Queen Victoria. The Grandmother of Europe

 Queen Victoria

(1837-1901)

Queen Victoria is probably one of the most influential monarchs of the 19th century. During her reign, the British Empire became one of the most powerful nations the world had ever seen. Nevertheless, she was has the second longest reign in the history of the United Kingdom, 63 years. 

Born in 1819, she was the daughter of Prince Edward, son of King George III and Duke of Kent, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Edward was the heir to the British throne, but he died before his time, and as a result, Victoria became the new heir to the throne. 

Prince Edward, Queen's Victoria father (1767-1820)

Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786-1861)

Victoria as a child with her mother

Without a paternal figure, and with a mother with German origins who didn't speak English, John Conroy was appointed as a comptroller over the life of Victoria. Conroy and her mother created a strict set of rules known as the ''Kensington System'' with the aim of making the young Victoria weak and incapable of doing anything on her own. To put it simple, they tried to make the future queen a puppet to be easily controlled. 

John Conroy (1786-1854); There were rumors that he and Victoria's mother became lovers, but there were not any strong evidence

Victoria wrote in her diaries that he had a horrible and unhappy childhood, but this was about to change. In 1837, King William IV passed away and Victoria ascended to the throne. She immediately expelled her mother and John Conroy from her court and moved to Buckingham Palace.

Victoria receives the news of her accession

Coronation portrait

In 1840, she married Albert in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace. It is worth mentioning that Albert was Victoria's first and it was the queen who proposed to him. Even so, the marriage was one full of love, Victoria describing Albert as a perfect man and husband. They had 9 children. However, 1861 proved to be a year with 2 big tragedies for Victoria: both her mother and her husband died. For the rest of her life she decided to wear only black every single day, thus earning the nickname '' The Widow of Windsor''. 

The wedding of Albert and Victoria

Queen Victoria in black

Already struggling with mental illnesses caused primarily by the postpartum depression (she had 9 pregnancies after all), Victoria managed to move on and enjoy her life as a widow. He befriended John Brown, a former servant of Albert, and soon the two became very good friends. 

John Brown (1826-1883)

Victoria and John Brown at Balmoral

Brown was always with the Queen wherever she went. They even hold their hands and hugged in public and there whispers started to circulate that the two were secret lovers. They also slept in conjoining bedrooms and John was called by her children ''mama's lover''. On his deathbed, Rev. Norman Macleod, the Queen's personal chaplan, confessed that he married them in a secret ceremony. Unfortunately, John died in 1883, despite being younger than her. Whether were they married or not, we will never know for sure. 

Abdul Karim (1863-1909)

In the end, she made another friend. Abdul Karim, the Munshi, became her personal servant in 1887, and the two developed a strong friendship which brought Abdul many social and financial privileges at the court. Eventually, he became the Indian secretary of the Queen. On the other hand, he taught Victoria about the Indian culture and language.

On January 22th, 1901, Queen Victoria passed away. She was buried on February 2nd, 1901.