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An Overview of the Life of Queen Victoria

The reign of Queen Victoria endured for almost sixty-four years from 1837 to 1901, longer than any other British monarch in history. When Victoria ascended to the throne, the United Kingdom of Britain already had a constitutional monarchy in place that significantly limited the political power of the ruler. However, during her reign that would come to be known as the "Victorian era," Victoria served as a powerful figurehead of the U.K. during a period of massive growth due to the rise of the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the British Empire (Munich 265). Victoria became the presumptive heiress to the throne when her uncle William IV died without leaving any legitimate heirs to the throne. Victoria was nine so her mother, the Duchess of Kent and Straithearn, served as Regent until she assumed full command of the throne at eighteen.

Family values, Victoria as mother figure, and morality were highly significant during Queen Victoria's reign. Placing her in the company of Marcus Aurelius, King Alfred, and St. Louis, one historian says of her reign, "Even in a palace life may be well led" (Colby 792). This analysis will provide a discussion of some of the most significant events in the life and reign of Queen Victoria.

Victoria became Queen of the U.K. and Ireland on her eighteenth birthday. At the age of twenty-one, Victoria married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They would ultimately enjoy a very happy marriage. During Victoria's reign marriage would become a key strategy for solidifying and expanding the Empire. While she was Queen, Victoria arranged a number of marriages for her children and their children. She did this all across the continent in a way that cemented Europe together. Victoria posed for numerous photographs with the latest infant of the family line, a symbol of motherhood for England and the kingdom. As Munich (267) writes, "The kingdom was...

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An Overview of the Life of Queen Victoria. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:51, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2000262.html