Page 6 - The Local Eye - Issue 135 - January 2017

6
January History Spotlights...

Queen Victoria - 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901)

Victoria was the daughter of Edward, the Duke of Kent and Princess
Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. She was born in Kensington Palace in London
on May 24th, 1819. The princess was named Alexandrina, after Emperor
Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria after her mother.
At the time of her birth, her grandfather, George III, was on the throne,
but his three eldest sons, the Prince Regent (later George IV), the Duke
of York, and the Duke of Clarence (later William IV), had no surviving
legitimate children. Victoria later described her childhood as “rather
melancholy.” Victoria’s mother was extremely protective of the princess,
who was raised in near isolation under the so called “Kensington System”, an elaborate set of
rules and protocols devised by The Duchess and her supposed lover, Sir John Conroy, to prevent
the princess from ever meeting people they deemed undesirable and to render her weak and
utterly dependent upon them. She was not allowed to interact with other children. Her main
companion was her King Charles spaniel, Dash, and she was required to share a bedroom
with her mother every night until she became queen. As a teenager, Victoria resisted their
threats and rejected their attempts to make Conroy her personal secretary. Once queen, she
immediately banned Conroy from her quarters (though she could not remove him from her
mother’s household) and consigned her mother to a distant corner of the palace, often refusing
to see her.
On 20 June 1837, William IV died from heart failure at the age of 71, and Victoria became
Queen. Her coronation took place on 28 June 1838, and she became the first monarch to take up
residence at Buckingham Palace. Princess Victoria first met her future husband, a first cousin,
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, when she was just seventeen in 1836. On Feb 10th,
1840, only three years after taking the throne they married. Their relationship was one of great
love and admiration. Together they bore nine children - four sons and five daughters: Victoria,
Bertie, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice.
Victoria and Albert had 42 grandchildren and their current descendants
number into the hundreds. As of 2009, the European monarchs and former
monarchs descended from Victoria are: Queen Elizabeth II (as well as her
husband), King Harald V of Norway, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden,
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Juan Carlos I of Spain (as well as his
wife), and the deposed kings Constantine II of Greece (as well as his wife)
and Michael of Romania. The pretenders to the thrones of Serbia, Russia,
Prussia and Germany, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Hanover, Hesse, Baden
and France (Legitimist) are also descendants. An impressive family tree!
Birthdays This Month Include...
Alan Alda
Mel Gibson Dolly Parton 28th January 1936
3rd January 1956 19th January 1946

Jimmy Page Emma Bunton Vanessa Redgrave
9th January 1944 21st January 1976 30th January 1937
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