Short Biography of Queen Victoria (1819 –1901)

Queen Victoria was born 24 May, 1819. She was the granddaughter of George
III, and her father, Edward was fourth in line to the throne. But when the
prince of Wales died early, his brothers sought to get married and maintain
the line of succession.

Edward married Princess Victoria from Germany

and the couple had just one child, Alexandrina Victoria, who was born at
Kensington Palace in 1819. As a young girl, Victoria’s father died, followed 6
days later by King George III. The throne then passed to King William IV, but,
he too died early. This left Victoria to be crowned at the age of 18, in June
1837. Queen Victoria was to reign until her death on 22nd January 1901.

Queen Victoria and Nineteenth Century Britain

The 19th Century was a time of unprecedented expansion for Britain in term of
both of industry and Empire. Although her popularity ebbed and flowed
during her reign, towards the end of her crown, she had become a symbol of
British imperialism and pride.

The Victorian period also witnessed great advances in science and technology.
It became known as the steam age, enabling people to easily travel throughout
the UK and the World.

Queen Victoria was emblematic of this period. She was an enthusiastic

supporter of the British Empire. She celebrated at Lord Kitchener’s victory in
the Sudan, she supported British involvement in the Boer War. She was also
happy to preside over the expansion of the British Empire, which was to
stretch across the globe. In 1877 Queen Victoria was made Empress of India,
in a move instigated by the imperialist Disraeli. Famously, at the end of the
Victorian period, people could say ‘the sun never set on the British Empire’
Queen Victoria was conservative in her politics and social views. This led to an
unfortunate episode. When she saw a servant who appeared to be pregnant,
Victoria claimed she was having an affair. The Queen actually made her take a
test to prove she was a virgin. The test was positive and the growth in her
stomach was actually a form of cancer; a few months later the servant died and
Queen Victoria suffered a decline in her popularity as a result of this episode.

In the early part of her reign she become a close friend and confident of the
Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. She spent many hours talking to him and
relied on his political advice. Lord Melbourne was a Whig, with conservative
attitudes. He tried to shield Queen Victoria from the extreme poverty that was
endemic in parts of the UK.

Queen Victoria was also highly devoted to her husband, Prince Albert;
together they had nine children. When Prince Albert died in 1861, at the age of
41, Queen Victoria went into deep mourning and struggled to overcome this
loss. She became reclusive and was reluctant to appear in public. Parliament
and Benjamin Disraeli had to use all their persuasive power to get her to open
parliament in 1866 and 1867. Her hiding from the public led to a decline in
popularity. However, by the end of her reign, her popularity was restored. This
was partly due to the rise of Great Britain as the leading super power of the
era.