Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

[James VI]

Victoria and Brown

Quite apart from gynaecological reasons, there was also a question of morality. Victoria believed passionately, in the institution of marriage. Even as a widow, she saw herself as the wife of Prince Albert, bound to him until her own death. The idea of a physical relationship with Brown would have repulsed her. I grew up on Deeside, and even to this day, you can hear all the various " Mrs Brown " stories, spoken as though they were established fact, when in reality they are nothing more than a rehash of old gossip, deliberately put about to discredit Victoria, and the institution she served so well.

 

[Tsaritsa]

I suppose we have it on irrefutable authority that the young Victoria, whose voracious sexual appetite was so nymphomanic!!!!! banged on a locked door demanding sex because "I am the Queen"!!!! I really would love to know what proof there is for this sweeping statement and I find it amazing, that after all those years of (supposed) sex on demand Albert managed to father 9 children. However, he was never known for his stamina, possibly had bouts of depression, admitted that he would succumb to illness because he lacked the will to fight it. Of this type of personality, I would expect to find a degree of erectile dysfunction, but it seems unlikely to have been true of Albert. I believe Victoria enjoyed the company of those men who made her feel cared for, we know that she liked to see herself as the helpless little woman, but SEX!!! with any man other than Albert, whose wife she considered herself until her death, IMO would not have been on the agenda, and given what producing 9 babies had done to her body, it may have come as a relief not to have to go through it again.

 

[Lenora]

We are not amused: Royal exhibition reveals artist who dared to disobey Queen Victoria - Telegraph

 

[James VI]

Victoria and Macleay

Thank you for posting this link, Lenora, i have never seen this minature of Prince Alfred, before, it`s charming. I think the article explains the Queen`s attitude fairly well and Macleay was wrong to have disregarded her wishes, with regards to respect for mourning, but also from an artistic angle. Looking at the portrait, Alfred would quite clearly not have struck the same dignified pose, had he been portrayed wearing white tie.

 

[CarolynHarris]

Helen Rappaport's book: A Magnificent Obsession, Victoria, Albert and the Death that changed the British Monarchy comes out in North America later this March. I enjoyed reading my advance copy. Here's my review

Book Review of Helen Rappaport, A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert and the Death that Changed the British Monarchy | Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian

 

[Grandduchess24]

I'd have to say that Queen Victoria is my favorite British monarch.

 

[Lucy63]

I am reading a book of Victoria's letters and journals now...she was the most magnificent letter-writer, telling like it was and sparing no one's feelings.

I find myself laughing out loud at some of the outrageous things she wrote, especially to her daughter Vicki in Germany.

She wrote very frankly of her distaste for young babies, compared women who were pregnant too often to dogs and cows, scolded Vicki for being excited about her pregnancy when she should instead be only wanting to be with her husband, married only a few years.

She also wrote to her daughter that her only true happiness was alone with Albert, that she preferred him above all others, including her children.

And her descriptions of people, clothing, books, etc. are priceless. She also gave Vicki great lectures about not writing about her life in detail back to her mother, she wanted an hour-by-hour recap of Vicki's life, leaving out nothing.

She was quite a character.

 

[NGalitzine]

She wrote very frankly of her distaste for young babies, compared women who were pregnant too often to dogs and cows...

Yes. Victoria seemed to forget that she herself had 9 children. She even named a cow after Alice after she found out that Alice was breastfeeding her babies.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

I think after her ninth child was born and the doctors advised Victoria against having any more, she was reported to have said, "Are we not to have any fun?" Her love for Albert was both physical and emotional. She did not like the effect of lovemaking--getting pregnant and having children. And Victoria disliked infants but I believe she became fond of children after they developed personalities and left their infancy behind.

 

[NGalitzine]

"Victoria disliked infants but I believe she became fond of children after they developed personalities and left their infancy behind".......and I quite agree with her on that point.

