Queen Victoria was Britain's monarch for 63 years, from 1837 until her death in 1901. Because her reign spanned so much of the 19th century and her nation dominated world affairs during that time, her name came to be associated with the period.
The woman for whom the Victorian Era was named was not necessarily the stern and remote figure we assume we know. Indeed, Victoria was far more complex than the foreboding image found in vintage photographs. Here are six major pieces of trivia about the woman who ruled Britain, and an empire that spanned much of the world, for six decades.
Victoria's Unlikely Reign
Victoria's grandfather, King George III, had 15 children, but his three eldest sons produced no heir to the throne. His fourth son, the Duke of Kent, Edward Augustus, married a German noblewoman expressly to produce an heir to the British throne.
