Queen Victoria

The Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1837 to 1901, and Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.

Her reign lasted 63 years and was a time of great industrial development. Likewise, the United Kingdom became a British Empire, with colonial possessions from Africa to India.

Childhood and Education

At first, Queen Victoria was not destined to be queen. Her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, was the fourth child of King George III (1738-1820). However, her three uncles had no legitimate children and when Victoria was born, she was fifth in line to the throne.

Thus, after the death of her father in 1820, and the fact that there were no more children in the family, she was declared the presumptive heir to the throne in 1830. From then on, she would be educated under the strictest supervision of her mother and by a governess. .

As she grew up, however, Victoria's mother and secretary, John Conroy (1786-1854), plotted to continue to influence the heiress when she ascended to the throne. They even tried to force her to sign a document in which she named Conroy as her main adviser, but she refused to do so.

After the death of her uncle, King William IV (1765-1837), Princess Victoria ascends the throne and begins what will be the second longest reign in UK history.

Marriage

Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819-1861), in 1840. In love with each other, the union lasted twenty-one years, and produced nine children.

• Victoria (1840), Princess Royal, married German Emperor Friedrich III.
• Edward VII (1841), King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India, married Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
• Alice (1843), married Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine
• Alfred (1844), Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, married Grand Duchess Maria of Russia.
• Helena (1846), married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.
• Louise (1848), married John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll.
• Arthur (1850), Duke of Connaught, married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.
• Leopold (1853), Duke of Albany, married Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont.
• Beatrice (1857), married Prince Henry of Battenberg.

Prince Albert

Prince Albert was a great advisor to the sovereign and protector of the arts and sciences that were developing at the time.

One of the main initiatives of the prince consort was the holding of the Universal Exhibition in London, in 1851. This consisted of a fair that brought together the main technological advances of the country.

He also created Imperial College, the first British institution dedicated to the teaching of science, as well as organizing and restoring the paintings in the Royal Collection.

In addition, he had a solid musical training, being an organist and singer. In this way, as patron of the Academy of Ancient Music and the Philharmonic Society, he expanded the repertoire of these orchestras.

He defended the end of slavery and the improvement of housing and health conditions for the working classes. So he presided over and was part of countless associations that defended these causes.

The death of Prince Albert, in 1861, would leave the sovereign away from public acts for more than a decade.

Victorian Era

The sovereign's long reign would go down in history as the Victorian Era. This era is marked by great technological innovations, struggle for the end of slavery, but conservative in matters related to morals and women's rights.

Art

Much of the Victorian Era took place during Romanticism (a current that began in the late 18th century and lasted until the mid-19th century).

Thus, the revaluation of medieval myths such as King Arthur, the Middle Ages and Gothic architecture took place. Some castles were even renovated by the Royal Family.

Technological Innovations

In the 19th century, England was one of the pioneers in building railways. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to travel by train, for example. Also the spread of the telegraph reduced distances and connected different parts of the kingdom.

The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, will be of fundamental importance to shorten the distances between Europe and Asia. Through this monumental work, the British were able to consolidate their conquest in Africa and the Asian continent.

Economy

The increase in land lease prices led to a large rural exodus. To give you an idea, industrial cities like Manchester and Sheffield have quadrupled their population in just fifty years.

In the factories, there was a rigid organization, controlled by the clock and by foremen, where being fast and productive was paramount.

Of course, this increase brought several social problems, as there were no houses, schools and hospitals for everyone. Nor was there any protection for workers who worked twelve hours a day or more.

Policy

During the reign of Queen Victoria the foundations were laid for the British constitutional monarchy. The sovereign should not issue his political opinions in public, remain neutral and try to win the approval of his subjects through acts of beneficence and culture.

So, on the advice of her husband, Queen Victoria withdrew from parliamentary discussions in public, but used her influence in private. Something that happens to this day in the British political system.

For example, through her correspondence and kinship with other royal houses, she helped to prevent a repeat of the conflict between France and the German Empire in 1875.

Curiosities

• Queen Victoria popularized the use of white for her wedding dress. She chose this color so that the embroidery on her dress would stand out and she also forbade her guests to wear white on their wedding day.
• She was the first British monarch to celebrate the Golden and Diamond Jubilees for her reign, in 1887 and 1897 respectively, a fact that would be surpassed, until 2018, by her great-great-grandfather, Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more :

• English Industrial Revolution
• Independence of India
• United Kingdom
• Neocolonialism
• Imperialism in Africa