 

[Lucy63]

Poor Queen V never got over her little jealousies if any of her children or granchildren received attention and cheers...even into her seventies, she was writing in her journals and letters how Bertie, or George and May were cheered but that when she showed herself, that of course she was cheered much more...she also made a point to write a memo to one of the PM's that never were any of her children to represent her at an opening, event, etc...without referencing her, their mother. I guess someone must have slipped up once, lol

Overall, it is probably a good thing that Queens did not really have all that much direct power, as she judged everyone she dealt with on the basis of whether or not they had loved and admired Albert sufficiently. If they did, or pretended they did, she adored them, if not, she had no use for them. Their opinions, talents, etc. were far secondary to their love of Albert.

But I am very much enjoying reading the compilation of her letters and memos. ("Queen Victoria in her Letters and Journals". There was no one like her, that is for sure. And she always did want the best for her people.

 

[Al_bina]

Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim: After John Brown's death, Queen fell for Indian servant | Mail Online

 

[Artemisia]

When Victoria met Albert: Tender letter reveals how Queen fell in love with her prince

The Queen has released a series of photographs and personal letters giving a rare insight into the life of Queen Victoria. Buckingham Palace describe the collection as ‘Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Scrapbook’. It commemorates the life of the only other reigning monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.

Absolutely fascinating insight; I actually enjoyed every bit of this article. Queen Victoria also had a delightful handwriting - so clear and beautiful!

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

My dear Friends,

View Queen Victoria's scrapbook at this link:

Queen Victoria Online Scrapbook

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

The last of Queen Victoria's great-grandchildren has passed away.

Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who is the eldest of her great-great grandchildren? And the youngest? I believe Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are in that generation.

 

[Warren]

The Queen diaries: Her Majesty wears traditional floral to launch website of great-great-grandmother Victoria's journals | Mail Online
24 May 2012

The Queen launches website for Queen Victoria's Journals
​

The Queen today launched a very modern resource - a website made up of the journals of her great-great-grandmother Victoria. The monarch used a remote control to reveal the site on a screen in Buckingham Palace’s throne room.

More than 40,000 pages of the diaries kept by Queen Victoria from the age of 13 until just before her death have been published. But the Queen provoked laughter when she commented, 'Mine's not being published.'

The Royal Archives, Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University and online publisher ProQuest scanned the pages - some in Victoria’s own hand and some edited and transcribed by her daughter Beatrice after her death - for the six-month project marking the Diamond Jubilee.

Queen Victoria wrote of the scenes that greeted her during a parade to mark her own 60-year reign: 'Passed through dense crowds, who gave me a most enthusiastic reception. It was like a triumphal entry. We passed down Cambridge Terrace, under a lovely arch bearing the motto, ‘Our hearts thy Throne’. 'The streets were beautifully decorated, also the balconies of the houses with flowers, flags, and draperies of every hue... The streets, the windows, the roofs of the houses, were one mass of beaming faces, and the cheers never ceased.'

The Queen paid tribute to her forebear on the website, writing: 'In this the year of my Diamond Jubilee, I am delighted to be able to present, for the first time, the complete online collection of Queen Victoria’s journals from the Royal Archives. These diaries cover the period from Queen Victoria’s childhood days to her accession to the throne, marriage to Prince Albert, and later, her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. It seems fitting that the subject of the first major public release of material from the Royal Archives is Queen Victoria, who was the first Monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.'

Interestingly, Victoria wrote on her Diamond Jubilee about sending a message electronically. 'I touched an electric button, by which I started a message which was telegraphed throughout the whole Empire,' she wrote. 'It was the following: "From my heart I thank my beloved people, may God bless them."'

The Twitter account @QueenVictoriaRI will be active during the Jubilee period. The online release of the diaries, which have been transcribed up to the year 1840, mark the start of a year-long programme to digitise work from the Royal Archive.

-> Queen Victoria's Journals website
.

 

[Daria_S]

When I click on the link in your post, it takes me to a page with an error message. A technical glitch, I'm sure. Thank you for posting the article.

