WOMEN IN HISTORY

One of the most well-known of the English Queens, Alexandrina Victoria was born on 24th May, 1819, at Kensington Palace, London, at 4.15 in the morning. Her father was Prince Edward, the 4th son of King George III, and her mother was the Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The little princess was christened on 24th June, 1819, in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton. Alexandrina Victoria was fifth in line to the throne.

This little princess had a lonely childhood, with very few playmates and living under the “Kensington System,” an elaborate set of rules and protocols devised by her mother and Sir John Conroy. Her father died when Victoria was still a baby. The princess shared a bedroom with her mother and had to be accompanied every time she went up and down stairs. Alexandrina Victoria said of her childhood that it was “rather melancholy.” It seemed that her only companions were her dolls.

At 18 years of age, Victoria (as she now wished to be called) became the Queen of England. One of her first orders was to have her own bedroom! This little Queen had a will of iron! Lord Melbourne was the prime minister at the time (a “Whig”) and he became a powerful influence on the new and inexperienced Queen. Victoria may have looked at Lord Melbourne as a father figure.

Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey, her coronation taking place on 28th June, 1838. She became the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham Palace.

Her mother was sent to a remote apartment at Buckingham Palace. Being unmarried, a husband had to be found for the young Queen Victoria.

On 15th October, 1839, the little Queen proposed to her cousin Prince Albert, whom she had fallen in love with. There is no doubt that this was a love-match! The wedding took place on 10th February, 1840, at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, London. Victoria was the first Queen to wear a white wedding dress (with orange blossom), which is when the tradition of white wedding dresses started. Victoria wrote in her diary of her new husband: “His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness --- really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband!”

Queen Victoria’s first pregnancy was in 1840, her last one in 1857, having nine living children altogether. Her childhood governess, Louise Lehzen (from Hanover), started to run the household, but after a row with Prince Albert, Lehzen was pensioned off in 1842. The close friendship between the young Queen and her governess ended.

The Queen eventually married every one of her children into the great European Royal Families of the time, thus becoming the “Grandmother of Europe.”

When her beloved Albert died of typhoid fever on 14th December, 1861, Victoria’s life stopped. Our little Queen went into deep mourning for (almost) the rest of her life. She was eventually nicknamed “the widow of Windsor.”

Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee on 22nd June, 1897, and an open-air service of thanks-giving was held outside St. Paul’s Cathedral so that the old Queen (now 78 years of age) could watch from her carriage. Only our now reigning Queen, Elizabeth II, beats this reign.

Dear little Queen Victoria died on 22nd January, 1901, at the age of 81 (of old age). Naturally, she had a Queen’s funeral and is laid to rest, with her beloved Albert, at Frogmore, at Windsor Great Park.

Queen Victoria reigned for 62 years, 7 months and 2 days and was the last monarch of the House of Hanover.

I find this Queen an Inspiring woman to read about. She had a lonely, perhaps sad childhood, and came to the throne at such a young age, 18 years of age. When reading in the history books about Victoria, what comes across to me personally is her sheer sense of duty. Nine children! Victoria was very interested in the ordinary person in the street. Even though she was ‘just a woman’, this little Queen had a real air of authority about her. Why, the whole Era was named after her “The Victorian Era.”

In Queen Victoria’s own words: “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat, they do not exist.”

(Most of the information in this article has come from Wikipedia.)

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