Queen Victoria was born on 24 May 1819. She was the only child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Her mother had two children--Charles and Feodore--from her previous marriage to Prince Emich Charles of Leiningen. Queen Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria after Tsar Alexander I of Russia (her godfather) and her mother. Her father, Edward, Duke of Kent, died of pneumonia on 23 January 1820. The young Princess Victoria’s governess was Baroness Louise Lehzen.
Victoria acceded to the throne of England on 20 June 1837. She decided to reign as “Queen Victoria” and not as “Queen Alexandrina.” In her journal entry for that day, she wrote: “Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station, I shall do my utmost to fulfill my duty towards my country; I am very young and perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure, that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have” (St. Aubyn 57). She was crowned on 28 June 1838.
Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, on 10 February 1840. Victoria and Albert were about the same age--Albert was born on 26 August 1819. Their mutual uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium had been wanting Victoria to marry Albert for quite some time, so he was very happy when he read Victoria’s enthusiastic letter to him telling him of her and Albert’s engagement.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children--Victoria (Vicky), later Empress Frederick of Germany; Albert Edward (Bertie), later King Edward VII; Alice, later Grand Duchess of Hesse; Alfred (Affie), later Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg; Helena (Lenchen), later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein; Louise, later Duchess of Argyll; Arthur, later Duke of Connaught; Leopold (Leo), later Duke of Albany; and Beatrice (Baby), later Princess Henry of Battenberg. Each of the children had his or her own garden and spade, fork, trolley, and barrow with their initials on them (Longford, Victoria R.I. 126). The children also had a Swiss cottage where the girls had fun learning to cook, and the children kept their archaeological findings, butterflies they had caught, and other interesting things. Princess Alice told her mother, “What a joyous childhood we had. No other children were so happy; and so spoiled with all the enjoyments and comforts children can wish for” (St. Aubyn 204).
Queen Victoria had a wonderful sense of humor and was not above poking fun at herself. She wrote to the Princess Royal from the Shiel of Alt-na-Guithasach in Scotland on 26 September 1859:
"I did not tell you that the other day when we were going down Craig na-Ban--which is very steep, and rough, Jane Churchill [a lady-in-waiting] fell and could not get up again, (having got her feet caught in her dress) and Johnny Brown (who is our factotum and really the perfection of a servant for he thinks of everything) picked her up like une scène de tragédie and when she thanked him, he said 'Your ladyship is not so heavy as Her Majesty'! which made us laugh very much. I said 'Am I grown heavier do you think?' 'Well, I think you are', was the plain spoken reply. So I mean to be weighed as I always thought I was light." (Fulford, Dearest Child 211)
Queen Victoria was not strict with other people, although she was with herself. One of her footmen, who was often drunk, while in a stupor almost caused a fire at Windsor Castle. The Master of the Household, glad to have an opportunity to fire this footman, sent a complete report of the man’s continual drunkenness to the Queen. After she had read the report, her only response was to write in the margin: “Poor man” (Hardy 127). She was certainly “never a typical Victorian” (Hardy 47). Before her marriage she wrote to Prince Albert:
"I like Lady A-- very much, only she is a little too strict and particular, too severe towards others, which is not right; for I think one ought always to be indulgent towards other people, as I always think, if we had not been well brought up and taken care of, we might also have gone astray. It is always right to show that one does not like to see what is obviously wrong; but it is very dangerous to be too severe." (Hardy 47)
When Victoria first came to the throne, she followed the convention of excluding certain groups of people from being presented at Court. Later she relaxed the regulations. After a reception in 1887, she wrote: “Lady Blandford came by, I having allowed poor divorced ladies, who have had to divorce their husbands owing to cruelty, or misbehaviour, but are in no way to blame themselves, to appear at Court” (Hardy 140-141). When a granddaughter of one of her cousins was seduced by a footman and became pregnant, Queen Victoria thought it “too awful and shameful and almost sinful” of the girl’s parents to send her away from her home. She also said, “I hear from a reliable source that the family have forbidden the poor unhappy girl’s name being mentioned in the family.... I think it is too wicked” (Hardy 141-142). Fortunately, the girl’s grandmother, Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz let her live at her home, where her first cousin, Princess Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary) and the Grand Duchess were very kind to her.
