Queen Victoria Biography

From 1837 until her death in 1901, Queen Victoria was the ruler of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1877, she was elevated to the position of Empress of India. Victoria is the second-longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, after Queen Elizabeth II.

Victoria's reign saw significant cultural advancements, as well as advancements in science, industry, and communication, and in the construction of railways and the London Underground.

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Queen Victoria Quick Facts

Full Name- Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent

Born- 24 May 1819, Kensington Palace, London

Died- 22 January 1901 (queen victoria age 81)

Burial- 4 February 1901

Spouse- Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 

​House- Hanover

Queen Victoria Parents- Father- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

Mother- Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Early Life

Queen Victoria was born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819, and Queen Victoria’s father died when she was eight months old. Her mother grew to be a controlling figure in her life. She was described as a bright and warm-hearted child when she was younger.

She was educated by a governess at the Royal Palace and had a talent for drawing and painting, as well as a penchant for journal writing.

Despite her fiery personality, Victoria was a petite woman, at only 4 feet 11 inches tall. Her weight soared later in life, with her waist possibly measuring 50 inches.

Royal Queen Victoria Family Tree Parents and Half-Sister

Queen Victoria, as per the victoria family tree, has been the only child of King George III's fourth son, Edward, Duke of Kent. Victoria Saxe-Saalfield-Coburg was her mother, and she was the Belgian king Leopold's sister.

Princess Feodora, Queen Victoria's half-sister from her mother's first marriage to Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen, was 12 years her senior. Princess Feodora's father passed away when she was six years old. Her mother remarried the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father, and went from Germany to England in time for the future queen's birth.

Ascension to the Throne

Queen Victoria of England was the fifth in position to the crown when she was born. Victoria has become the heir apparent after her father died in 1820, as her three surviving uncles — who have been in line ahead of her in succession — seemed to have no legitimate heirs who survived childhood. Victoria became a princess at the age of eighteen when King William IV died in June 1837.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her cousin and the son of her mother's brother, in 1840. Victoria and Leopold met when she was 16 years old, and their uncle Leopold proposed they marry. Albert was unable to propose to Victoria because she was the queen. 

The British public initially disliked the German prince, and he has been barred from having any official political positions. Their marriage was tumultuous at times, a battle of wills between two powerful personalities. The pair, on the other hand, was completely devoted to one another. Victoria's most powerful ally, Prince Albert, assisted her in navigating tough political matters.

Albert, died of typhoid fever in 1861 at the age of 42, after battling stomach issues for a few years. Victoria was distraught, and she retreated into isolation for 25 years, sleeping with a plaster cast of his hand by her side. She wore all black for the remainder of her reign.

Queen Victoria Family Tree and Children

Queen Victoria Family- Victoria and Albert used to have a total of nine children:

• Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise (1840-1901), who wedded Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, the future Emperor of Germany, in 1858. Their eldest son, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, succeeded to the throne three months after his father died.

• In 1901, his mother's son, Prince Albert Edward Wettin (1841-1910), succeeded to the throne as King Edward VII.

• Princess Alice Maud Mary (1843-1878), whose daughter Alix married the last Russian tzar, Nicholas II.

• Tzar Alexander II of Russia's daughter was married to Prince Alfred Ernest Albert (1844-1900). Marie, his eldest daughter, married Romania's crown prince.

• Helena Augusta Victoria, Princess (1846-1923).

• When Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939) married a commoner, John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, she caused quite a stir (later the Duke of Argyll).

• Princess Louise Margarete of Prussia married Prince Arthur William Patrick (1850-1942).

• Duncan, Prince Leopold George (1853-1884).

• Beatrice Mary Victoria, Princess (1857-1944).

Relationship With John Brown

Victoria's Scottish servant John Brown has been one of her closest companions, and there are rumours that the two were lovers. Brown was the queen's dearest friend, despite being seven years her junior and many levels below her – an unimaginable relationship at the moment. In the royal household, he became renowned as "the queen's stallion" and promised his lifetime devotion to her.

Victoria's Scottish servant and one of her best friends, John Brown, were rumoured to be Victoria's lover. The queen described Brown as her dearest friend, despite the fact that she was seven years her junior and many ranks below her. In the royal household, he earned the nickname "the queen's stallion" and swore his undying devotion to her for the rest of his life.

Relationship With Abdul Karim

After Brown's death in 1883, Victoria's servant Abdul Karim rose through the ranks of the queen's inner circle to become her closest confidant. Karim was born in Northern India to a hospital worker and was transported to England in 1887 to serve during the Queen's Golden Jubilee. His food rapidly won the queen's approval, and she requested him to teach her Urdu. Karim was lavished with gifts from Victoria, such as a special carriage, titles, and accolades. She also had several portraits painted for her.

The queen addressed herself to Karim as "your loving mother" and "your dearest friend" in letters. Javed Mahmood, Abdul's great-grandson, told The Telegraph in 2010 that they had a "mother and son relationship." Her love for him contributed to her becoming an Indophile. Victoria's workers, however, picked up on her family's prejudice.”

The royal family was shocked by Victoria and Karim's closeness. They had most of the couple's letters burnt after the queen died in 1901, and Victoria's daughter Beatrice erased all references to Karim from the queen's journals. Despite honouring the queen's request that Karim is among a select group of mourners at her death, the family later expelled Karim from the home Victoria had given him and returned him to India.

Journalist Shrabani Basu discovered Karim's link with Victoria decades later when she visited the queen's summer house in 2003 and found several paintings and a bust of Karim. Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant was the result of Basu's investigation into their connection.

Death and Successor

Victoria died on January 22, 1901, at the age of 81, after a long period of ill health. Her eldest grandchild, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, and her son, the future King Edward VII, were both there at her bedside.

When Victoria died in 1901, her eldest son, Prince Albert Edward Wettin, succeeded her to the British throne as King Edward VII.