The life of Queen Victoria

Known as a plump and dowdy widow, Queen Victoria is often remembered for her life after Prince Albert’s premature death in 1861. Join me as I explore the life and reign of Queen Victoria!

After the death of Princess Charlotte in 1817, pressures grew for King George III’s children to produce a legitimate heir. In 1818, Prince Edward married Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in a joint ceremony with his older brother, William. The Netflix series about Queen Charlotte focussed on the ‘baby race’ and shows Edward and Victoire announcing their pregnancy, with what they believed to be a girl. That baby was of course Queen Victoria!

At 10:30 in the evening of 23rd May 1819, Victoire, Duchess of Kent, went into labour. Less than six hours later, she gave birth to a baby girl in what was the dining room at Kensington Palace. Fifth in line to the throne, the royal couple were thrilled to have finally produced an heir.

The baby was christened exactly a month later, on 24th June, in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. Upon entering the ceremony, guests and her parents were unsure what names the baby would be given. Her uncle, the Prince Regent, rejected the names: ‘Charlotte’, ‘Augusta’, ‘Georgiana’ and ‘Elizabeth’, which had been suggested by Edward. Instead, he decided to name her ‘Alexandrina’ after her godfather, Tsar Alexander I, and ‘Victoria’ after her mother. Growing up, she was often referred to as ‘Drina’ by close family, ‘Vickelchen’ by German relatives and ‘Mayflower’ by her father. However, in public she was simply named Princess Victoria. Her other godparents included: The Prince Regent; her maternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; and Queen Charlotte of Wüttemberg.

When Princess Victoria was two months old, the family moved into Claremont House, home to her uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium. They remained here until December, when they moved into Woolbrooke Cottage in Sidmouth, Devon. The Duke doted on his daughter and proudly paraded her around, telling people to “look at her well, for she will be Queen of England”. When Victoria was just eight months old, her father died of pneumonia. Six days later, her grandfather, King George III, also died. The baby had now become third in line to the throne. However, this changed in December when Princess Adelaide gave birth to a daughter, called Elizabeth. Victoria was knocked back down to fourth until Elizabeth’s death just three months later. A similar situation was feared in 1822 when Adelaide was pregnant with twins. Sadly neither of them survived.

Unable to afford a residence of her own, the Duchess of Kent returned to Kensington Palace with her two daughters, Princess Feodora (from her first marriage) and Princess Victoria. After the death of the twins, Victorias position as further Queen seemed much more likely. Her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, wanted the throne for himself and rumours quickly spread that he was planning to poison the young princess. In order to protect her daughter, the Duchess of Kent and her adviser, Sir John Conroy, created ‘The Kensington System’. The system was made up of different rules, which dictated to life in all areas of the palace. The main principle is that Victoria was supervised by either the Duchess or her governess, Lehzen, in order to prevent harm but it only made Victoria feel isolated and trapped. She was forced to share a bedroom with her mother, was banned from walking down stairs alone, and wasn’t allowed to interact with “undesirable companions”. Her food also had to be prepared in a certain way and mostly consisted of simple foods, such as plain roast mutton. The system wasn’t just limited to Victoria, even members of staff were banned from entering certain rooms – specifically Victorias bedroom, which was guarded at all times.

Growing up, Victorias list of friends was limited to a select few deemed acceptable by the ‘system’ – this included: Princess Feodora, Victorias half-sister; Victoria Conroy, Sir Johns own daughter; and Baroness Lehzen. ‘Drina’ was known to be a fun and lively child, although it was clear from an early age that she had a strong temper. In her behaviour book she regularly wrote that she had been “terribly naughty” but showed little to no sign of remorse.

In 1825, parliament offered the family £4,000 to cover costs of Victorias education. New tutors were brought in and her subject choice increased dramatically from simple writing and mathematics, to: writing, spelling, poetry, arithmetic, Latin, French, Italian, history, natural history, religion and geography. From the age of 7, she began learning German but she never fully got the hang of it. Along with academic subjects, she also had lessons in dancing, music and art. From a young age, her talent for art was clear and it was one of the few hobbies that continued throughout her life. As a child, she would often draw ballerinas and opera singers that she had seen in the theatre, a hobby that coincided with making dolls that had similar outfits.