 

[Thena]

^Looks like the correct link should be www.queenvictoriasjournals.org.

 

[Warren]

Yes, the Mail Online article gave two links. Both proved to be invalid.
I've added the correct link at the bottom of the post.

 

[Daria_S]

^Looks like the correct link should be www.queenvictoriasjournals.org.

Yes, the Mail Online article gave two links. Both proved to be invalid.
I've added the correct link at the bottom of the post.

Thank you to the both of you for providing the correct links .

 

[Royal Smurfness]

I don't like this woman.
During her reign, the poorness of a great deal of people was terrible.
And when women tried to get more rights, not only did she not support them, she was against them.
No, I don't like her at all.

 

[Tsar bobo Iv]

its very sad about ww1
it was never supposed 2 happen
the reason she married all her kids 2 different royal houses so something like that want happen also even if her first daughter was her only child and married the emperor of Germany could she still b queen and empress of Germany

 

[Artemisia]

Amazing footage from 1897 shows Queen's great-great-grandmother Victoria during her Diamond Jubilee carriage procession

Just as the Queen yesterday celebrated her Diamond Jubilee with a carriage procession through the streets of London, so too did her great-great-grandmother more than 100 years ago. This incredible archive footage from June 22, 1897 shows Queen Victoria's carriage being pulled by eight cream horses from Westminster to Buckingham Palace on the six-mile route. Marching behind her in the film, on YouTube, are the 'bluejackets' (Royal Navy sailors), mounted riflemen and dragoons among others. And as the 78-year-old monarch was too frail to manage the steps on arrival at St Paul's cathedral for the thanksgiving service, the short ceremony was held outside the building.

​

 

[blauerengel]

I thought this would be worth sharing,it shows some of Queen Victorias drawings from her private journals:
Queen Victoria's Drawings | Brain Pickings

 

[Tsar bobo Iv]

it is a special coming on 2 night about queen victoria on pbs

 

[Warren]

Mail Online
1 July 2012

Queen Victoria mourning dress that she wore in late 1800s sells for three times expected price

Mourning clothes worn by Queen Victoria in the late 1800s have sold for more than three times their expected price at auction.

The outfit, which is made up of a black silk taffeta, bombazine bodice and matching grosgrain skirt with a 43in waist, was expected to sell for between £1,000 and £2,000. But with bidding starting at £2,000, the outfit finally sold for £6,200 to an American buyer at the auction at Hansons Derbyshire Auction Centre in Etwall, Derby.

The royal family's milliner Robert Heath of Hyde Park Corner designed and made the complete set for the monarch, which also comes with a pair of small black boots and monogrammed silk undergarments. A fine black straw hat with mourning veil mounted with a shining ostrich feather also comes with the costume.

v The Mourning Dress

 

[Artemisia]

Queen Victoria hated her children, say academics

The hidden misery of Queen Victoria’s household has emerged from Royal diaries and letters as well with interviews historians and biographers. According to the BBC, the series reveals “a story of manipulation, conflict, intimidation, emotional blackmail and fevered attempts by her children to escape the clutches of their domineering and needy mother”. Helen Rappaport, author of Magnificent Obsession and a contributor to the three part series, said Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were “pretty awful parents” to their four sons and five daughters. “She hated being pregnant. She had prenatal and postnatal depression. She didn’t breastfeed her children who she thought were horrible dribbling little things. She was not in the least bit maternal.

I think it has been well-established that while Queen Victoria wasn't fond of infants and toddlers, she loved her children very much and grew attached to them as soon as they were a bit older and had a chance to develop personalities. To say she hated her children is stretching the truth to a breaking point.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

I agree. Rather harsh assessment and false to boot! Victoria may not have been fond of infants and toddlers but I have never seen evidence that she hated her children. I think Albert scolded her for not being maternal when the children were very young.

 

[BritishRoyalist]

What was Victoria Relationship like with her Daughters-in-Laws? I have often wondered.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The 24th of May marks the anniversary of the birth of the future Queen Victoria in 1819.