise her, she was not as devastated as she might have been. Her worries over this turn of events, however, were quickly forgotten with the joyous arrival of a son on November 9, 1841.
Until that date, no male heir had been born into the royal family for almost eighty years. Christened Albert Edward, the little Prince came into the titles Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales almost immediately. The family's life was relatively quiet. Victoria, assisted by Albert, performed the duties of a monarch and the family divided their time between Buckingham Palace and Windsor. In April, 1843, the queen's third child, Alice, was born. The next year passed quickly, with several royal families coming to stay with the English royal family. Prince Alfred, Victoria's fourth child, was born in August of 1844. As the second son, he would inherit the title Duke of Coburg when his uncle died.
The quiet cycle of domestic life was broken in 1851, by the Great Exhibition, organized by Albert and held in the Crystal Palace, built especially for this purpose. It was intended to show off the latest technological and agricultural accomplishments of mankind. The Exhibition was a great success and Albert's fine planning resulted in a huge profit for the country. The poet Tennyson wrote of the Exhibition:
"She brought a vast design to pass
When Europe and the scatter'd ends
Of our fierce world did meet as friends
And brethren in her halls of glass."
Albert's popularity became more and more widespread as people came to appreciate his gifts for planning and organizing. Around this time the royal couple also bought an estate in Scotland and transformed the property into beautiful Balmoral Castle, the royal residence in the Scottish Highlands.
Over the next few years, five more children were born and the British Empire aided Turkey in the Crimean War. The war became a dark blot on the annals of British history. British troops did not have adequate medical or food supplies and living conditions were terrible. Thanlfully, though, the war was short-lived and the empire was at peace again in 1857. The queen thought her troubles were over for a time, but she little knew what the next years would bring.
In 1861, Victoria's mother died in March. The queen had become close to her in the last years of her life and the Duchess' death was deeply mourned. Little did Victoria know how much more grief was in store for her that year. In the autumn, Albert became ill with typhoid fever. He had never had a strong constitution, already bald and possessing a heavily-lined face at age forty-two. The typhoid proved too much for him. Albert never fully recovered, and in November he sickened once more. His health declined rapidly from this point and on December 14, 1861, Albert, the Prince Consort, died.
Victoria was completely crushed and in a state of shock for days. Her crying could be heard several rooms away --- it was as if an entirely new queen had taken her place. For the next forty years of her reign, she would never fully recover. A surviving letter to her Uncle Leopold gives us an idea of the extent of her grief:
"My life as a happy one has ended! The world is gone for me! I had hoped with such instinctive certainty that God never would part us and would let us grow old together. . . . Too awful, too cruel. . . . I know you will help me in my utter darkness. It is but for a short time, and then I go--never, never to part."
For the rest of her life, Victoria thought of Albert constantly and did everything in her power to keep his memory green. She continued doing everything exactly as he would have wished and commanded that everything that reminded her of him be undisturbed. She avoided the public eye as much as possible, finally relenting in 1866 to her ministers' insistence that she open Parliament. It was her first public appearance in five years. In 1867 and 1871 she took part in ceremonies connected with the building of the Royal Albert Hall, within sight of Kensington Palace. On the second occasion, she was in good spirits again, though still wearing mourning clothes. Perhaps her quickly-growing family helped her throw off the worst phase of her gloom. By the time of her death, her grandchildren numbered forty and her great-grandchildren, thirty-seven. "The mother of many nations", a phrase coined by Benjamin Disraeli, one of Victoria's prime ministers, aptly describes the queen's place in history. There were very few royal families that were not descended from or connected to her in some way.
Victoria's reign was drawing to a close in a long, bright sunset. In 1876, she added "Empress of India" to her list of titles with the help of Disraeli. On June 21, 1887, in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee -- fifty years as monarch. On September 23, 1896, the little, white-haired Queen became the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Perhaps the greatest rejoicing during this time occured in 1897, at Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Millions thronged London to cheer the Queen on her way to a service at St. Paul's Cathedral.
Despite these triumphs, though, it was evident that the Queen's health was failing quickly. Her body was worn out, confined almost constantly to a wheelchair. On January 22, 1901 Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of India died. She was eighty-one years and eight months old. She was buried in the royal mausoleum at Windsor Castle, beside her beloved Albert. The Victorian Era, one of the proudest in British history, was over.
Victoria's children's years of birth, marriage, and death are as follows: -1840, Victoria, Princess Royal; married Frederick William, Prince of Prussia in 1858; died in 1901 -1841, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII; married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863; died in 1910 -1843, Princess Alice; married the Grand Duke of Hesse in 1862; died in 1878 -1844, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; married the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia in 1874; died in 1900 -1846, Princess Helena; married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in 1866; died in 1923 -1848, Princess Louise; married the Duke of Argyle in 1871; died in 1939 -1850, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught; married Princess Louisa of Prussia in 1879; died in 1942 -1853, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; married Princess Helena of Weldeck-Pyrmont in 1882; died in 1884 -1857, Princess Beatrice; married Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885; died in 1944
Amazingly, in a day of high infant mortality rates, all nine children lived to adulthood. Three, however, died during Victoria's lifetime.