biography of queen victoria of england

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Queen Victoria Biography

Short Biography of Queen Victoria (1819 –1901)

Queen Victoria was born 24 May 1819. Aged 18 she became Queen of Great Britain and she went on to rule for 63 years – at the time – she was the longest-serving Monarch in Europe. She ruled through a period of British imperialism with the British Empire expanding and she became Empress of India. She came to epitomise an era of social conservatism and economic expansion.

She was the granddaughter of George III, and her father, Edward was fourth in line to the throne. However, her father’s three brothers all died without leaving any living relatives. She was crowned Queen on 20 June 1837 and ruled until her death 63 years later in 1901.

Her early life until the age of 18 was closeted and carefully controlled by her mother and her assistant John Conroy. Her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld kept Victoria very close and allowed her little real-life experience. She was brought up with a strict set of rules and regulations known as the ‘Kensington System’. Victoria described her childhood as “rather melancholy.” In 1830 her grandfather George III died. He was succeeded by King William IV, but in 1837, he also passed away, meaning the crown passed onto Victoria who was aged only 18, and somewhat unprepared for the role.

One of her first decisions was to cut free from her mother and gain more independence from the controlling atmosphere she had been brought up in. She also took her new duties very seriously. On her ascendency to the throne, she said:

“Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station, I shall do my utmost to fulfil my duty towards my country; I am very young and perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have.”

Queen Victoria, Extract from the Queen’s Journal, Tuesday, 20th June 1837.

After her coronation, Queen Victoria met many potential suitors from Royal houses across Europe. She fell in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany. There were married in 1840. Victoria and Prince Albert had a very close, intimate relationship and she described the intensity of feelings towards her beloved husband. She wrote in her diary shortly after their marriage.

“MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert … his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before!”

– Queen Victoria.

In the same year as her marriage, Queen Victoria gave birth to her first child – a daughter named Victoria. They had nine children in total. She found pregnancy and childbirth difficult and once exclaimed. “An ugly baby is a very nasty object – and the prettiest is frightful.”

Queen Victoria and Nineteenth-Century Britain

The 19th Century was a time of unprecedented expansion for Britain in term of both industry and Empire. Although her popularity ebbed and flowed during her reign, towards the end of her crown, she had become a symbol of British imperialism and pride.

The Victorian period also witnessed great advances in science and technology. It became known as the steam age, enabling people to easily travel throughout the UK and the World.

Queen Victoria was emblematic of this period. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the British Empire. She celebrated at Lord Kitchener’s victory in the Sudan; she supported British involvement in the Boer War. She was also happy to preside over the expansion of the British Empire, which was to stretch across the globe. In 1877 Queen Victoria was made Empress of India, in a move instigated by the imperialist Disraeli. Famously, at the end of the Victorian period, people could say ‘the sun never set on the British Empire.’

Queen Victoria was conservative in her politics and social views. She opposed women’s rights and was socially conservative. This led to an unfortunate episode. When she saw a servant who appeared to be pregnant, Victoria claimed she was having an affair. The Queen actually made her take a test to prove she was a virgin. The test was positive and the growth in her stomach was actually a form of cancer; a few months later the servant died, and Queen Victoria suffered a decline in her popularity as a result of this episode.

In the early part of her reign, she became a close friend and confidant of the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. She spent many hours talking to him and relied on his political advice. Lord Melbourne was a Whig, with conservative attitudes. He tried to shield Queen Victoria from the extreme poverty that was endemic in parts of the UK.

Queen Victoria was also highly devoted to her husband, Prince Albert; together they had nine children. When Prince Albert died in 1861, at the age of 41, Queen Victoria went into deep mourning and struggled to overcome this loss. She became reclusive and was reluctant to appear in public. Parliament and Benjamin Disraeli had to use all their persuasive power to get her to open parliament in 1866 and 1867. Her hiding from the public led to a decline in popularity. However, by the end of her reign, her popularity was restored. This was partly due to the rise of Great Britain as the leading superpower of the era.

For various reasons, several attempts were made on the life of Queen Victoria. These were mostly between 1840 and 1882. She was always unharmed, but her courageous attitude helped to endear her to the public.

Personality of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was successful in portraying a public image of an aloof Queen who embodied the virtues of the British Empire. In person, away from the public glare, she was known to be a combination of honesty, plain-speaking but also prone to emotional outbursts and quite obstinate.

“Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves.”

– Queen Victoria

Despite her social conservativism, she was passionate about her husband and greatly enjoyed spending time in close proximity. However, even their relationship could be punctuated with loud, emotional arguments. Despite perceptions of her being dry and serious, members of the household stated she could have a great sense of humour and laugh uproariously.

The death of her husband in 1861 was a huge blow and she was deeply affected with grief. She wore black and mourned for several years. Her grief was so intense, it affected the nation. She struggled to overcome the grief and Albert’s early death led to a further worsening of relationships with her first son Edward VII – whom Victoria blamed for his playboy lifestyle causing stress for his father Albert.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Queen Victoria”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net, 23rd May 2014. Last updated 8 March 2019.

