Later years of Queen Victoria
On the 2nd of March, 1882, a bitter poet, Roderick Maclean, shot at the queen’s carriage as she left the Windsor railway station. This was because the queen refused to accept one of his poems.
On the 17th march 1883, Brown fell down the stairs at Windsor and he became lame until July. He never recovered from the accident and was afflicted by rheumatism later on. Brown passed on ten days after the accident and the queen started working on a eulogistic biography of Brown. In early 1884, Victoria published a book that she dedicated to John Brown.
A day after the anniversary of John’s death, the queen received news that her youngest son, Leopold, had died in Cannes.
Victoria’s golden jubilee
In 1887, the British Empire celebrated the queen’s golden jubilee. Victoria marked the 50th anniversary of her accession on 20th June with a party in which fifty kings and princes were invited. She participated in a procession and attended a thanksgiving service in Westminster abbey the following day.
The queen’s eldest daughter became the empress consort of Germany in 1888 but was widowed within that year and Victoria’s grandchild, Wilhelm became the German emperor as Wilhelm the second.
Diamond jubilee
Victoria surpassed her grandfather as the longest serving monarch in the English, British and Scottish history on the 23rd of September, 1896. Victoria requested that any special celebrations be put on hold until 1897, to coincide with her diamond jubilee. Victoria’s diamond jubilee procession was on 22nd of June, 1897, and followed a route six miles long through London and included troops from all over the empire.
The procession stopped for an open air service of thanksgiving that was held outside St. Paul’s cathedral. The celebrations were marked by large crowds expressing their love and affection for their 78-year old queen.
Victoria’s demise and succession
Following her custom that she maintained since losing her husband, the queen spent the Christmas of 1900 at Osborne house on the Isle of Wight. By now she had rheumatism that had made her lame and her eyes were greatly affected by cataracts. For the better part of January, she was weak and unwell and by mid-January, the queen was drowsy and confused.
Victoria passed on the 22nd of January, 1901, at the age of 81. Her son and successor, King Edward VII, and her eldest grandson, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, were beside her during death. Her favorite pet Pomeranian, Turi, was also laid upon her deathbed as a last request.
In 1897, the queen had written instructions for her funeral, which was to be military as befitting a soldier’s daughter and the head of the army, and white rather than black. On the 25th of January, Edward VII assisted in lifting the queen’s body into the coffin. Victoria was dressed in a white dress and her wedding veil. An assortment of mementos commemorating her extended family, friends and servants were laid in the coffin with her as she had requested.
One of her husband’s dressing gowns was also placed by her side, with a plaster cast of his hand, while a lock of John Brown’s hair, along with his picture, was also placed in her left hand and hidden from the view of the family by a carefully placed bunch of flowers. The jewelry placed on Victoria also included the wedding ring of John Brown’s mother that was given to her by John in 1883.
Victoria’s funeral was held on the 2nd of February in St. George’s chapel, Windsor castle, and after two days of lying-in-state, she was interred next to Prince Albert in Frogmore mausoleum at the Windsor great park.
With a reign spanning slightly over six decades, seven months and two days, Victoria was the longest-serving British monarch and also the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history until her great, great granddaughter, Elizabeth the second, surpassed her on the 9th of September, 2015. Queen Victoria was also the last monarch of Britain from the Hanover House. The queen’s son and successor, Edward VII belonged to her husband’s House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Victoria’s legacy
According to her biographers, the queen wrote an average of 2,500 words in a day during her adult life. From July 1832 to just before her death, Victoria kept a detailed journal which in the end was a total of 122 volumes. After her demise, the queen’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was appointed as her literary executor.
Beatrice transcribed and edited the diaries and burned the originals. In spite of this destruction, a large portion of the diaries still exist. Far from her edited copy, Lord Esher also transcribed the volumes from 1832 to 1861 before they were destroyed by the princess.