Queen Victoria was always very considerate of servants. When her granddaughter, Queen Marie of România (then Crown Princess), visited her, she asked after King Carol I, Queen Elisabeth (who wrote books under the name of Carmen Sylva), Marie’s husband, children, and her servants (233). Victoria wrote that her attitude toward servants was acquired in her childhood:
"I was taught from the first to beg my maid’s pardon for any naughtiness or rudeness towards her; a feeling I have ever retained, and think everyone should own their fault in a kind of way to any one, be he or she the lowest--if one has been rude or injured them by word or deed, especially those below you." (Hardy 126)
Princess Marie Louise wrote of Queen Victoria’s not liking servants having to do work that was not absolutely necessary on Sunday and of the Queen’s opinion of amusements on that day:
"Another instance of my grandmother’s consideration for others occurred on one occasion when my sister was staying at Balmoral. One Sunday afternoon she came to the Queen and asked whether she and two of the maids of honor might play tennis. Grandmama’s reply was, 'Yes, so long as you pick up the balls yourself. Since it’s Sunday, I do not think it right to make others work for your amusement.'
"So, of course, they did pick up the balls themselves." (116)
Queen Victoria’s religious belief was liberal, tolerant of others, and simple. Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister, said that she “very much disliked being talked at upon religion; she particularly disliked what Her Majesty termed a Sunday face” (Hardy 48). She wrote to her daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, who was living in Berlin: “You know that I am not at all an admirer or approver of our very dull Sundays, for I think the absence of innocent amusement for the poor people a misfortune and an encouragement to vice” (Hardy 48). A campaign began to stop postal deliveries on Sunday. Victoria wrote to the Prime Minister: “The Queen thinks it a very false notion of obeying God’s will to do what will be a cause of much annoyance and possibly of great distress to private families” (Hardy 48). When the House of Commons objected to museums being open on Sunday, she wrote: “It is very well for those people who have no hard work during the week to go two or three times to church on Sunday and remain quiet for the rest of the day, but as regards the working class the practice is perfect cruelty” (Hardy 48-49).
Two contributors to Essays and Reviews were suspended by the Anglican Church authorities for one year. These two clergymen appealed to the judicial committee of the Privy Council and had the sentence reversed. One of the clergymen had proclaimed doctrinal freedom for the clergy, and the other had questioned the accuracy of the book of Exodus and advocated German methods of Biblical criticism. The Archdeacon of Taunton drafted a petition against the judgment of the Privy Council and had over 11,000 clergymen sign it. Then they presented the petition at Oxford. About all of this, the Queen wrote to her daughter, the Crown Princess of Prussia, on 12 March 1864:
"What do you say to the shameful bigotry at Oxford and the poor Archbishop’s awfully unchristian letter? The Dean [of Windsor] is shocked but really it is monstrous to see how Christians can wish for others to be eternally damned! The good little Dean [of Westminster] will be so horrified. (Fulford, Dearest Mama 306-307)
When Victoria’s granddaughter Sophie decided to enter the Greek Orthodox Church, Sophie’s older brother, the Kaiser, became very angry and said that he would not let her come to Germany if she did so. (Sophie did become a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, and she did visit her mother in Germany.) The Queen thought the Kaiser’s behavior that of a “tyrant and bully” and wrote to Queen Olga of Greece: “I need hardly tell you as soon as I heard of the matter, I sent word to William that I could not blame Sophie, as I considered that where another person’s conscience was concerned one must be tolerant” (St. Aubyn 559).
Princess Marie Louise, Queen Victoria’s granddaugher, wrote of the Queen’s opinion of bishops:
"Here is another little anecdote concerning Queen Victoria. It was during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Her Majesty was at Windsor, and had had an exhausting reception of both the Houses of Convocation as well as the various bishops and ecclesiastical dignitaries from overseas. When it was all over she went for her usual afternoon drive. Edith, Lady Lytton, was in waiting and accompanied her. There was rather a prolonged silence at first, and then the Queen said, 'A very ugly party.'
"Of course, black shovel hats, black gaiters, black silk aprons, and the whole rather gloomy tailoring of these worthy divines was a striking contrast to the gorgeous and colorful Indian and Eastern guests she had been entertaining. Then, after a further pause, the Queen continued to express her opinion as regards the party she had described as 'very ugly.'
"'I do not like bishops!'
"Edith Lytton nearly fell out of the carriage in surprise and horror at the very outspoken verdict of the Queen concerning the so-called pillars of the Church. 'Oh, but Your dear Majesty likes some bishops--for instance, the Bishop of Winchester [Randall Davidson, later Archbishop of Canterbury] and the Bishop of Ripon [Boyd Carpenter].'
"'Yes,' said Her gracious Majesty, 'I like the man but not the Bishop!'