In 1828, Victoria’s ‘good’ days at Kensington ended when Feodora got married and moved to Germany. She had lost all support besides Lehzen. While on holiday in Ramsgate in 1835, Victoria fell seriously ill with typhoid fever. Her mother and Sir John saw Victorias declining health as an opportunity to gain power. They created a document that would put them in charge whenever Victoria ascended the throne and refused to call for a doctor until she signed it. Despite her declining health, Victoria stubbornly refused. Eventually Lehzen went against the Duchess’s orders and got the doctor. Luckily he arrived in time before the princess’s condition got any worse. King William IV (ascended the throne in 1830) resented the Duchess’ treatment of his niece and for keeping her away from his court. At an event, he very loudly vowed to live past Victorias 18th birthday in order to prevent a regency.

On 18th May 1836, Leopold I arranged for the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to visit London with his two sons; Prince Ernst and Prince Albert. The family had hoped for a match between the two since they were children it King William was firmly against the idea, instead suggesting Prince Alexander of the Netherlands. Despite his best efforts to convince her, Victoria immediately got along with Albert and the two spent much of his time at Kensington together.

After the brother’s returned home, Victoria and Albert continued writing frequent letters. On 20th June 1837, King William IV died, causing Victoria’s life to change forever. Just as the King had wished, a regency had been avoided and eighteen year old Victoria was Queen. Upon hearing the news, Victorias first act as monarch was to have some much awaited time alone. Official documents from early that day name her as Alexandrina Victoria, but soon she dropped her first name, becoming Queen Victoria. Wanting to put her childhood behind her, Victoria moved into Buckingham House (now known as Buckingham Palace) at the end of July. Her mother was given an appointment in a separate wing on the other side of the house, presumably so she could suffer the isolation Victoria had always felt.

Her coronation took place a year later, on 28th June 1838, at Westminster Abbey. As with all coronations, the day was filled with spectacular pomp and ceremony. However, not everything went to plan and the Queen was often left not knowing what she was meant to do. Other things that went wrong included the coronation ring being forced on the wrong finger, causing her much pain, and an elderly lord falling down the steps on his way to pay homage.

Despite her new position, Victoria continued writing to Albert, who supported her greatly with her duties. She also gained a close friendship with Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, whom she called ‘Lord M’. Although she saw him as a father figure, their closeness soon caused tensions. In May 1839, Lord M resigned as Prime Minister after narrowly passing the Jamaica Bill through parliament. Victoria reluctantly asked conservative leader, Sir Robert Peel, to form a new government. He agreed on the condition that she dismiss some of her Whig ladies of the bedchamber. Considering her ladies to be friends, Victoria refused, causing Peel to reject her offer. Lord M was later reinstated as Prime Minister but it was too late and Victoria was already seen to be meddling with politics. To make matters worse, the bedchamber crisis overlapped with rumours about Lady Flora Hastings, the Duchess of Kent’s lady-in-waiting. Naturally, Victoria despised anyone linked to the dreaded Kensington System, including Lady Flora. In February 1839, Flora began suffering with abdominal pain and swelling. Rumours began to spread that unmarried Flora was “with child”. Now I’m charge of the Queens household, Baroness Lehzen told Victoria. Perhaps misunderstanding the situations and the implications her words could have, Victoria claimed that John Conroy was the father. After much embarrassment and distress, Flora finally agreed to be examined by the Queens physician. Pregnancy was quickly ruled out as a large, cancerous tumour was found on her liver. However, it was too late. Floras previously untarnished reputation was in tatters and Victorias decreasing popularity put the monarchy in danger.

Later that year, Prince Ernst and Prince Albert returned to England to visit Buckingham Palace. Although it had been three years since their last visit, the chemistry between Victoria and Albert was still running strong. As monarch, it was Victorias duty to propose. On 15th October, she called him into her private rooms and asked the all important question.

Wedding plans started almost immediately and the date was set for 10th February 1840. The ceremony took place at St James’s Palace and was followed by a wedding breakfast. They later travelled to Windsor Castle, where they spent their three day honeymoon.

Victoria quickly became pregnant with their first child. During the pregnancy, the couple experienced their first assassination attempt during their daily carriage ride. The man responsible was Edward Oxford. Thankfully no one was injured and Oxford was quickly detained. Through the attack, she was able to rejoice her popularity amongst her subjects.

Her popularity grew even more upon the birth of her first child, Princess Victoria, on 21st November. Although at first they were disappointed with a daughter, Victoria and Albert were pleased to have produced an heir. A year later, Princess Victoria was moved down to second in line after the birth of her brother, Prince Albert Edward. Needing more space for their growing family, Victoria and Albert brought Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and also Balmoral Castle in the Scottish highlands. In total, Victoria and Albert had nine children in the space of seventeen years!