Victoria was stout and about five feet tall. During the first years after she lost her husband, she was not that popular, but between 1880 and 1890, she was greatly liked. It was only after her diaries and letters were released that the public became aware of her political influence. Her records show that she was emotional, honest and a straight talker.
Through her reign, the gradual establishment of a modern constitutional monarchy in Britain went on. Also, reforms of the voting system increased the power of the House of Commons at the expense of the House of Lords and the monarch. In 1867, Walter Bagehot said that the monarch only retained the right to be consulted, the right to encourage and warn.
Victoria’s monarchy was more of symbolism than politically inclined because it strongly emphasized on morality as well as family values, as opposed to the sexual, financial and personal scandals that had been linked with previous members of the house of Hanover, and eventually discredited the monarchy. The queen’s reign strengthened the concept of family monarchy.
It is also important to know that the Victoria Memorial was erected in front of the Buckingham palace as part of the remodeling of the façade of the palace, ten years after her death. All over the world, places and memorials have been dedicated to Victoria; Africa’s largest lake, Victoria Falls, the capitals of British Columbia(Victoria) and Saskatchewan(Regina) as well as two Aussie states(Victoria and Queensland).
Furthermore, the Victoria Cross was introduced in 1856 to reward acts of valor during the Crimean war, and it is still the highest British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealander award for bravery. Victoria Day is also a Canadian statutory holiday.
Victoria’s titles, styles and arms
Titles and styles
24th of May 1819 to 20th June 1837- her royal highness princess Alexandria Victoria of Kent
20th June 1837 to 22nd January 1901- the queen(her majesty)
At the end of her rule, Victoria’s full style and title were “Her majesty Victoria, by the God’s grace, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Queen of Ireland, the faith defender, empress of India.
Arms
The queen used the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Before she took over the reign, Victoria received no grant of arms. Since there is no way she could have succeeded to the Hanover throne, Victoria’s arms never carried the Hanoverian symbols that were used by her immediate predecessors. Her arms have been borne by all of her successors on the throne.
Outside Scotland, the shield blazon is also used on the royal standard is:
Quarterly-I and IV, Gules, passant guardant of the three lions in pale or for England
II, or a rampant lion within a two- treasure Flory counter Flory gules for Scotland
III, Azure, a harp or argent that is stringed for Ireland.
In Scotland, the initial and fourth quarters are occupied by the lion of Scotland and the second by English lions. The crests, mottoes as well as supporters are also different in and out of Scotland.
Presumed heir
As mentioned earlier in this book, Victoria was raised while isolated from her peers. The Kensington system barred her from meeting people whom her mother and Conroy regarded as undesirable, including a majority of her father’s family. The system was designed to weaken Victoria and dependent on them.
Victoria’s mother avoided the court because she was scandalized by the presence of King William’s illegitimate kids. In 1830, the Duchess of
Kent and Conroy took Victoria across England to visit the Malvern Hills while stopping at towns and great country houses on their way. Similar travels to other parts of England and wales were done in 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835.
These travels angered the king because Victoria was greatly welcomed in all her stops. The king was concerned that these travels portrayed Victoria as a rival rather than his heir presumptive. Moreover, Victoria also hated these travels due to the constant public appearances that made her tired and sick with no little time for rest. Victoria tired objecting on the basis of the king’s disapproval but her mum could hear none of it. The duchess termed the king’s complaint as being triggered by jealousy and forced Victoria to go on with the journeys. In October 1835, at Ramsgate, Victoria had a sever fever. S she was ill, Conroy and her mother tried to convince her to make Conroy her private secretary but she refused.
As a teenager, Victoria resisted attempts by the duchess and Conroy to appoint him to her staff. Consequently, as soon as she became the queen, she banned Conroy from her presence. By 1836, Victoria’s uncle, Leopold, who had been the Belgian king since 1831, was interested in marrying his niece to his nephew, Prince Albert. Leopold, the duchess and Albert’s dad were siblings.
