Victoria

Victoria wearing her small diamond crown
Photograph by Alexander Bassano, 1882
Queen of the United Kingdom
Reign20 June 1837 ? 22 January 1901
Coronation28 June 1838
PredecessorWilliam IV
SuccessorEdward VII
Prime MinistersSee list
Empress of India
Reign1 May 1876 ? 22 January 1901
Imperial Durbar1 January 1877
SuccessorEdward VII
ViceroysSee list

SpousePrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
DetailIssue


Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress

Edward VII

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg

Full name
Alexandrina Victoria
HouseHouse of Hanover
FatherPrince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
MotherPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Born(1819-05-24)24 May 1819
Kensington Palace, London
Died22 January 1901(1901-01-22) (aged 81)
Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Burial4 February 1901
Frogmore, Windsor
Signature

Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 ? 22 January 1901) was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died leaving no legitimate, surviving children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the Sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.

Her reign of 63 years and seven months, which is longer than that of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father.
Contents

1 Birth and family

2 Heiress presumptive

3 Early reign

4 Marriage

5 1842?1860

6 Widowhood

7 Empress of India

8 Later years

8.1 Golden Jubilee

8.2 Diamond Jubilee

8.3 Death and succession


9 Legacy

10 Titles, styles, and arms

10.1 Titles and styles

10.2 Arms


11 Issue

12 Ancestry

13 Notes and references

13.1 Bibliography

13.2 Published primary sources


14 Further reading

15 External links


Birth and family Victoria, aged four