The family spent the time travelling between each of the royal residences. In 1861, their lives changed forever with two major deaths. In mid March, the Duchess of Kent died following surgery on her arm. While sorting through her mothers papers, Victoria realised that the duchess had in fact loved her deeply, even through their difficult early years. During Victorias time of grief and regret, Albert took over her duties despite his own declining health. By early December, he was diagnosed with typhoid fever.

On 14th December 1861, Victorias world ended when Albert took his final breath. Upon realising her reality, Victoria let out a huge shriek that echoed through the walls of Windsor Castle. As obvious as their love was, no one had predicted her reaction after Albert’s death. The Queen plummeted into a deep state of mourning and vanished almost completely from public life. She began neglecting her health by comfort eating and constantly cried with her youngest daughter, Beatrice.

As time went on, she became known as the ‘Widow of Windsor’ and revolutionists began to stir. In 1864, a joke eviction note was left on the gate of Buckingham Palace. As a result, King Leopold I of Belgium advised Victoria to make an appearance in order to save the monarchy. Eventually she agreed and attended the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society in Kensington, followed by an open carriage drive through the streets of London.

Like anyone grieving, Victoria was prepared to go to any lengths to speak to Albert again. She began seeing a clairvoyant at Windsor Castle, who claimed Albert’s spirit had chosen to communicate through her highland servant, John Brown. Believing what she had heard, Victoria arranged for Brown to join the household as her personal servant. The two quickly gained a close friendship and soon rumours began spreading about a secret affair. He encouraged her out onto her pony and reignited her spark for life. Her children and other members of the household were highly against the friendship. She be a being referred to as ‘Mrs Brown’ by newspapers and her children called Brown ‘Mama’s lover’. Victoria was devastated in 1883, when John Brown died at Balmoral. Once again, she plummeted into deep mourning, which she never truly recovered from.

By the 1870’s, Victoria had become extremely unpopular amongst her people. In early 1871, Prince Albert Edward became seriously ill with typhoid, just as his father had ten years earlier. Victoria feared that he would die on his fathers anniversary. After a couple of weeks, he began to recover and a thanksgiving service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral on 27th February 1872. The event was the Queens first official event since the death of her husband and immediately increased her popularity.

Now grown up, many of Victorias grandchildren began marrying into other European royal families and she became known as the ‘Grandmother of Europe’. However, the jewel in her crown was certainly becoming Empress of India in 1876. The new title not only made her the most powerful woman in the world, but also encouraged her interest in Indian culture. As part of her Golden Jubilee, she hired two Indian men as her personal servants. One of these was Abdul Karim, who later became her ‘Munshi’ and close companion.

On 23rd September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather, King George III, as Britain’s longest reigning monarch. On the Queen’s request, celebrations were held off until the following year to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee.

By her final Christmas in 1900, Victorias health was also on the decline. She was practically death, almost blind from cataracts and was limited to a wheelchair due to rheumatism. She had outlived many of her close friends and relatives, including three of her children. Her final Christmas was also overshadowed by the death of her close friend, Jane Churchill.

Upon entering 1901, she described feeling “weak and unwell”. By the second week in January she had suffered several minor strokes. Her final request was for her Pomeranian, Tori, to be placed on the bed beside her. She died in her bedroom at Osborne House, on the 22nd January 1901, surrounded by her family. Her final words were “Bertie” but it’s unclear whether she was talking of her husband or her heir, the new King Edward VII.

In 1897 she hand wrote her funeral requests. As the daughter of a soldier and also head of the army, felt it was fitting to have a military funeral. After years of wearing black, she wanted her funeral to be white. She wore a white dress with her wedding veil from 1840. She left a private request for one of Albert’s dressing gowns and a cast of his hand to be placed in the coffin with her; along with family photos, a photo of John Brown and a lock of his hair. His mothers wedding ring was also placed on her ring finger, although this wasn’t known by her family. Her funeral took place at St George’s Chapel on 2nd February and her body was interred next to Albert in the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, on the 4th.

After such a long reign, no one was prepared for a life without Victoria, the same as we all recently experienced with the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

I hope you have enjoyed reading todays blog, I certainly enjoyed making it. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below and I will do my best to answer. In a few weeks I will be sharing a blog about Victorias relationship with John Brown. Don’t forget to subscribe for email updates about new blogs. You can also follow Queen.Victoria.Roses on instagram and Facebook for daily posts about Queen Victoria, her family and reign

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The unconventional relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim