Queen Victoria restored the reputation of a monarchy tarnished by the extravagance of her royal uncles. She also shaped a new role for the Royal Family, reconnecting it with the public through civic duties.
At just 4ft 11in tall, Victoria was a towering presence as a symbol of her Empire. She and her husband Albert and their nine children came to symbolise a new, confident age.
24 May 1819
A queen in waiting
Alexandrina Victoria was born to the Duchess of Kent. Her father was the fourth son of George III and she was fifth in line to the throne.
However, she had three elderly uncles ahead of her in the succession. So when her father died when she was eight months her prospects of becoming queen were good. The princess, known as Victoria, was raised at Kensington Palace. She was educated by her governess Baroness Lehzen, who taught her languages, arithmetic, drawing and music. Her widowed mother was lonely and depended utterly on John Conroy – a servant of her former husband who was bent on power.
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