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She was the longest ruling monarch in British history. She ruled for almost 64 years, and she saw and brought about many changes during her reign.
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Victoria was born in London on 24 May 1819, the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, and Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg.
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She was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Duke's elder brother, the Prince Regent (later George IV).
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the death of her uncle George IV in 1830, she became heiress presumptive to her next surviving uncle, William IV.
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On 20 June 1837, King William IV died and his niece, Princess Victoria, became Queen at the age of 18, and her reign spanned the rest of the century.
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Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey a year later on 28 June 1838. The coronation was a huge occasion and four hundred thousand visitors went to London to see the new Queen being crowned.
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She married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She got married in 1840.
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While on a public carriage ride, Albert and the pregnant Victoria were shot at by Edward Oxford, who was later judged insane. Neither was hurt. This was the first survival of three assasination attempts.
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Victoria, Princess Royal (born 1840) married Friedrich III, German Emperor. (lived November 21, 1840 - August 5, 1901)
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Edward VII (born 1841), married Alexandra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark.(lived November 9, 1841 - May 6, 1910)
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Victoria and her family travelled and were seen on an unprecedented scale, thanks to transport improvements and other technical changes such as the spread of newspapers and the invention of photography. Victoria was the first reigning monarch to use trains - she made her first train journey in 1842.
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They were also shot at the next day, but neither of them were hurt.
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Albert and Victoria were shot at again on both 29 and 30 May 1842, but were unhurt.
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Alice (born 1843) married Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. (lived April 25, 1843 - December 14, 1878)
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Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1844) married Marie of Russia.(lived August 6, 1844 - 1900)
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Victoria bought Osborne House (later presented to the nation by Edward VII) on the Isle of Wight as a family home in 1845, and Albert bought Balmoral in 1852.
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Helena (born 1846) married Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. (lived May 25, 1846 - June 9, 1923)
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Louise (born 1848) married John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll. (lived March 18, 1848 - December 3, 1939)
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Arthur, Duke of Connaught (born 1850) married Louise Margaret of Prussia. (lived May 1, 1850 - January 16, 1942)
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Leopold, Duke of Albany (born 1853) married Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont (lived April 7, 1853 - March 28, 1884)
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After the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the government of India was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown.
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Beatrice (born 1857) married Henry of Battenberg. (lived April 14, 1857 - October 26, 1944
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After Albert's death, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. 14 Victoria was overwhelmed by grief and remained in mourning until the end of her life.
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She commissioned a number of monuments in her husband, Prince Albert's, honour, including the Royal Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens completed in 1876.
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In 1877, Victoria became empress of India. Her empire also included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and large parts of Africa.
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In 1880, she tried, unsuccessfully, to stop William Gladstone - whom she disliked as much as she admired Disraeli and whose policies she distrusted - from becoming Prime Minister. She much preferred the Marquess of Hartington, another statesman from the Liberal party which had just won the general election. She did not get her way.
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In her later years, she almost became the symbol of the British Empire. Both the Golden (1887) and the Diamond (1897) Jubilees, held to celebrate the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the queen's accession, were marked with great displays and public ceremonies. On both occasions, Colonial Conferences attended by the Prime Ministers of the self-governing colonies were held
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held to celebrate her accession to the throne
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Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1901 after a reign which lasted almost 64 years, the longest in British history.
