Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

[Dennism]

Yes, and a little like Stockard Channing from the West Wing as well.

[hillary_nugent]

Originally Posted by Australian

I also think she is one of the most interesting monarchs, along with Elizabeth I
Did you watch that movie on Albert & Victoria hello111? since you are from AUstralia too.

I watched it and found it really interesting! they had a beautiful and loving relationship!!! ^___^ Did their son Bertie become King when Queen Victoria passed away?

[karla64]

Yes. He become King after his mother died in 1901...



Yeah My favorite royal family Queen Victoria.. is great lady.. but She wear black dress for life until she died... kind of sad.....

Karla

[gogm]

I wonder how history would be different if Prince Albert had not died. The role of the monarchy seems to have diminished as a result of her widowhood. I recall someone put up a for rent sign at Buckingham Palace because of the inactivity there in the 1860s.

Maybe the British monarchy would have been more active and there may have been a need to trim its powers in the late 19th or early 20th century. Victoria was content to become more of a figurehead than a hands on player in government affairs after Albert's death. On the other hand, how would Albert have read Otto von Bismarck and the aggressive policies of his grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II? Could Victoria have done something to head off the coming cataclysm? No Great War. No Hitler. No Stalin. Interesting...

[KatieLouise]

Do you think that either Victoria or Albert could have exerted much influence over Wilhelm II, though? Anyway, it seems that Europe was always going to go to war, it was just a matter of when! They all planned for it: Prussia had the Schlieffen Plan, France had Plan XVII, etc. Still, it is interesting to think that, hypothetically, if Victoria was alive when Wilhelm was at his autocratic peak, what would she have said to him?

[gogm]

Wilhelm was estranged from his mother, the gorgeous Princess Royal Victoria, Queen Victoria's eldest child. Bismarck encouraged the rift. Both Victorias died in 1901.

I'm wondering if Albert could have read Bismarck's intentions and exerted a subtle counter influence.

I agree that nationalism was rising and people were wowed out by the new weapons, quick firng artillery, high explosive shells, and machine guns, without understanding how devastating they would be. Both France and Germany thought war would be quick and easy, although the Civil War battle at Petersburg, Virginia was a vivid forecast of the horrors to come with trenches and monstrous casualties.

Also Prussia/Germany pressed a hard peace on France and added insult to injury by crowning the first Kaiser in Notre Dame de Paris, guaranteeing a grudge match that came in 1914. The USA in its more humble days avoided a similar mistake by signing the peace treaty with Mexico in, as I recall, Guadalupe-Hidalgo instead of Mexico City.

This means that any interventions by Albert were needed in the 1860s and, at the very latest, in 1871. The world would have been much better had Victoria and Albert prevailed upon Germany to be less arrogant. Victoria and Albert were also friendly with Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. So Victoria and Albert might have been able to cool things off on both sides and avoid the war or broker a more palatable settlement had war broken out.

Which raises an ultimate what if. If nuclear fission had been discovered during a long peace in the twentieth century, then a nuclear exchange could have occurred when two powers finally did decide to have it out. One of those powers could have been the USA.

[Danielle]

Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and was buried in The Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor, on 4th February 1901 following a State Funeral in St. George's Chapel on 2nd February 1901.

After the funeral her coffin lay-in-state in The Albert Memorial Chapel for two days and was then taken to The Mausoleum by The Royal Horse Artillery. Her son, Edward, had been proclaimed King Edward VII.

Taken from: http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/w...funeral01.html

[GrandDuchess]

The National Archives have just released the records of the 1851 census, and among them you can find Queen Victoria herself!

The record shows the members of the Royal Family as well as five staff members who were with them at the time of the census, on 30 March 1951 in Kensington Palace. Also worth noting is that Prince Albert is listed as the "head" of the household. On the website address below you can read a full transcript of the record.

The census record of Queen Victoria

[gogm]

All accounts I have heard of say she took the role of wife and did treat her husband as the head of the family.

[Reina]

Hey if anyone of you all are QV look-alike's than you may have a job waiting for you!

Search begins for Royal lookalike
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4746103.stm

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by KatieLouise

Do you think that either Victoria or Albert could have exerted much influence over Wilhelm II, though? Anyway, it seems that Europe was always going to go to war, it was just a matter of when! They all planned for it: Prussia had the Schlieffen Plan, France had Plan XVII, etc. Still, it is interesting to think that, hypothetically, if Victoria was alive when Wilhelm was at his autocratic peak, what would she have said to him?

