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Queen Victoria

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 1 month ago

Queen Victoria

(Queen Victoria-1890)

Victoria was born to Edward Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg at Kensington Palace, London, on May 24 1819. Her father died shortly after her birth making her the heir to the throne due to the fact that her three uncles who were ahead of her had no surviving children. Victoria became queen of England at the age of 18 on June 28 1838 a year after her uncle William IV's death in 1837.

Although Queen Victoria had a very domineering mother, she chose to rule the empire in her own fashion. In the early part of Queen Victoria's reign, she was influenced by two men; Lord Melbourne, her first prime minister, and Prince Albert, her husband. Both of these men taught her many things about how she could be a good ruler in a constitutional monarchy.

Queen Victoria eventually became attached to Lord Melbourne but when Prince Albert entered her life things changed. She married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on February 10 1840. Although the only title he received was Prince Consort he became Victoria's closest advisor. Their marriage led to the birth of nine children between 1840 and 1857. The majority of her children married into other Royal families of Europe. Queen Victoria was very devoted to her family and her husband but was yet still loyal to the throne.

Queen Victoria was deeply in love with her husband and she sank into a dreadful depression after he died at the age of 42 in 1861. She had lost not only her devoted husband but her greatly trusted advisor in affairs of the state. Until the 1860's she rarely appeared in public.

She had been persuaded to open Parliament in person in 1866 and 1867, but she was greatly criticized for living a life in seclusion. Ultimately a strong republican movement was formed. Seven attempts had been made on Queen Victoria's life between the years of 1874 and 1882 but her courageous attitude towards the attacks strengthened her popularity. With time, the support of her family and the flattering attention of Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880, Victoria eventually resumed her public duties.

Queen Victoria's influence during the middle years of her reign was greatly used to support peace and reconciliation.In 1864, Queen Victoria pressed her ministers not to intervene in the Prussia-Austria-Denmark war, and in 1872 her letter written to the German Emperor helped to avert a second Franco-German war.

During Victioria's reign, direct political power moved away from the sovereign and a series of Acts broadened the socail and economic base of the electorate. These acts were the Second Reform Act of 1867, the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872, and the Representation of the Peoples act in 1884. Even with the decline in the Sovereign's power, Queen Victoria showed that a monarch that had a high level of prestige and who was prepared to master the details of political life could make an important influence. She demonstrated this by her mediation between the commons and the Lords, during the acrimonious passing of the Irish Church Disestablishment Act of 1869 and the 1884 Reform Act.

Queen Victoria died on January 22 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight after a reign that lasted almost 64 years, the longest in British history. She was buried in the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum beside Prince Albert, which she had built for their final resting place. Above the door Victoria's words are inscribed: "farewell best beloved, here at last I shall rest with thee, with thee in Christ I shall rise again."