Queen Victoria

QUEEN VICTORIA (1819-1901)

Queen Victoria was born in 1819, daughter of Victoria Maria Luisa and Edoardo of the Hannover dinasty. But there are many doubs about this paternity: in fact one hypotesis is that she was the daughter of the secretary of her mother, Sir John Conroy. One probable proof that shows Conroy’s paternity is that neither Victoria nor her descendants were affected by the genetic illness of her grandfather, George III, that was ill of mental insanity. An other important thing to say abouut Victoria is that she was affected by Hemophlia, but no one of her predecessors presented that genetic desease.So there is a probability that this illness was introduced for the first time by Sir Conroy.

She became a very intelligent and clever woman; from her youth she studied many languages like Italian, Greek, Latin and French and when she get the throne she showed to know very well the story and the condition of her country. She was crowned as “Queen Victoria, for God glory, of the United Kingdom and Irlan, Defender of the faith”.The nation was identified with Queen: she was beloved by middle classes especially for her behaviour and moral values. During her reign, England had an unprecedent material progress, social reforms and imperial expansion; she reduced the working hours of women and children and she made a school reform thinking that “the ignorance will not let England enter gloriously in the XX century”. The expansion of the British Empire during the age of Queen Victoria happend all over the world: there were several wars both to protect English interests and also to gain new territories. England extended his power into Asia, for examle in India, Africa, like in Egipt and Kenia, Central America and Oceania. She never overruled parlament and became a mediatore above the two main party politics: Liberals and Conservatives.
During her reign there were many premiers and one of those was Lord Merlbourne, who was Queen lover for a short time before her marriage. In fact the sentimental life of Queen Victoria is a bit complicated.
When she was sixteen she met for the first time the man who will be her husband: her cousin Albert. They spent a happy life toghether until Albert’s death in 1861.
Their was a real love marriage and in just 11 years they had 9 sons, even if some of them died because of hemophilia. The inaspected death of Albert caused to Vittoria a period of depression: a legend tells that the Queen carried on sleeping with a clothes of his husband and every morning she ordinated to prepare the bathroom for Albert. She became istheric and unable to govern, so someone bring to the castle a man: John Brown, the ex adviser of Albert.
He was a rude and often drunk man, but between them grew up a sexual relationship: for this reason he was called the “stallion of the Queen”. During her story with Brown she felt in love with the premier Disraeli: he sent her erotic poems and she gave in back many gift. But her last love was a younger Indian boy, Abdul Karim; she discoverd that he was a spy so she could not spend her last time in India as she dreamed. The most strange event happend during her seolture: she was buried dressing her wedding dress, having Albert’s hat in one hand and in the other hand she had a picture and a ring of John Brown.

Queen Victoria’s reign was the longest in the history of England, from 1837 to 1901. She organized her Diamond Jubilee (60 years of reign) where all the premiers of English colonies took part.
The Queen died in 1901 when she was 82: she was ill and old, but she asked for a trip in the coach in Osborne; during the trip she close softly the eyes without open them again.
Nowdays there are many places named after Queen Victoria: the Australian state Vittoria, the capital of Seychelles (Port Victoria), the biggest african lake (Lake Victoria) and the biggest waterfalls of the word (Waterfalls Victoria).

Martina Sartoni & Irene Andreini