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• HISTORY & CULTURE

How Queen Victoria remade the British monarchy

She took the throne amid calls to replace the royals with a republic. But Queen Victoria held power through ambitious reforms and imperialist policies, and her legacy endures today.

The Famine Queen. The Widow of Windsor. Grandmother of Europe. Queen Vic. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria earned all those nicknames and more—testaments to the enduring influence of her 64-year (1837-1901) reign over the United Kingdom.

During the period now known as the Victorian Era, she oversaw her nation’s industrial, social, and territorial expansion and became known as a trendsetter who made over European attitudes toward the monarchy. An estimated one in four people on Earth were subjects of the British Empire by the end of her rule. But when Victoria took the throne, the British monarchy was deeply unpopular.

Ascension to the throne

Victoria was the product of a succession crisis in England’s royal family that occurred when Princess Charlotte, the presumptive successor to King George, and her infant son died in childbirth. Charlotte’s brothers—all of whom were single and had given the monarchy a bad name with their profligate spending and messy personal lives—raced to produce an heir. One of those brothers, Edward, hastily married a widowed German princess and became the first to produce an heir. Born in 1819, Alexandrina Victoria was a direct successor to the crown.

Palace intrigue made for a miserable childhood. Victoria’s father died when she was a child, and her ambitious mother allied herself with the scheming Sir John Conroy, a member of the royal household who seized the chance to gain power and influence through the future queen. He created what became known as “the Kensington system,” an elaborate set of rules that isolated the young princess at Kensington Palace and put him in control of her education and upbringing. Designed to keep Victoria dependent and loyal to Conroy and her mother, the system resulted in an unhappy childhood—and a growing sense of resentment.

Victoria broke free in 1837, when she turned 18 and rose to the throne. As soon as she became queen, she banned Conroy from her court and marginalized her mother. In 1840, she married her cousin Albert, a German prince. It was a genuine love match—she wrote that her wedding night was “bliss beyond belief”—and they went on to have nine children.

Early reign

During her early reign, Victoria was heavily influenced by Lord Melbourne, the prime minister, and Albert, who was her closest political advisor and whom some historians believe was “king in all but name.” Together, they pursued an agenda of modernization and stability in an era of political upheaval. The monarchy’s reputation had been badly damaged by Victoria’s predecessors, and the British populace clamored to replace the monarchy with a republic. And in Ireland, the potato famine between 1845 and 1852 fomented outright rebellion.

For Hungry Minds

Together with her husband, Victoria faced those challenges head-on, working to strengthen the position of the monarchy in England and throughout Europe, where there was also a growing distaste for royals who expected the public to foot the bill for their lavish lifestyles. In contrast, Victoria expanded the monarch’s public role, supporting charities, the arts, and civic reform to counter the view that British royalty wasn’t worth the expense. As a result, the queen and her growing family became beloved celebrities and influenced popular culture, introducing England to everything from white wedding dresses to Christmas trees .

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In 1861, tragedy struck when Albert died at 42. Victoria was devastated and went into deep mourning. She wore black for the rest of her life and withdrew from the public eye for years. The republican movement grew during her isolation, and she was criticized for her absence from public life.

Later years

Victoria resumed her public duties by the late 1860s. Her later reign was largely devoted to encouraging peace in Europe and expanding and consolidating her massive political empire. She became Empress of India in 1877 and influenced foreign relations closer to home through her children and grandchildren, many of whom married into European royalty.

At the beginning of her monarchy, Britain was seen largely as a trading power. But under Victoria, it became a mighty empire and the world’s most powerful nation. Over the course of the 19 th century, it grew by 10 million square miles and 400 million people. Those gains came at a tremendous price: England was almost constantly at war during Victoria’s reign, and the colonialism practiced in her name involved brutal subjugation.

Though Victoria was popular, her subjects still pushed to reform the monarchy. Ultimately, this led to an erosion of the monarch’s direct political power as ordinary British people gained the vote, the secret ballot, and other political reforms in the mid- to late 1800s.  

Vintage photos of royal families from around the world

By her death in 1901, Victoria was an institution, known for her willpower and the vast empire she ruled. The British Empire covered a full fifth of the Earth’s surface and had become the preeminent superpower of its day.

Victoria’s attempts to bolster European monarchies by marrying off her family members achieved short-term peace, but they sowed the seeds of some of the 20th century’s most destructive conflicts. By the onset of World War I in 1914, her grandchildren would turn against each other.

Although the relentless colonialism of the empire she ruled and the devastating war she inadvertently helped seed now cast a shadow over Victoria’s reign, she believed British power and prosperity were paramount. As she wrote in 1899, “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.” For a woman born to rule, there was no room for doubt as to her historic destiny—or the might of the empire built in her name.

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Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria – her life in pictures. Victoria was born on May 24, 1819…

Ben Johnson

On December 27th 2007 Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest British reigning monarch. Elizabeth, aged 81, passed the mark set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Victoria was born on May 24th, 1819, and lived for 81 years and 243 days. Buckingham Palace announced that Elizabeth had moved past Victoria at about 5 p.m. local time on December 27th 2007.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales also holds his own record – the longest wait by an heir to the throne.