After all I have read about Queen Victoria, she would have treated him as a petulant, spoiled grandson and would have taken him to task!! If he would have listened, I cannot say. While Wilhelm despised his mother, he seemed to have an affection for Queen Victoria, she died in his arms.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by tiaraprin. After all I have read about Queen Victoria, she would have treated him as a petulant, spoiled grandson and would have taken him to task!! If he would have listened, I cannot say. While Wilhelm despised his mother, he seemed to have an affection for Queen Victoria, she died in his arms.

Yes, the Kaiser was at Osborne when the great Queen died, much to the consternation of the rest of the family!

If Prince Albert had lived longer he would probably have died an even more disappointed man; Bismarck ruled Germany through the Kaisers and there is little that Prince Albert could have done to influence affairs. Napoleon III had his own agenda and it is doubtful he would have allowed Albert's ideas to change his grandiose plans.

The more interesting "what if" is what would have been different if Friedrich III (Vicky's husband and father of Wilhelm II) had not died so soon after becoming Kaiser (he lasted 98 days). And before that, what if the first Kaiser and Friedrich's father, Wilhelm I, had not lived to be almost 91? If Friedrich had taken the Prussian and Imperial thrones at a younger age and had lived longer, then the liberal and democratic ideals of Prince Albert may have had an influence on the state of affairs in Germany. Even more so if Vicky's strident Englishness at the Prussian Court had been toned down!
.

[Elspeth]

It would have been interesting, indeed, but I wonder if the situation was susceptible to change just because of the outlook of the emperor. I'm sure that, just as in royal households and governments everywhere, the people in power are there because of a major network of mutual support which isn't dependent on just one person. My suspicion is that, knowing what sort of person Vicky's husband was, Bismarck and his followers would have had the political savvy to be doing the necessary to effectively turn him into a puppet even if he did become Emperor.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Warren

Yes, the Kaiser was at Osborne when the great Queen died, much to the consternation of the rest of the family!

If Prince Albert had lived longer he would probably have died an even more disappointed man; Bismarck ruled Germany through the Kaisers and there is little that Prince Albert could have done to influence affairs. Napoleon III had his own agenda and it is doubtful he would have allowed Albert's ideas to change his grandiose plans.

The more interesting "what if" is what would have been different if Friedrich III (Vicky's husband and father of Wilhelm II) had not died so soon after becoming Kaiser (he lasted 98 days). And before that, what if the first Kaiser and Friedrich's father, Wilhelm I, had not lived to be almost 91? If Friedrich had taken the Prussian and Imperial thrones at a younger age and had lived longer, then the liberal and democratic ideals of Prince Albert may have had an influence on the state of affairs in Germany. Even more so if Vicky's strident Englishness at the Prussian Court had been toned down!
.

That is a very interesting thought Warren and unfortunately we will never know the answer to it. Bismarck could still have won as Elspeth stated. It would have been a very bitter battle for power at the palace, and from what I have read about Kaiser Wilhelm II, he probably would have sided with Bismarck just to anger his father and then attempted to wrest control back when and if he became Emperor.

[Harry's polo shirt]

She has always been my favorite queen, I am not sure why I think because I saw a documentary type thing about her a long time ago, and I found her very interesting.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Harry's polo shirt

She has always been my favorite queen, I am not sure why I think because I saw a documentary type thing about her a long time ago, and I found her very interesting.

I think the reason I love Queen Victoria is a supposed quote of her after the birth of her last child, Princess Beatrice. The Queen was advised to not have anymore children by her doctors, and she has been said to exclaim "What?? Can I not have fun in bed anymore? Far from being prudish, Queen Victoria was a real woman who embraced her sexuality to the best of her psychological abilities. I think that is great!!!

[Harry's polo shirt]

hahaha, I like her even more now..I never heard that quote, she seems like such a strong woman. She was queen during a tough time in history and came out beautifully. She is in my top 5 best women in history.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Harry's polo shirt

hahaha, I like her even more now..I never heard that quote, she seems like such a strong woman. She was queen during a tough time in history and came out beautifully. She is in my top 5 best women in history.

I am glad you like it Harry. I also suggest to you to view the A & E miniseries Victoria and Albert. While there are wide gaps and some inaccuracies, I think you will find it interesting! Also, try to get a look at A & E's Biography of Queen Victoria.

[maryprincessroyal]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

Victoria's children and grandchildren can be found in most of the European royal families of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Catholic and Orthodox ones such as Spain and Russia as well as Protestant ones.

I found a descendant, William, son of Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who died in a plane crash in 1972 , he found out that he had porphiria some years before his death.

[Royal Fan]

what was her cause of Death