What do three capital cities, two Australian states, a lake and a waterfall in Africa, a British reward for an act of valour, an era, a museum and ……….. the memorial in front of Buckingham Palace all have in common ?
Yes, you’ve got it! Victoria. All these places and things have been named after Queen Victoria. Although Queen Victoria is well remembered, mainly because of many industrial and technological developments during her reign, she was not always popular especially during the first years and also after the death of her husband Albert. There were no less than 7 attempts on her life!
On this day 22nd January 1901, Queen Victoria died in her favourite home, Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight aged 81 after more than 63 years on the throne. Worthy of the Guinness Book of records, Queen Victoria breaks the record for the longest ever reign of a British Monarch and the longest ever reign of any female monarch in history.
Victoria became queen at the age of 18 after the death of the last of her father’s three elder brothers. She married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840 little more than 2 years after becoming queen. In contrast to and maybe due to her rigid upbringing and lonely life as an only child, isolated from other children, Victoria together with Albert had a strong belief in the family institution and had nine children, seven in the first ten years of their marriage. They built Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight as a holiday home and spent as much time as possible there away from the demanding life of court, creating a relaxed, loving family environment where they cultivated their interests and where their children were allowed to visit their parents’ rooms, play and learn to cook in the Swiss cottage (a real Swiss cottage reconstructed for them in the garden), do gardening and learn to swim on their private beach. Today, you can visit the house, gardens, Swiss cottage and the beach and get a feel of Queen Victoria’s intimate, family life there. It is well worth a visit. If you want to feel a little more like royalty, there is even a holiday cottage to rent on the estate!
Queen Victoria and Albert’s children all married into royal or noble families around Europe. They totaled 42 grandchildren and 87 great grandchildren. Both Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are great great grandchildren of Queen Victoria and King Juan Carlos of Spain is also a great great grandson of Queen Victoria and Albert making them all third cousins.