Victoria was born at Kensington Palace on May 24th 1819, the only child of HRH Edward Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. His wife the Duchess was a royal widow, Princess Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. At the time of her birth, Victoria was fifth in line for the British crown.

Christened Alexandrina Victoria, HRH Princess Victoria of Kent spent most of her childhood at Kensington Palace and Claremont. Victoria’s father died just eight months after she was born. Her grandfather, King George III, died six days later. Her uncle, the Prince of Wales, then inherited the Crown, becoming King George IV. He too died childless when Victoria was only 11. The crown then passed to his brother who became King William IV.

When King William IV died on June 20th 1837, Princess Victoria became queen at the age of 18. She was described as a “studious, thoughtful, accomplished, serious and quiet but cheerful girl”. Lord Melbourne was prime minister at this time.

Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June the 28th, 1838. After the ceremony there were fire-works and a fair in Hyde Park, and that night most of the theatres in London were open free to the public.

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha arrived in London on October 10th 1839. Albert belonged to the family of the Duchess of Kent and was the Queens first cousin. He was born on August 26th 1819 and visited England as a guest of his aunt the Duchess. At Kensington Palace, Albert shared lessons with his cousin Princess Victoria and they became firm friends.

On 15th November 1839 he returned to Germany and on the 23rd November Victoria summoned the Privy Council to Buckingham Palace to declare her intention to marry Prince Albert.

On February 10th 1840 the marriage was celebrated in the Chapel Royal of St James Palace. The Prince wore the uniform of a British field-marshal. The Queen wore white satin trimmed with orange flower blossoms, a bridal wreath and veil of Honiton lace.

Although Albert was formally titled “HRH Prince Albert”, he was popularly known as “HRH the Prince Consort” for the next seventeen years. It wasn’t until 29 June 1857 that Queen Victoria formally granted him the title Prince Consort.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children:

November 21st 1840: Princess Victoria, Princess Royal November 9th 1841: Edward, Prince of Wales April 25th 1843: Princess Alice Maud Mary August 6th 1844: Prince Alfred May 25th 1846: Princess Helena Augusta Victoria 18th March 1848: Princess Louise 1st May 1850: Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert April 7th 1853: Prince Leopold April 14th 1857: Princess Beatrice

Albert, the Prince Consort, died of typhoid fever on 14 December 1861 at Windsor Castle. His death completely devastated Queen Victoria who entered a state of mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. She avoided public appearances and was rarely seen by her people: she was widely criticised and her seclusion earned her the name “Widow of Windsor”.

Victoria’s self-imposed seclusion from public life affected the popularity of the monarchy. Although she did undertake some official government duties, she chose to remain secluded in her royal residences, Balmoral in Scotland, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and Windsor Castle. It wasn’t until the early 1880s, after much coaxing by her family and Prime Minister Disraeli, that she began to appear more often in public, even attending the theatre in 1881.

As the British Empire flourished so Victoria became more popular with the people, indeed in her later years she became almost synonymous with the Empire. In 1887 The Golden Jubilee was a grand national celebration of her 50th year as Queen, so too the Diamond Jubilee in 1897 (60th anniversary of her accession to the throne). Victoria’s long reign witnessed political and social reforms at home and the expansion of the British Empire abroad. The sense of national pride in both Queen and country led to the use of the term ‘Victorian England’.

Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight on 22 January 1901 after a reign which lasted almost 64 years. She was buried at Windsor beside Prince Albert, in the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum, which she had built for their final resting place. Above the Mausoleum door are inscribed Victoria’s words: ‘farewell best beloved, here at last I shall rest with thee, with thee in Christ I shall rise again’.

Her Imperial Majesty Queen Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India

Born May 24th 1819; Died January 22nd 1901

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The life of Queen Victoria and her family

Find out more about her fascinating life with Prince Albert and her nine children

Queen Victoria reigned over Britain for 63 years - the longest rule after Elizabeth II. Find out more about her fascinating life with Prince Albert and her children. 

Queen Victoria and her family were seen by the public as a harmonious and happy image of domestic life. 

How many children did Queen Victoria have? 

Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901) and Prince Albert (1819 - 1861) had a total of nine children. 

Princess Royal Victoria (21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901)

Victoria and Albert's first child, Victoria was given the title Princess Royal the year after her birth. In 1858, Victoria married Prince Frederick William of Prussia. He later succeeded his father as German Emperor in 1888, but his reign was cut short by cancer of the larynx within ninety-nine days of his coronation. Following her husband's death, Victoria lived as empress dowager before her death from breast cancer in 1901 at the age of 60.

Edward VII (9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910)

Edward was born a year after his sister and lived much of his life as the Prince of Wales. On the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, Edward became king, marking the beginning of the Edwardian era. He reigned for nine years, overseeing military reforms and was known as "peacemaker" for fostering good relations with foreign powers. He died aged 68 on 6 May 1910 after several heart attacks and was succeeded his son King George V.

