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QUEEN VICTORIA Date of birth: 24 May, 1819 Place of birth: Kensington Palace, London Dynastic house: Hanoverian Parents: Victoria was the only child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria Mary Louisa of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Home: Queen Victoria had many residences. She lived in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Osborne House (Isle of Wight) and Balmoral Castle. Queen Victoria bought both Osborne House and Balmoral Castle. Titles held: Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India (from 1 May 1876). Age on accession: 18 years old. Victoria became queen on 20 June, 1837, with the death of her uncle, King William IV. Education: Victoria was educated by her governess, Louise Lehzen, and the Reverend George Davys. She was certainly busy. She was given religious instruction and lessons in French, Latin, German, Italian, arithmetic, drawing, music, geography and history! Marriage and family: On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria married Albert, son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The couple had nine children. Most of them married into European royal families, like those of Denmark, Russia, Prussia and the German Empire. The Royal Family today is related to many European monarchies because of the marriages of Queen Victoria's children. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, is also a descendant of Queen Victoria through one of her children. Queen Victoria was survived by 6 children, 40 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren, including four future sovereigns of England: Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI. Hobbies: The Queen loved singing. She loved to draw and paint and kept a regular diary throughout her life. As a girl Victoria had a fabulous collection of dolls, while in later life she became fond of the opera and the theatre. Queen Victoria published two books during her lifetime, 'Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands' and 'More Leaves' in 1868 and 1884 respectively. Career highlights: Queen Victoria is the longest reigning British Monarch. Her long reign saw many changes to society; science and technology were encouraged and supported; her many children and their foreign marriages brought Britain connections with virtually every European monarchy, while the British empire reached its grandest scale. It was also a largely peaceful reign. Although there were conflicts in the Empire, British forces were only involved in one European conflict, the Crimean War (1854-56). Victoria restored the reputation of the monarchy, which was unpopular at the time of her accession. When George IV died in 1830, the British newspaper The Times commented that 'there never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king'. By the end of the reign, with the advances in Empire, the monarchy's prestige and the affection in which it was held were once again high. Much of this was due to Victoria and her husband, Albert. In British society, moves were made to improve the life of the ordinary man and woman. More people than ever before were allowed to vote, while the 1842 Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. An Education Act and a Public Health Act were passed and there were laws limiting the maximum length of time anyone should work in the day to 10 hours. These Acts and more were passed and carried out by the ten Prime Ministers who served Queen Victoria during her reign. Britain moved towards the 'constitutional monarchy' (where the king or queen reigns according to the advice of an elected Parliament) we know today. One of Prince Albert's great achievements was the Great Exhibition, held in 1851. This was a huge fair in which people from all over the world displayed the latest technologies. The exhibition made a great deal of money and this was used to buy a large area of land in Kensington, London, on which buildings were built to encourage science and technology. Among the buildings there today are the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Albert Hall. During the reign, the British empire doubled in size to include New Zealand and expansion in Burma, the Pacific, India, Egypt and South Africa. Britain gained control of the Suez Canal, and the queen was made Empress of India (1876). Low points: The death of her husband, Prince Albert, was probably the lowest point of Victoria's reign. The queen was devastated. They had both married at the age of 20 in 1840 and were deeply in love with each other. Victoria relied heavily on Albert and he took a leading role in many of the decisions that were made. After his death, the queen went into mourning and wore black for the rest of her reign (another 40 years). She also withdrew from public view and spent most of her time at Balmoral in north Scotland, and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The queen only opened parliament seven times in the last thirty-nine years of her reign. Indeed she was not really seen until her Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1887. This lack of public appearance caused a downturn in the popularity of the monarchy. People could not understand why it was taking her so long to get over the death of her husband. It was only when her public appearances increased that people warmed to her once more. General: The Victoria Cross dates from this period. Queen Victoria awarded it for valour and bravery to soldiers who had fought in the Crimean War. It was made from iron that was taken from captured guns in the war, and is still in use today. The Victoria Cross ranks above all other British Orders and decorations. Below the Royal crown on the cross are the words 'For Valour'. On the reverse the date of the feat of valour is engraved. The earliest deed of valour to win the award was by Charles David Lucas, a 21-year-old sailor on the ship HMS Hecla who picked up a live shell fired onto the deck of the ship with the fuse still hissing and threw it overboard before it could explode. Sayings: Queen Victoria is supposed to have said this as a 10-year-old girl on learning that she was likely to become queen in the future: I will be good. In reply to King Leopold of the Belgians, who, after the birth of Queen Victoria's first child in 1840, had expressed the hope that she would be the first of many. The Queen had nine children in all: Men never think, at least seldom think, what a hard task it is for us women to go through this very often. God's will be done, and if He decrees that we are to have a great number of children why we must try to bring them up as useful and exemplary members of society. Queen Victoria on marriage, writing in 1858: I think people really marry far too much; it is such a lottery after all, and for a poor woman a very doubtful happiness. Death and burial: Queen Victoria died on 22 January, 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She was 82. She is buried in a mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor.