Victoria

1819-1901. Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901), Empress of India (1876-1901).

Queen Victoria, daughter of Edward, the duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg was born on 24 May 1819 in Kensington Palace in London.

Victoria was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover (after her, the dynasty was named after Prince consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 at the age of eigthteen. At this time the United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy in which the king or queen held few political powers and exercised influence by the prime minister's advice.

She reigned the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland for 64 years. During her reign the British Empire expanded to a large extent, reaching its climax as one of the foremost global powers of the time. The upper and middle class in the United Kingdom experienced an unprecedented economic prosperity.

Her husband was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to whom she was married in 1840. Together, they had nine children (Victoria, Bertie, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice) for all of whom she arranged marriages. Furthermore she had fourty-two grandchildren all across Europe giving her the nickname "mother of Europe".

Changes during her reign

When Victoria came to the throne, monarchy was unpopular among the people in the UK. This attitude altered, mainly in the second part of Victoria's reign as her strong character, her will and her determinedness induced significant changes.

During her reign, the conditions in the factories, urbanisation and the living conditions of the working class became an important issue. In 1844, 1847 and 1850 Factory Acts were passed trying to improve working conditions notably for children and women but also for men in mines, factories and offices by means of restricting weekly hours of work and forbidding night work for persons under the age of 18.

In Education, the 'Forster Education Act' (1870) divided the kingdom into districts receiving grants of money for education. In 1891, the attendance of primary school was compulsory and free and finally, the Act ensured that the rate of illiteracy decreased rapidly by the end of the century as more and more citizens were able to read and to write. The "Board of Education", a system of state schools, was established in 1899 and expanded the number of school offered by the Anglican Church.

Throughout the Victorian Era, the ideal of separate spheres of men and women was supported. Consequently, following the myth of being 'The Angel in the House', women should devote themselves entirely to (the shelter of) their families. Victoria and Albert personified this ideal - and the monarch was vehemently against the emancipation of women, but she could not and did not veto acts of parliament in favour of women's emancipation. Moreover, she had to live with the paradox that she was the head of state.

After the death of her husband in 1861 she almost completely retreated from public life. She died on 22 January 1901 in Osborne House, Isle of Wight. She was succeeded by her son Edward.

Sources

• Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.
• Ray, John, Ray, Mary. The Victorian Age. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1969.
• St. Aubyn, Giles- Queen Victoria - A Portrait. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1991.
• Veldman, Meredith and Edgar Trevor Williams. "Victoria." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/627603/Victoria.