Princess Alice (25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878)

Princess Alice was known for her nursing - both with her father, Albert and in military hospitals during the Austro-Prussian War. During this time, she befriended Florence Nightingale and playing an active role in the region's military hospitals. Alice died from diphtheria in 1878 after it spread through the Hessian court just a year after becoming Grand Duchess of Hesse. She was the first of three of Queen Victoria's children to be outlived by their mother.

Prince Alfred (6 August 1844 – 30 July 1900)

Prince Alfred joined the Royal Navy at the young age of 14. He remained in the Navy throughout his life with his final rank of Admiral of the fleet in 1893. He was married to Maria Alexandrovna, the daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.

Princess Helena (25 May 1846 – 9 June 1923)

Princess Helena, Victoria and Albert's third daughter. She was married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in 1866 and remained in Britain. Helena was highly engaged in charitable institutions and was a founding member of the British Red Cross.

Princess Louise (18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939)

Princess Louise was the sixth child of Victoria and Albert, and 13 when her father died. She pursued a career as a sculptor and became a strong advocate of higher education and the feminist cause. 

Prince Arthur (1 May 1850 – 16 January 1942)

Prince Arthur served in the British Army for 40 years, rising to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of Ireland and Inspector-General of the Forces. He was Victoria's last surviving son remained active in the military into the Second World War.

Prince Leopold (7 April 1853 – 28 March 1884)

Victoria and Albert's youngest son, Prince Leopold, inherited the blood disorder haemophilia from his mother and was reputed to suffer from epilepsy, hindering his chances of joining the military. Instead, Leopold became a patron of arts and acted as his mother's unofficial secretary. 

Princess Beatrice (14 April 1857 – 26 October 1944)

As the youngest child, Princess Beatrice spent much of her life by her mother's side. Following the Queen's death in 1901, Beatrice became the editor of her mother's journals. She died in November 1944 and was Victoria's last surviving child.

When did Queen Victoria die?

After a reign which lasted almost 64 years, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1901. Her son, Edward VII succeeded her. 

What did Queen Victoria die of? 

Queen Victoria died from a cerebral haemorrhage on Tuesday 22 January 1901 after feeling weakened over the Christmas period. Historians suggest that the cause of her death is likely related to her carrying the gene for haemophilia, a blood-clotting disease passed down from her parentage. Victoria also passed this genetic disorder onto three of her nine children. Haemophilia is sometimes called "the royal disease" for this reason. 

Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Her body was transported to Portsmouth via the Solent, on the Royal Yacht 'Alberta'. Artist William Wyllie saw the procession from the HMS Majestic. 

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Where is Queen Victoria buried? 

Queen Victoria is buried at Windsor in England within the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum. This tomb was built explicitly for Albert and Victoria as a final resting place, instead of the traditional mausoleums in Westminster Abbey in London or St. George's Chapel in Windsor. 

Only Victoria and Albert are interred within the tomb, but the mausoleum contains other memorials, such as their second daughter Princess Alice and Victoria's father Edward, Duke of Kent. 

When was Queen Victoria born?

Queen Victoria was born on 24 May in 1819 at Kensington Palace, London. She was christened as Alexandrina Victoria and was formally addressed as Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Kent.

Queen Victoria and Albert

On 10 February 1840, Victoria Married her first cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The royal couple had first met a few days before Victoria's 17th birthday, four years earlier. 

Victoria and Albert are known for their incredibly close relationship, inspiring dozens of books, films and series.

While Victoria is seen as the ruler of Britain, Albert played an essential role in supporting public causes, such as military and educational reform and the abolition of slavery. He is known for the resounding success of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which showed the world Britain's technological achievements. This World's Fair laid the foundations for several public museums, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. 

In 1845, Prince Albert bought Nelson's Trafalgar coat for £150. He gifted it to the Royal Naval Asylum, where the Old Royal Naval College now stands. It has been on display in Greenwich ever since. 

Albert died in December 1861 aged 42, when the Queen was the same age. Victoria never recovered from his death. She dressed in black as a sign of mourning for the rest of her life.

How long did Queen Victoria reign?

Queen Victoria reigned for exactly sixty-three years, seven months, and two days (20 June 1837 - 22 January 1901). Her rule is the second longest after Queen Elizabeth II. 

Queen Victoria assassination attempts 

During Victoria's reign, eight assassination attempts were made on her life. All of them were unsuccessful.

The first attempt took place in 1840 when 18-year-old Edward Oxford fired at the Queen's carriage near Buckingham Palace in London. Oxford was accused of treason for his crime but was ultimately found not guilty for reasons of insanity. 

Three attempts were made in 1842, two by the same man - John Francis, an unemployed carpenter. He attempted to shoot the Queen after her Sunday morning service at Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London. On his second effort, he was promptly arrested and sent to Van Diemen's Land (later known as Tasmania), where he became a successful carpenter, helping to build the Launceston General Hospital on the island.

One year later, Robert Pate, a former officer, used a brass-tipped cane to hit the Queen in the head. Pate's attack was the only attempt that caused Victoria actual harm, and the mark on her forehead supposedly remained for a decade. Pate was immediately arrested and also sentenced to seven years in the Tasmanian penal colony. The reasons for the attack remain unknown. 

