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Welcome to Queen.Victoria.Roses!

If you’re looking at this page, you are probably fascinated by Queen Victoria and the era she gave her name to.

Born on 24th May 1819, in what was a dining room at Kensington Palace, Princess Alexandrina Victoria was fifth in line to the throne. After the death of both her father and grandfather (King George III) in 1820, plus the lack of legitimate children from her uncles, Victoria became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, aged just 18!

In February 1840 she married her maternal first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Together they had nine children over the course of 17 years! Their love story remains iconic and has been portrayed across numerous tv series and films.

After Prince Albert’s premature death in December 1861, Victoria plummeted into a deep state of mourning, which she never completely left. Her grief has become a symbol of her reign and is the first thing people think of whenever talking about Victoria and her era.

One of Queen Victoria’s biggest fears was being forgotten to history so I have made it my mission to create a space that allows people to learn about and understand the true Victoria. Across my website you will find a countless blogs about Queen Victoria’s life and reign, along with biographies about her children and grandchildren. You will also find some entries from Queen Victoria’s journal, which she wrote every day between August 1832 and her death in January 1901!

© Queen.Victoria.Roses / Shannon McInulty 2024

Queen Victoria and Christmas

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‘This festive day’: Queen Victoria’s Christmas 1847

‘This festive day, the eve of such blessings & the day when ever since our childhood we have been happy & joyous, in giving & receiving,’ wrote Queen Victoria as she began her Christmas Ever journal entry in 1847; adding ‘I know no day, or rather more anniversary which we celebrate with more feelings of… Continue reading ‘This festive day’: Queen Victoria’s Christmas 1847

Sketchbook Saturday, week 27

This Sketchbook Saturday we’re taking a look at a pencil sketch by Queen Victoria, which shows her third child, Princess Alice, with her new fiancé, Prince Louis of Hesse on 11th December 1860. Just a couple of weeks earlier Louis had arrived at Windsor Castle, where he proposed to Alice on 30th November and remained… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 27

‘A merry happy night’: Prince Albert’s final Christmas

Christmas 1860 was the final happy festival to have been spent by Queen Victoria before the premature death of Prince Albert the following December. However, while this Christmas was later looked upon with sorrow, at the time, the scene captured a thriving family, who celebrated the engagement of their third child, Princess Alice to Prince… Continue reading ‘A merry happy night’: Prince Albert’s final Christmas

“This has indeed been a terribly sad Christmas for us all”: Queen Victoria’s final Christmas

Queen Victoria’s final Christmas was filled with nothing but heartache for the 81 year old monarch. 1900 had been Victoria’s annus horribilis, with the deaths of her third child, Prince Alfred, and her grandson, Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein. On top of this, the second Boer War was in full swing and the elderly… Continue reading “This has indeed been a terribly sad Christmas for us all”: Queen Victoria’s final Christmas

Sketchbook Saturday, week 26

This Sketchbook Saturday we’re taking a look at this watercolour sketch by Queen Victoria. Dated 5th December 1847, this painting is titled ‘View from my dressing room window at Osborne looking towards Barton’. In her journal Victoria describes how it was a ‘fine, thought cold day after a most dreadfully windy night’ (1), however she… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 26

1832: Christmas with Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace

Until the Victorian era Christmas was a reasonably uncelebrated festival amongst the ordinary people. However, in the 1840s, something changed. The publication of Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ on 19th December 1843 not only brought people’s attention to the religious event, but also created a new perspective on the joys that the otherwise depressing… Continue reading 1832: Christmas with Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace

The Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire

In the evening of 30th November 1936, the Crystal Palace was tragically destroyed by fire, exactly 85 years after it housed the 1851 Great Exhibition. Designed by botanist, Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace was made of iron beams and 300,000 panes of glass, which helped preserve the pre-existing trees in Hyde Park where the exhibition… Continue reading The Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire

Sketchbook Saturday, week 25

For this week’s Sketchbook Saturday we’re stepping into nature and looking at this watercolour sketch by Queen Victoria of some cattle near sitting Sandpit Gate in Windsor Great Park on 10th July 1874. According to the Queen’s journal the morning had been seasonably hot before turning to rain in the afternoon. Despite the change in… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 25

1840: Queen Victoria’s first Christmas as a wife and mother

Christmas had always been a special time for Queen Victoria as a child; with decorated trees, sugary treats, lavish gifts and trips to the theatre. However, Christmas 1840 was much more poignant as she was no longer the ‘unmarried girl’ who had spent her lonely youth in the company of condescending adults. Instead, she was… Continue reading 1840: Queen Victoria’s first Christmas as a wife and mother

Sketchbook Saturday, week 24

This Sketchbook Saturday we’re looking at this pen and ink sketch by Queen Victoria of her first child, Princess Victoria, dated 25th August 1841. In her journal for that day Queen Victoria writes that while having their breakfast she and Albert had spent part of their morning looking at old sketches before their eldest child,… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 24

Sketchbook Saturday, week 23

As we prepare to enter December, let’s take a look at a wintery sketch by Queen Victoria, which depicts the gardens at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight during a snowstorm on 10th March 1847. In her journal the Queen writes that it had ‘began snowing early & continued all the morning, the ground… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 23

‘The whole accident has upset us’: Tragedy strikes at Osborne House

Quite unusually for the time of year, on 10th March 1847 a snowstorm struck Queen Victoria’s Isle of Wight home, Osborne House. In her journal the Queen writes that it had ‘began snowing early & continued all the morning, the ground and trees being covered in snow, which I tried to make a sketch of’… Continue reading ‘The whole accident has upset us’: Tragedy strikes at Osborne House

Support my page

Although I run Queen.Victoria.Roses as a hobby, most days it can take up to 90% of my time. If you would like to support me and my work, please feel free to donate a small amount to help me continue my research and sharing new blogs daily. Any money donated will be greatly appreciated and… Continue reading Support my page

“Nice blog post with easy to read description of the major historical events that led to the reign of Queen Victoria 👸”

Queen Victoria’s journey to the throne: The line of succession from King George III to Queen Victoria

Gloria

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