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Victoria (Queen of the United Kingdom)
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, only child of Edward, Duke of Kent (fourth son of George III.); born in Kensington Palace, May 24, 1819. Her mother, Victoria Maria Louisa (1786-1861), was the the daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe- Coburg, and sister of Leopold, King of the Belgians. Her first husband, the Prince of Leiningen, died in 1814; and in 1818 she married the Duke of Kent.
The duke died in 1820, leaving his widow in charge of an infant daughter only eight months old, who had been baptized with the names of Alexandrina Victoria. The Duchess of Kent fulfilled the important duties which devolved on her with admirable care and prudence.
The princess' father having belonged to the Whigs, her political education was naturally derived from the members of that party; and to Viscount Melbourne belongs the credit of having thoroughly instructed her in the principles of the British constitution. She ascended the throne of the United Kingdom on the death of her uncle, William IV., on June 20, 1837; her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover, in virtue of the law which excluded females from that throne, and so the long connection between the crowns of England and Hanover was terminated.
Victoria was proclaimed June 21, 1837, and crowned at Westminster, June 28, 1838. She found on her accession Viscount Melbourne at the head of the government; and on a change of administration (1839) she refused to change, in accordance with precedent, the ladies of the bedchamber, the result being that Peel resigned and Melbourne's administration was prolonged till 1841. The young queen was married at St. James' Palace (Feb. 10, 1840) to Prince Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and second son of the then reigning duke.
The death of the Prince-Consort in 1861 led his widow to seclude herself for several years from public life, but, though she never afterward took so prominent a part in public life, she never neglected any of her essential duties as queen. Other severe trials were the deaths of the Princess Alice (of Hesse), of the Duke of Albany, and of the Duke of Clarence, her grandson.
No former monarch so thoroughly comprehended the great truth, that the powers of the crown are held in trust for the people, and are the means and not VICTORIA the end of government. This enlightened policy entitled her to the glorious distinction of having been the most constitutional monarch Great Britain has ever seen. Not less important and beneficial was the example set by her Majesty and the Prince-Consort in the practice of every domestic virtue. Their stainless lives, their unobtrusive piety, and their careful education of the royal children bore rich fruit in the stability of the throne. The progress made by the nation in the various elements of civilization and in material prosperity was unparalleled, and perhaps during no reign was there a greater measure of political contentment. In September, QUEEN VICTORIA 1896, her reign had reached a point exceeding in length the reign of any other English sovereign. The celebration of the occasion was postponed till June, the anniversary of her accession to the throne, 60 years previous.
Queen Victoria had four sons and five daughters; the Princess Royal, Victoria, born 1840, married in 1858 to Frederick William, afterward Emperor of Germany; Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, born in 1841 and married in 1863 to Alexandra, daughter of the King of Denmark; Alice, born in 1843, married in 1862 to Prince Frederick William of Hesse, died in 1878; Alfred, born in 1844, created Duke of Edinburgh 1866, married in 1874 to Marie, daughter of the Emperor of Russia, died in 1900; Helena born 1846, married in 1866 to Prince Christian of Denmark; Louise, born 1848, married in 1871 to the Marquis of Lorne; Arthur, born in 1850, created Duke of VICTORIA Connaught 1874, married in 1879 to Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia; Leopold, born 1853, created Duke of Albany in 1881, married to Princess Helena of Waldeck in 1882, died 1884; and Princess Beatrice, born 1857, married in 1885 to Prince Henry of Battenberg, died 1896. In the fall of 1900 the queen's health began to fail, and she died in Osborne House, Isle of Wight, Jan. 22, 1901. tralia; bounded N. by New South Wales,