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 the 24th of May, 1819 in Kensington Palace in London.

Victoria was almost entirely of German descent and the last British monarch of the House of Hannover. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 at the age of eigthteen and still attending school. 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 the foremost global power of the time. The upper and middle class in the United Kingdom experienced an unprecedented economic prosperity. Therefore she gave her name to an era, the Victorian Age.

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.

Right form the beginning of her reign, several 'Factory Acts' were passed improving conditions of work notably for children and women but also 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.

Since the 1870s, the 'Married Women's Property Acts' allowed women to keep their goods when they married. In addition, women longed for political equality and thus, they claimed the right to vote.

In Education, the 'Forster Education Act' (1870) divided the kingdom into districts receiving grants of money for education. In 1891, the attendence of primary schools was compulsory and free and finally ensured that all citizens would be able to read and to write. The "Board of Education" was established in 1899.

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After the death of her husband in 1861 she almost completely retreated from the public. She died on the 22th of January, 1901 in Osborne House, Isle of Wight, and her death brought an end to the rule of the House of Hanover in the United Kingdom.

Sources

• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/627603/Victoria
• Maurer, Michael: Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam jun., 2007.
• Ray, John, Ray, Mary: The Victorian Age. London: Heinemann Educational Books LTD, 1969.
• St. Aubyn, Giles: Queen Victoria - A Portrait. [Place?]: [Publishing House?], 1991.
• Trevelyan, George Macaulay: English social history - A Survey of Six Centuries, Chaucer to Queen Victoria. [Place?]: [Publishing House?], 1945.