Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901)

One of the most prominent women in British history, Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch, reigning for 63 years, while this Victorian era is regarded as the golden age of the British Empire.

Victoria was born on 24th May 1819, the only child of the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George III. The crown passed onto her uncle King George IV, who died childless, leaving the crown to another of Victoria’s uncles King William IV. As Victoria’s father died when she was a small child, Victoria succeeded to the throne when William IV also died childless.

On 20th June 1837, Victoria ascended to the throne at the age of 18. Her reign was to run for the rest of the decade, reviving the monarchy, ushering in an era of social upheaval and establishing Britain as the dominant world power.

Victoria fell in love with her future husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, when she met him at the tender age of 16. And they were both cousins, Victoria and Albert were married on February 20th 1840 at the Chapel Royal in St. James’s Palace. The Royal couple produced nine children, in a close marriage that would last for 20 years, until Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. After the death of her husband Queen Victoria remained in mourning for the rest of her life, withdrawing to Windsor Castle and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, where she famously developed a friendship with Scottish servant John Brown.

Among the events of her reign was the first World Fair or Great Exhibition of 1851, hosted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This exhibition of science and arts from around the world formed the foundation of many of Britain’s museums including the V&A.

The industrial age witnessed the rise of the middle classes and brought about huge social changes throughout the Victorian era, some well documented by writers of the times such as Charles Dickens. Indeed it was the squalor of this Dickensian world that eventually brought about reform of Britain’s social and political institutions. This era would however prove disastrous for Ireland, where the potato famines of the 1840s would cost the lives of over a million Irish people and witness the emigration of another million.

The most notable achievement of Queen Victoria’s reign was the expansion of the British Empire to include territories in Africa, Australia, Canada, India, and the South Pacific. But this expansion came at a cost with wars fought against the Boers of South Africa and the Russians in the Crimea.

Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on 22nd January 1901, aged 81, having reigned for 63 years, 7 months and 2 days. Victoria was and still is Britain’s longest serving monarch.

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