A memorable final attempt took place in 1882 when a Scottish poet named Roderick Maclean shot at Queen Victoria's train carriage with a pistol as it left the Windsor train station. This was Maclean's eighth attempt at assassinating Victoria. Maclean was tried for high treason and was pronounced "not guilty, but insane." He was confined to an asylum until his death in 1921. 

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Victorian Era Timeline

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 11, 2023 | Original: March 15, 2019

The Victorian Era was a time of vast political reform and social change, the Industrial Revolution , authors Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin , a railway and shipping boom, profound scientific discovery and the first telephone and telegraph. But the Victorian Era—the 63-year period from 1837-1901 that marked the reign of Queen Victoria —also saw a demise of rural life as cities and slums rapidly grew, long and regimented factory hours for many laborers, the bloody Jack the Ripper and even bloodier Crimean War .

Queen Victoria, who was born in 1819 and ascended the throne at age 18, was Britain’s second-longest reigning monarch (surpassed only by Queen Elizabeth II ). Her rule during one of Britain’s greatest eras saw the country create the world’s biggest empire, with one-fourth of the global population owing allegiance to the queen.

Here’s a timeline of innovations and events that helped define the Victorian Era.

May 24, 1819 : Alexandrina Victoria is born in Kensington Palace . As a royal princess, she is recognized as a potential heir to the throne of Great Britain.

Aug. 1, 1834 : The British empire abolishes slavery , and more than 800,000 formerly enslaved people in the British Caribbean are eventually set free. The government provides compensation to slave owners, but nothing to formerly enslaved people.

June 20, 1837 : Queen Victoria takes the crown at the age of 18. The granddaughter of King George III , her father died when she was just 8 months old, and her three uncles also died, putting her first in line as heir to the throne. An estimated 400,000 people thronged the streets of London for her coronation in Westminster Abbey .

July 25, 1837 : The first electric telegraph is sent between English inventor William Fothergill Cooke and scientist Charles Wheatstone, who went on to found The Electric Telegraph Company.

May 8, 1838 : The People’s Charter , the result of the Chartism protest movement, calls for a more democratic system including six points: the right to vote for men age 21 and older; no property qualification to run for Parliament ; annual elections; equal representation; payment for members of Parliament; and vote by secret ballot.

Sept. 17, 1838 : The first modern railroad line, the London-Birmingham Railway , opens, starting the steam-powered railway boom and revolutionizing travel.

Feb. 10, 1840 : Queen Victoria marries German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, her first cousin. As queen, she was the one to propose. During their 21 years of marriage (until Albert died of typhoid in 1861) the couple had nine children. They also introduced many typically German Christmas traditions to Britain, such as decorated Christmas trees .

May 1, 1840 : The Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp sold for one penny, is released in Britain, featuring a profile portrait of Queen Victoria. More than 70 million letters are sent within the next year, a number that tripled in two years. It’s soon copied in other countries, and the stamp is used for 40 years.

Dec. 19, 1843 : Charles Dickens, one of the era’s greatest writers, publishes A Christmas Carol . Other works from the author during this period—many featuring protests against class and economic inequality—include Oliver Twist , Great Expectations , David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby .

September 1845 : Ireland’s potato crop begins to fail from a widespread mold infestation, causing the Irish Potato Famine , also known as the Great Hunger, that leads to 1 million deaths and caused 1 to 2 million people to emigrate from the country, landing in various cities throughout North America and Great Britain.

May 1, 1851 : The brainchild of Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition opens in London’s Crystal Palace, with 10,000-plus exhibitors displaying the world’s technological wonders—from false teeth to farm machinery to telescopes. Six million visitors attend what would become the first world’s fair before it closes in October.

April 7, 1853 : Queen Victoria uses chloroform as an anesthetic during the delivery of her eighth child, Leopold. Though controversial at the time, Victoria’s embrace of anesthesia quickly popularized the medical advancement.

Dec. 24, 1853 : The Vaccination Act makes it mandatory for children born after Aug. 1, 1853, to be vaccinated against smallpox . Parents failing to comply are fined or imprisoned.

March 28, 1854 : France and Britain declare war on Russia, launching the Crimean War, which largely surrounds the protection of the rights of minority Christians in the Ottoman Empire. History’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale , helps reduce the death count by two-thirds by improving unsanitary conditions. An estimated 367,000 soldiers died in the two-year conflict.

Nov. 24, 1859 : The controversial On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is published, presenting his theory of natural selection and challenging the theory of creation.

January 9, 1863 : The world’s first underground railway, the London Underground, opens. About 9.5 million people would ride the steam trains during their first year of operation.

Dec. 9, 1868 : Liberal William Gladstone defeats Conservative Benjamin Disraeli to become prime minister, a position he held for four non-consecutive terms. His legacy includes reform for Ireland, establishing an elementary education program and instituting secret ballot voting.

March 7, 1876 : Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell is awarded a patent on his invention of the telephone, and, three days later, famously makes the first phone call to Thomas Watson, his assistant.

May 1, 1876 : Under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, India , which has been under British rule since 1858, declares Queen Victoria Empress of India.

August 2, 1880 : The Elementary Education Act of 1880 makes school attendance mandatory for children from ages five to 10, effectively reducing the hours children can be forced to spend working in fields, mills, mines and factories.

Aug.-Nov. 1888 : An unknown killer named Jack the Ripper murders and mutilates five prostitutes in London, striking terror into the heart of the city.

May 26, 1897: The Irish novelist Bram Stoker publishes Dracula , the story of a now-legendary vampire of aristocratic bearing, inspired in part by his visit to ghostly ruins in the seaside Yorkshire town of Whitby.

Jan. 22, 1901 : Queen Victoria dies on the Isle of Wight at age 81, ending the Victorian Era. She is succeeded by Edward VII, her eldest son, who reigned until his death in 1910. At the time of her death, the British Empire extended over roughly one-fifth of the earth’s land surface, giving rise to the claim, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”

India from Queen Victoria’s time to independence. The History Press . Past Prime Ministers: William Ewart Gladstone. Gov.uk . Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield. Gov.uk . An Introduction to Victorian England (1837-1901). English Heritage . What happened during the Victorian era? Royal Museums Greenwich . Queen Victoria uses chloroform in childbirth, 1853. Financial Times .

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Victorian Era

From Georgian to Edwardian

Queen Victoria’s Biography Facts

She was the queen of Great Britain for 63 years. She is the second longest reigning British monarch with Queen Elizabeth II being the first.

During Victoria’s reign, great cultural expansions were seen, advancement in science and technology, industry and communications as well as building of railways and London underground . Her reign was longer than that of her predecessors and is known as Victorian era.

Queen Victoria I’s Early life and childhood

Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, in London, England. Her father died when she was only eight months old and her mother was the domineering figure in her life.

Her early life and childhood were quiet and secluded living in Kensington Palace with her mother. Since her mother was a German, German was Victoria’s first language.

However, she mastered English soon even though never expected to reign as monarch. Her mother made sure that Victoria received liberal education and training in music, drawing, history, foreign languages and natural philosophy.

When King George IV passed away in 1830, Victoria was eleven years old and it seemed she might play an important role in British politics. When Victoria entered teenage it became clear that she would be the heir to the throne.

In 1832, Sir John Conroy, the comptroller of Duchess Victoria’s household, organized semi-royal tours in which Princess Victoria was formally presented to the nation. Victoria was enthusiastically welcomed by the people.

Early Reign of Queen Victoria I

On May 24, 1837, Victoria turned 18 and less than a month later, when William IV died, Victoria became the queen of the United Kingdom on 20 June 1837. The documents signed on the first day of her reign named her Alexandrina Victoria, but she withdrew her first name and preferred to be called Victoria. Her first name was never used again.

At the time of her accession, Lord Melbourne, Whig Prime Minister led the government. The politically inexperienced queen relied on Lord Melbourne for advice. On 28 June 1837, when her coronation took place, about 400,000 visitors attended the celebration in London. Victoria was financially prudent and paid off all her father’s debt.

Marriage of Queen Victoria I

Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert , on 10 February 1840. A huge crowd had gathered and cheered the young couple each time they got a chance. Victoria became a mother of nine children and Prince Albert proved himself to be an admirable consort. He made a strong contribution to British life. His premature death at the age of 42 in 1861 led Queen Victoria to deep mourning and she took many years to recover from that setback. Here are her suitors before her marriage .

See more about Queen Victoria’s royal pets

Queen Victoria I’s Children

One of the reasons was that both, Victoria and Albert were a product of unhappy childhood. However, when her first child was born, the queen was busy with her duties as monarch and had very little time to spare for her child. However, in 17 years she had nine children.

Albert and Victoria’s desire to be seen as a model family in public led them to display many harmonious family group portraits. Today they are a beautiful record of the development of the royal family. While Victoria devoted herself to regal duties, Albert took the responsibility of upbringing his children.

Albert took to punishing educational programme for his children and right from infancy, it was tried to instill discipline in children. However, from an early age, Prince Edward refused to follow his father’s plan for the royal children’s education.

As other Queen Victoria’s children grew, each one of them displayed the quirks and specific features of individual human nature. However, one of the factors that saved Britain from foreign entanglement during Victoria’s reign was her children’s marriages.

Directly or indirectly she was related to the royal families most of which were in major European power. Her children turned out well even after the sudden and untimely death of their father. Edward VII became a successful king who had the special charm and diplomatic skill which helped in the continuing popularity of British royal family.

Queen Victoria’s Death & Funeral

Victoria used to spend her Christmas at Osborn House on the Isle of Wight throughout her widowhood. In 1901, also she followed the same tradition. During early January, she felt weak and unwell and by the middle of the month, she started feeling drowsy, dazed and confused.

After death, Victoria was dressed in white with her wedding veil. Her funeral was held on February 2 and after lying in state for two days, her body was interred beside Prince Albert in Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park.