Leopold then arranged for the duchess to invite her Coburg relatives to visit her in May 1836, for him to introduce Albert to Victoria. The king did not want any match with the Coburgs and preferred Prince Alexander of the Netherlands. As per her diary, Victoria enjoyed Albert’s company form the word go. After the visit she wrote how Albert was handsome.
Victoria then wrote to Leopold thanking him for the introduction. At the age of seventeen, even though she was interested in Albert, she wasn’t ready for marriage yet. In 1843 and 1845, Victoria and Albert stayed with King Louis Philippe in Normandy. Victoria was the first British monarch after Henry VIII and Francis I to visit. King Louis then reciprocated the trip in 1844 and he became the first French king to visit a British sovereign.
King Louis was deposed in the revolutions of 1848 and he exiled in England. Victoria and her family then left England for the greater safety of Osborne House.
Victoria was baptized Alexandria, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Other names that were brought forward by her parents are Georgina, Charlotte and Augusta. All these were dropped on the instructions of the Duke’s eldest brother, George, the prince regent.
When she was born, Victoria was the fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III:
George, the prince regent, later to be George IV
Frederick, the duke of York
William, the duke of Clarence, later to be William IV
Victoria’s dad, Edward, the duke of Kent
The prince regent had no surviving children and the duke of York had no children either. Additionally, both of them had separated from their wives who were both in menopause, so, the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any kids. The duke of Kent and the duke of Clarence got married on the same day in 1818, even though both daughters of Clarence passed on as infants.
Victoria’s dad died in January 1820 when Victoria was hardly one year old. Seven days later, Victoria’s grandfather also died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. In 1827, the duke of York died. In 1830, when George IV died, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became the heir presumptive.
The regency act 1830 made special provision for the duchess of Kent to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still not an adult. Victoria’s reign saw great cultural expansion, improvement in industry, science, and communications as well as the building of railways and the London underground.
The advances in science included Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and in technology, the telegraph and popular press. The growth of great cities like Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds increased literacy which was mostly funded by industrial philanthropists. During Victoria’s reign, Britain also expanded its imperial reach, doubling in size and covering Canada, Australia, India as well as several possessions in Africa and the south pacific.
At several junctures, Victoria showed some influence in foreign affairs, expressing her opinions and views but without going beyond the limits of the constitution. During her rule, the British Empire also had few wars. The British parliamentary politics saw the split of the Tory party, forming the liberal and conservative parties.
Queen Victoria restored the reputation of the tarnished monarchy. The monarchy was destroyed by the extravagance of her royal uncles. During her coronation, she wore robes of white satin and red velvet. The ceremony took five hours and was a little chaotic because the Dean of Westminster, who had presided over previous events, was unwell. The queen was handed the orb at the wrong time, and the Archbishop of Canterbury further forced a ring on the wrong finger, which took an hour to remove.
In 1842, Victoria and her husband visited Scotland for the first time and they found it to be quite romantic and wild. The couple bought Balmoral in Scotland and between 1853 and 1856; Albert oversaw the construction of a new neo-gothic castle for his family. It remained a private residence for the royal family up to date. The queen promoted the monarchy in Scotland through her frequent visits. Furthermore, Victoria attended several highland games and also wrote a book titled, “highland leaves”, in which she opened up about her experiences which boosted tourism in Scotland.
The queen, together with Albert’s help, came up with a new constitutional monarch with the aim of stemming a growing republican movement in Britain. Victoria became the patron of over one hundred institutions, including several charities, while her husband supported the development of educational museums. The couple further went on civic visits to industrial towns such as Leeds, and attended military reviews to support the armed forces. They did all this to stop the royal family from being criticized that they don’t earn their keep.
Queen Victoria introduced the Victorian cross to honor great acts of bravery during the Crimean war. This was awarded on merit rather than rank. Victoria personally awarded the first Victoria crosses to sixty two men at a ceremony that was held at Hyde Park in 1857.
