Biography of Queen Victoria

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Queen Victoria

The number to the left of each child (e.g. "+4") indicates the total number of children for that person.

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Family Name:

Guelph

Given Names:

Alexandrina Victoria

Titles:

Queen of Great Britain (1837 - 1901)

Empress of India (1876 - 1901)

Born:

24 May 1819
Kensington Palace, London, England

Died:

22 Jan 1901
Osborne House, Isle of Wight, England
(Age 81, Natural Causes)

English/Scottish Royal Blood: 50% [?]

Buried:

Windsor, Berkshire, England

Father:

Edward Guelph, Duke of Kent (father of Queen Victoria)

2 Nov 1767 - 23 Jan 1820

Mother:

Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (mother of Queen Victoria)

17 Aug 1786 - 16 Mar 1861

Marriage:

Albert Saxe-Coburg (Prince Albert)

26 Aug 1819 - 14 Dec 1861

Date: 10 Feb 1840

His Age: 20

Her Age: 21

Place: St. James's Palace, London, England

Offspring:

Victoria, Princess Royal (daughter of Queen Victoria)

21 Nov 1840 - 5 Aug 1901

King Edward VII

9 Nov 1841 - 6 May 1910

Alice Saxe-Coburg (daughter of Queen Victoria)

25 Apr 1843 - 14 Dec 1878

Alfred Saxe-Coburg, Duke of Edinburgh (s of Queen Victoria)

6 Aug 1844 - 30 Jul 1900

Helena Saxe-Coburg (daughter of Queen Victoria)

25 May 1846 - 9 Jun 1923

Louise Saxe-Coburg (daughter of Queen Victoria)

18 Mar 1848 - 3 Dec 1939

Arthur Saxe-Coburg, Duke of Connaught (s of Queen Victoria)

1 May 1850 - 16 Jan 1942

Leopold Saxe-Coburg, Duke of Albany (son of Queen Victoria)

7 Apr 1853 - 28 Mar 1884

Beatrice Saxe-Coburg (daughter of Queen Victoria)

14 Apr 1857 - 26 Oct 1944

Events:

Accession to UK throne

20 Jun 1837

Unknown place

Coronation

28 Jun 1838

Westminster Abbey, London, England

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Notes:

Queen Victoria was styled as "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith," until 1877 when her style became, "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India."

Victoria's father the Duke of Kent wanted her christened "Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Alexandrina Victoria," but his brother the Prince Regent ordered otherwise. He said the name to honour him, Georgiana, could not come before the one honouring the baby's godfather Alexander I of Russia, and could not come after. He also refused to allow the Charlotte and Augusta. Although it looked as if the baby would be christened with just one name, at the last minute the Prince Regent relented and allowed her a second name--her mother Victoria's.

Although Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, surrounded herself with German attendants and spoke English badly, the duchess insisted that Victoria's first language be English. And to avoid the German-accented English spoken by most of the royal family at that time, Victoria evidently was taught only to read, not speak, German. In 1840, when Victoria received a copy of Agnes Strickland's biography, written to commemorate her wedding, that referred to her childhood speech as "lisping in the teutonic accents of (her mother's) dear Fatherland," the queen wrote in the margin: "Not true. Never spoke German until '39. Not allowed."

Crowned by William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury. At the ceremony, the organist had his pocket picked.

Victoria's first prime minister, Lord Melbourne, described her as "the honestest" (sic) person he'd ever known.

In the first year of her reign, Victoria went to see Isaac Van Amburg's lion show at Drury Lane six times. The lion show was so popular in London that it cut into receipts for traditional theatre, and both Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Barrett mentioned in letters that Victoria was responsible for this decline in the quality of theatre.

During her reign, Victoria underwent seven assassination attempts. The first was in 1840 when a potential assassin shot at her and Prince Albert as they were setting out for a drive on Constitution Hill.

The composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote that Victoria had the finest singing voice of any amateur he'd ever heard.

Victoria was a very skilled amateur artist; her sketches were very detailed, and her water colours were extremely well done.

Victoria published two books, "Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands," in 1868, and "More Leaves from the Journal of A [sic] Life in the Highlands," in 1884.

In Europe, it was generally accepted by 1863 that Victoria had gone mad with grief for Prince Albert. Before Alexander of Hesse left Moscow to visit her he promised his sister the Tsarina that he would see whether "she was all there or not." After he met the queen, however, he reported that she was one of the sanest people he had ever encountered.

The desk still used by the president of the United States in the White House's Oval Office was a gift from Queen Victoria. She had it carved from the timbers of the H.M.S. Resolute, for presentation to President Rutherford B. Hayes.

On June 20, 1887, her Golden Jubilee Day to mark the 50th anniversary of her succession, Victoria entered Westminster Abbey for the first time since her coronation June 28, 1838.

The firework display in the Home Park to mark Victoria's Golden Jubilee Day was one of the largest and most impressive ever assembled. Its next-to-last display, however, was slightly flawed. Although the enormous bouquet (nearly 200 feet square) did transform to a recognizable portrait of the queen, the right eye of the display blinked incessantly, giving the effect of a winking Victoria.

At her Golden Jubilee festivities on the Isle of Wight, Victoria was pleased to see an ancient resident--who had been a notorious republican even before her reign--give the official speech. "Mr. Seely, you have not always spoken the same way," the queen said. "Both you and I, Your Majesty, have learned to hold different views from those we formerly held."

When Victoria died, it was the first time a British sovereign had died in 64 years, and nobody in the appropriate military and household departments could remember any of the procedures involved. "You would think that the English monarchy had not been buried since the time of Alfred," wrote Lord Esher.

There were so many flowers in the room in which Victoria's body lay in state at Osborne, her biographer Sidney Weintraub wrote, that "the strong scent of gardenias made the changing of the guard every hour a real as well as a technical relief for the Grenadiers."

Victoria, British Columbia, was named after the queen, as were Victoria Island in the Northwest Territories and Regina, Saskatchewan.

The Victoria Falls were named after the queen, as was Lake Victoria.

In 1841, explorer James Ross named Victoria Land, Antarctica, after Queen Victoria.

In 1875, Ernest Giles named the Great Victoria Desert, in southern Australia, after Queen Victoria.

Portrayed by Anna Neagle in the 1937 film "Victoria the Great" and its sequel "Sixty Glorious Years".

Played by Beryl Mercer in the 1939 film, "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell."

Portrayed by Fay Compton in the 1941 film, "The Prime Minister."

Portrayed by Irene Dunne in the 1950 film, "The Mudlark."

Portrayed by Muriel Aked in the 1953 film "The Great Gilbert and Sullivan" (sometimes called "Gilbert and Sullivan").

Played by Avis Bunnage in the 1966 film, "The Wrong Box."

Played by Mollie Maureen in the 1970 film, "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes."

Portrayed by Emily Blunt in the 2009 film, "The Young Victoria."

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