The Biography Of A Queen
Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, the daughter of Edward the duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. She led a very lonely and secluded childhood. She was over protected, even to the point of not being allowed to walk down stairs without holding someone's hand. Due to the very sheltered manner of her upbringing, she had very strong prejudices and a very stubborn nature.
In 1837, after the death of her uncle, at age 18, she was crowned Queen of England. Only three years after her assention to the throne, she wed her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In a day of arranged marriages, theirs was very much a love match.
Prince Albert tempered his wife's strong political views, introduced a strict decorum in the royal court, and insisted on a more straightlaced behavior in everyday life, the characteristics of the Victorian era.
Prince Albert died in 1861 of typhoid fever. The Queen went into mourning for 10 years. This mourning became an obsessive part of her life until her death. Her popularity declined as a result o her few public appearances, and was at it's lowest in 1870, but slowly increased until her death. Victoria and Albert had nine children. Blessed with a wonderful sense of humor, in her later years her grandchildren were the delight of her life.
She died on January 22, 1901 at the age of eighty-two, after a breif ellness. Her reign lasted sixty four years, the longest in English history.
Click the Next button to see a timeline of important events during her life.
"Victoria's reign may so stamp her influence . . . promoting the highest and best interests of virtue, learning, social happiness, and national im- provement of the period in which she flourishes, that history shall speak of it as her own." Sarah Hale, Editor, Godey's Lady's Book 1837