Even though Victoria and Albert were sexually attracted, the couple was embroiled in a struggle for power. Her husband took over most of her duties because her pregnancies forced her to stay aside. The couple had terrible fights and Albert was scared of his wife’s temper tantrums. As she stormed around the palace, Albert left notes under her door. Victoria’s need to control her kids was almost pathological. She placed a network of spies as well as informers who monitored her children’s movements.
When Bertie married Alexandra, the Danish princess, the queen instructed the doctor to report back to her regarding her health and menstrual cycle. Balls at the court were scheduled so that they don’t coincide with Alexandra’s periods. Her eldest daughter, Vicky, married Fritz. As they lived in Germany, the queen still tried to monitor her daughter and it made Vicky crazy.
Conclusion
Some random notes from Queen Victoria’s diary
When she was born, the doctor described Victoria as “as plump as a partridge”.
Victoria’s first entry in her diary, in a train near Birmingham on the 2nd of august, 1832- the men, women, children, country and houses are all black
20th of June 1837- lady Conyngham then informed that my poor uncle was no more
28th of June 1838- the crown being placed on my head……
When the queen was referring to the bedchamber crisis in her old age- I was very young then and maybe I should act differently…….
15th of October 1839- he was so kind, so affectionate…..
10th of June 1840- I saw him at me with another pistol. I ducked my head and another shot…..
1st of December 1840- after a good many hours suffering, a perfect little child was born…..
24th august 1849-we scrambled up to the highest peak and here w
e sat down and had our luncheon
3rd of February 1842- we drove in under the new covered entrance, which is magnificent and had a beautiful effect…..
Hіѕtоrу оf thе UK Pаrlіаmеnt
Pаrlіаmеnt represents thе реорlе of thе Unіtеd Kіngdоm. It сhесkѕ аnd сhаllеngеѕ thе wоrk of the Gоvеrnmеnt, mаkеѕ nеw lаwѕ аnd has thе роwеr tо ѕеt tаxеѕ.
Hоw Pаrlіаmеnt wоrkѕ today іѕ very dіffеrеnt frоm hоw іt wоrkеd whеn іt bеgаn оvеr 700 уеаrѕ аgо. It hаѕ evolved ѕо that еvеrуоnе саn have a ѕау іn how the UK іѕ run аnd who runѕ іt.
Parliament соnѕіѕtѕ оf thrее раrtѕ: thе Hоuѕе оf Cоmmоnѕ, thе House оf Lords аnd thе Mоnаrсh. Thе bаlаnсе оf роwеr bеtwееn these thrее раrtѕ hаѕ сhаngеd оvеr thе сеnturіеѕ.
In thе Hоuѕе of Cоmmоnѕ, thеrе are 650 MPѕ whо аrе elected bу реорlе thrоughоut the UK to rерrеѕеnt their іntеrеѕtѕ and соnсеrnѕ. The Hоuѕе оf Commons hаѕ the final ѕау on lаwѕ іntrоduсеd іn Pаrlіаmеnt.
Thе House оf Lоrdѕ is thе second Chamber оf the UK Pаrlіаmеnt. It hаѕ аrоund 800 mеmbеrѕ, most of thеm life рееrѕ, арроіntеd bесаuѕе thеу hаvе hаd a distinguished саrееr or hаvе made a significant соntrіbutіоn tо British lіfе. Thе Lоrdѕ works independently of thе Cоmmоnѕ but thе two Houses share thе tаѕk of mаkіng lаwѕ and checking аnd challenging thе wоrk оf thе Gоvеrnmеnt.
The Mоnаrсh’ѕ role іѕ lаrgеlу formal. It іnсludеѕ approving laws, appointing lіfе рееrѕ, and аnnоunсіng thе Government’s рlаnѕ for thе year аhеаd аt thе Stаtе Oреnіng сеrеmоnу.
Confusion, Confession and Conviction Page 22