What is the legacy of Queen Victoria I?

According to her biographies, Victoria wrote 2,500 words per day and right from 1832 to almost up to her death, she maintained a detailed journal. After her death, her youngest daughter Beatrice was appointed as literary executor who edited the diaries and buried the originals.

Victoria was stout, dowdy and almost five feet of height. During her first few years of widowhood her popularity came down but she gained it during the 1880s and 1890s.

Throughout Victoria’s reign establishment of modern constitutional monarchy in Britain continued gradually. The voting system was reformed increasing the powers of the House of Commons as well as above the House of Lords and the Monarch.

The Monarch had the right to be consulted, right to encourage and right to warn.

Victorian era brought in strong family values and this became popular and trended in middle class a lot. This also created a huge gap between the middle class and poor.

Many places and memorials have been dedicated to her name around the world especially in the Commonwealth nations. To reward acts of valour during the Crimean war, the Victoria Cross was introduced in 1856, which remains the highest bravery award in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand even today.

The Victorian day is a statutory holiday in Canada and public holiday in parts of Scotland. It falls on the last Monday before or after 24 May, queen’s birthday.

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Prince Albert

(1819-1861)

Who Was Prince Albert?

Prince Albert was born in Bavaria, becoming the prince consort of the United Kingdom and Ireland upon his marriage to Queen Victoria. He served as the queen’s trusted adviser, and he had a hand in both internal and international affairs, advancing social issues in the United Kingdom, masterminding the Great Exhibition of 1851, and helping England avoid war with the United States. He died at the age of 42 from typhoid fever.

Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born on August 26, 1819, at Schloss Rosenau, in Bavaria. He was the younger son of the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who divorced Albert's mother on grounds of adultery when Albert was 7 years old.

Role as Prince Consort

Albert's new role was serving as prince consort of Great Britain and Ireland, which meant that he had married a sitting queen but had no real power of his own. Thus, soon after their union, Prince Albert essentially became Victoria's private secretary and adviser, and Victoria tended to listen to his advice, which turned out to be level-headed and sage. The place of prince consort is a difficult one, but he wielded his influence with grace, discretion and intelligence, and when the public turned on him, which they inexplicably often did, he had an extraordinarily happy marriage to fall back on. He and Victoria produced nine children and 42 grandchildren.

When he wasn't being assailed by the public as an interloper, Prince Albert was raising the ire of British aristocracy for what they considered his morally severe tone, and their outrage is perfectly embodied by Albert not being granted the title prince consort until 17 years after the wedding, being addressed until then as HRH Prince Albert. It was not until after his death, in fact, that he was appreciated for what he brought to both the Crown and the country.

In dispensing advice, Prince Albert encouraged Victoria to take a greater interest in social welfare issues, including child labor, and suggested she favor a stance of political neutrality (which she did, abandoning her Whig ties). The queen became a hardworking agent for her people and country, prodded on by Albert's enthusiasm. Prince Albert also spearheaded the Great Exhibition of 1851, a World's Fair event celebrating British industrial advancement and culture, which was attended by such luminaries as Charles Darwin , Charlotte Bronte and Lewis Carroll .

Internationally, Prince Albert led the queen through disputes with Prussia (in 1856) and the United States (in 1861). The latter, referred to as the Trent Affair, is said to have ended peacefully, at least in part, because Albert suggested revising Foreign Office dispatches to avoid having them read as threatening ultimatums.

Death and Legacy

Prince Albert had been quite sick during his Trent Affair intervention, and on December 14, 1861, he succumbed to what his doctor diagnosed as typhoid. (Modern medical examination of the facts at hand have suggested something more chronic, such as cancer or Crohn’s disease)

Queen Victoria was so distraught at Albert's passing that she wore black in mourning for the rest of her life, which lasted 40 more years. She erected numerous monuments to Albert's legacy, and a re-examination of Albert's life let the public finally view him as the respectable and honorable figure he always was.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Prince Albert, Prince Consort of Great Britain and Ireland
• Birth Year: 1819
• Birth date: August 26, 1819
• Birth City: Bavaria
• Birth Country: Germany
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Prince Albert married his first cousin, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at the age of 20, and after his untimely death at age 42, the queen's memory of him guided her for the next 40 years.
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Death Year: 1861
• Death date: December 14, 1861
• Death City: Berkshire
• Death Country: United Kingdom

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Prince Albert Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/royalty/prince-albert
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 15, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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Queen Victoria

• Occupation: Queen of the United Kingdom
• Born: May 24, 1819 at Kensington Palace, London
• Died: January 22, 1901 at Osborne House, Isle of Wight
• Reign: June 20, 1837 to January 22, 1901
• Nicknames: The Grandmother of Europe, Mrs. Brown
• Best known for: Ruling the United Kingdom for 63 years
• She was named after her mother as well Alexander I, the Emperor of Russia.
• Victoria's favorite pet growing up was her dog, a King Charles spaniel named Dash.
• Prince Edward Island in Canada was named after Victoria's father.
• She went by the nickname "Drina" while growing up.
• Victoria was told she would someday be queen when she was thirteen years old. She remarked "I will be good."
• In 1887, the United Kingdom celebrated the 50th anniversary of her reign with a big party called the Golden Jubilee. They celebrated again in 1897 with the Diamond Jubilee.
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

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Biography of Edward VII, Britain's Peaceful Playboy King

Long-serving heir apparent and successor to Queen Victoria

National Portrait Gallery, London / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

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• M.F.A, Dramatic Writing, Arizona State University
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Edward VII, born Prince Albert Edward (November 9, 1841–May 6, 1910), ruled as king of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India as the successor to his mother, Queen Victoria . Because of his mother’s long reign, he spent most of his life performing only ceremonial duties and living a life of leisure.

As king, Edward presided over an era of great change and progress while attempting to balance tradition and modernity. His knack for diplomacy and quasi-progressive views allowed his era to be one of international calm and some domestic reforms.

Did You Know?

In reference to the famously long reign of his mother, Queen Victoria, Edward joked, “I don't mind praying to the Eternal Father, but I must be the only man in the country afflicted with an eternal mother.”

Early Life: A Royal Childhood

Edward’s parents were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . He was the second child and first son of the royal couple (preceded by his sister Victoria, born almost a year to the day earlier). Named for his father, Albert, and his mother’s father, Prince Edward, he was known informally as “Bertie” throughout his life.

As the eldest son of the sovereign, Edward was automatically Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, as well as receiving the royal titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony from his father. He was created Prince of Wales, the title traditionally bestowed on the eldest son of the monarch, a month after his birth.

Edward was raised from birth to be a monarch. Prince Albert devised his course of study, implemented by a team of tutors. Despite rigorous attention, Edward was a mediocre student at best. He did, however, attain better academic results while in college.

Playboy Prince

From an early age, observers noted Edward’s gift for charming people. As he grew into adulthood, that talent manifested in several ways, most notably in his reputation as quite a playboy. Much to the dismay of his parents, he openly had an affair with an actress during his time in the military – and this was just the first of many.

It wasn’t for lack of legitimate romantic prospects. In 1861, Victoria and Albert sent Edward abroad in order to set up a meeting between him and Princess Alexandra of Denmark , with whom they wanted to arrange a marriage . Edward and Alexandra got along fairly well, and they married in March 1863. Their first child, Albert Victor, was born ten months later, followed by five more siblings, including the future George V.

Edward and Alexandra established themselves as socialites, and Edward openly carried on affairs throughout his life. His mistresses included actresses, singers, and aristocrats – famously including the mother of Winston Churchill . For the most part, Alexandra knew and looked the other way, and Edward tried to be relatively discreet and private. In 1869, however, a member of Parliament threatened to name him as a co-respondent in a divorce.

The Active Heir Apparent

Because of his mother’s famously long reign , Edward spent most of his life as an heir, not a monarch (modern commentators often compare him to Prince Charles in this regard). He was, however, very active nonetheless. Although his mother kept him from having an active role until the late 1890s, he was the first heir to perform the public functions of a modern royal: ceremonies, openings, and other formal public appearances. In a less formal capacity, he was the style icon for men’s fashion at the time.

His trips abroad were often ceremonial, but occasionally had significant results. In 1875 and 1876, he toured India, and his success there was so great that Parliament decided to add the title Empress of India to Victoria’s titles. His role as a public face of the monarchy did make him an occasional target: in 1900, while in Belgium, he was the target of a failed assassination attempt, apparently in anger over the Second Boer War .

After nearly 64 years on the throne, Queen Victoria died in 1901, and Edward succeeded to the throne at the age of sixty. His eldest son Albert had died a decade earlier, so his son George became the heir apparent upon his father’s accession.

Legacy as King

Edward chose his middle name as his regnal name, despite still being informally known as “Bertie,” in deference to his late father Prince Albert. As king, he remained a great patron of the arts and worked to restore some of the traditional ceremonies that had lapsed during his mother’s reign.

He held a great interest in international affairs and diplomacy, not least of which because most of the royal houses of Europe were intertwined with his family through blood or marriage. Domestically, he opposed Irish home rule and women’s suffrage , although his public comments on race were progressive compared to his contemporaries. He was, however, stuck in a constitutional crisis in 1909, when the House of Lords refused to pass the Liberal-led budget from the House of Commons. The deadlock eventually led to legislation – which the king supported obliquely – to remove the power of the Lords to veto and reduce parliamentary terms.

Edward, a lifelong smoker, suffered from severe bronchitis, and in May 1910, his health worsened further with a series of heart attacks. He died on May 6, and his state funeral, two weeks later, was possibly the largest assembly of royalty ever seen. Although his reign was a short one, it was one marked by an affable knack for collaboration in governing and diplomacy, if not a deep understanding, and his training showed clearly in the reign of his son and successor, George V.

• BBC. “ Edward VII .”
• “ Edward VII Biography .” Biography , Sep 10, 2015.
• Wilson, A N.  Victoria: A Life . New York: Penguin Books, 2015.
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