I presume the drive, in Edith’s opinion, was rather shattering!" (115-116)
Queen Victoria loved dogs and other animals and very strongly opposed vivisection. She told her eldest daughter, “I feel so much for animals, poor confiding, faithful kind things, and do all I can to prevent cruelty to them which is one of the worst signs of wickedness in human nature!” (St. Aubyn 432). She told Benjamin Disraeli, her Prime Minister, that vivisection should be stopped “if the nation is not to be disgraced by cruelty under the shameful plea of humanity” (ibid).
Although most people did not realize it, Queen Victoria was always shy and nervous when receiving people she did not know, giving speeches, and opening Parliament. When Lady Randolph Churchill went to be presented to the Queen for the first time, she was quite nervous about it. Lady Churchill found out that the Queen was also nervous: “Remarking afterwards to the lady-in-waiting that I was afraid I had been awkward and nervous, ‘You need not be troubled,’ she answered, ‘I know the Queen felt more shy than you did’” (Hardy 146). In 1867 Victoria wrote to her oldest daughter: “I have now been 30 years in harness, and therefore ought to know what should be--but I am terribly shy and nervous and always was so” (Hardy 146-147).
Many people remarked on Victoria’s smile, laugh, and voice. Mary Waddington, the French ambassador’s wife, was fascinated with the Queen’s smile: “I watched her while she was talking and I never saw a smile make such a difference to a face. Hers is quite beautiful and lights up her whole face” (Hardy 147). Her smile and laugh put many very nervous people at their ease. The composer Dame Ethel Smyth, who met the Queen at Balmoral, said, “So awe-inspiring was the first impression that I should have been terrified but for the wonderful, blue, child-like eyes, and the sweetest most entrancing smile I have ever seen on a human face” (ibid). Archbishop Lang said that when she was amused “her voice would break into a soft, gentle, and very delightful laugh, a sort of gurgle of pleasure” and that the Queen “had the royal art of putting people at their ease” (ibid). The great actress Ellen Terry thought Queen Victoria’s voice was “like a stream flowing over golden stones” (ibid. 164). Fanny Kemble said, “The Queen’s voice is exquisite, nor have I ever heard any spoken words more musical” (ibid).
In 1843 Prince Albert listed the duties of the husband of a Queen Regnant, all of which he fulfilled:
"This position is a most peculiar and delicate one. Whilst a female sovereign has a great many disadvantages in comparison with a king, yet, if she is married, and her husband understands and does his duty, her position, on the other hand, has many compensating advantages, and in the long run, will be found even to be greater than that of a male sovereign. But this requires that the husband should entirely sink his own existence in that of his wife--that he should aim at no power by himself or for himself--should shun all contention--assume no separate responsibility before the public, but make his position entirely a part of hers--fill up every gap which, as a woman, she would naturally leave in the exercise of her regal functions--continually and anxiously watch every part of the public business, in order to be able to advise and assist her at any moment in any of the multifarious and difficult questions or duties brought before her, sometimes international, sometimes political, or social, or personal. As the natural head of her family, superintendent of her household, manager of her private affairs, sole confidential adviser in politics, and only assistant in her communications with the officers of the Government, he is, besides, the husband of the Queen, the tutor of the royal children, the private secretary of the sovereign, and her permanent minister." (Bennett 225)
On 1 May 1851, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and their children went to the Crystal Palace to see the Great Exhibition, a large industrial fair. Prince Albert was one of the main people behind the inception of the Great Exhibition, which demonstrated Great Britain’s many industrial advances to the world.
Prince Albert wrote to his brother Ernest in 1851:
"I cannot overcome my astonishment that you can conclude that 'only the egoist can look back upon his life with satisfaction'. I think he is the farthest away from all real feeling of happiness, because he tries to get away from the laws of nature which call for care and hard work. I have never yet seen anyone succeed in overcoming the laws of nature by putting moral duties aside, nor have I seen an egoist who was happy." (Bennett 377)
When King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia (later king of Italy) visited his ally Queen Victoria near the end of 1855, the two of them talked about their royal duties. King Victor Emmanuel told Queen Victoria that another big war was inevitable. She said severely that monarchs must be sure that wars were just because the rulers would be responsible to God for men’s lives. King Victor Emmanuel responded that one must certainly aim for a just war, but God would always forgive a mistake. To this Queen Victoria replied more gently, “Not always” (Longford, Queen Victoria 256).
Queen Victoria influenced many appointments during her reign. An Archbishop and several of her Prime Ministers owed their positions to her influence. She inspired at least four Acts of Parliament. These were the Public Worship Regulation Act {1874}, the Vivisection Act {1876}, the Royal Titles Act {1876}, and the Law that permitted the verdict “Guilty but insane” {1883} (St. Aubyn 600).
Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, died on 16 March 1861, and Prince Albert died on 14 December of the same year. Prince Albert had been overworked for a long time. In addition to all of his duties as Prince Consort, Albert was an active member of many organizations. Victoria was grief-stricken at her mother’s death, but she was prostrated by Prince Albert’s death at the age of forty-two. After Albert’s death, her nerves were on edge, so she did not appear in public for a long time and did not like to hear loud noises. She wore black almost all of the time from Albert’s death to her own death.
Queen Victoria was created Empress of India and was declared Queen-Empress on 1 May 1876. She signed a New Year’s card to her Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, “V.R. & I.” (Victoria Regina et Imperaterix). The Queen held advanced views on how the people of India and the other British colonies should be treated. She told Lord Salisbury, one of her Prime Ministers, that the Viceroy
...must hear for himself what the feelings of the Natives really are and not be guided by the snobbish and vulgar, overbearing and offensive behaviour of our Civil and Political Agents, if we are to go peaceably in India, and to be liked and beloved by high and low--as well as respected--as we ought to be--and not trying to trample on the people and continually reminding them and making them feel they are a conquered people. (Hardy 151-152)
Queen Victoria liked for the people around her to express their opinions even when she did not agree with them. Sometimes she would be quite angry with them at first, but later she would be glad that they told her what they thought. Randall Davidson, Dean of Windsor and later Archbishop of Canterbury, told Queen Victoria he disapproved of her intention to publish a book about John Brown, a favorite servant who had recently died. Davidson then offered to resign. The Queen did not respond for a week or two. Then “she sent for me on some other matter of a totally different matter, and was more friendly than ever, and we have never heard another word about the proposed book” (Hardy 124). Davidson continued, “My belief is that she liked and trusted best those who occasionally incurred her wrath provided she had reason to think their motives good” (ibid).
Queen Victoria endeavored to prevent wars whenever it was possible for her to do so. To her eldest daughter on 6 January 1864, before the start of the Schleswig-Holstein War, she wrote:
"May God grant that this year may be one of peace and that the many, violent passions--the many conflicting rights and wrongs may be adjusted with impartiality and justice. Oh! could there but be more Christian feelings and less of passion in this world!" (Fulford, Dearest Mama 287)
When she found out that her grandson, Kaiser William II, continually informed the British ambassador in Berlin, Sir F. Lascelles, that Russia was plotting against England, she wrote to Tsar Alexander III:
"I feel I must write and tell you something which you ought to know and perhaps do not. It is, I am sorry to say, that William takes every opportunity of impressing upon Sir F. Lascelles that Russia is doing all in her power to work against us; that she offers alliances to other Powers, and has made one with the Ameer of Afghanistan against us.
"I need not say that I do not believe a word of this, neither do Lord Salisbury [the British Prime Minister] nor Sir F. Lascelles.
"But I am afraid William may go and tell things against us to you, just as he does about you to us. If so, pray tell me openly and confidentially. It is so important that we should understand each other, and that such mischievous and unstraightforward proceedings should be put a stop to. You are so true yourself, that I am sure you will be shocked at this. (Hibbert 337-338)
Later Tsarina Marie, the Princess of Wales’ sister, told her sister that the Kaiser sent a letter to the Tsar telling him that the Prince of Wales (his uncle), Queen Victoria (his grandmother), and the Empress Frederick (his mother) were plotting against Russia and that he (the Kaiser) would do all in his power to support Russia.
Later in her life, Queen Victoria enjoyed seeing plays and hearing and watching operas. She saw Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, Mascagni’s Cavelleria Rusticana, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Wagner’s Lohengrin, Gounod’s Faust, Bizet’s Carmen, and other operas. About Lohengrin, Victoria wrote in her journal on 24 May 1899:
"A little after nine we all went to the Waterloo Gallery, which was arranged as a theatre, and had the first, third, and last acts of Wagner’s Lohengrin performed... I was simply enchanted. It is the most glorious composition, so poetic, so dramatic, and one might almost say, religious in feeling and full of sadness, pathos, and tenderness." (Hibbert 338)
She heard Dame Emma Albani, Dame Nellie Melba, Emma Calvé, Adelina Patti, Dame Clara Butt, Francesco Tamagno, Pablo Casals, the brothers Jean and Edouard de Reszke, and other famous people sing and watched Sir Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Sarah Bernhardt, and others act. When knighting Henry Irving, Queen Victoria broke her usual silence during that ceremony by saying, “I am very, very pleased” (Hardy 163-164). She also liked for her children and members of her Household to put on amateur theatricals.
In the first volume of her autobiography, Queen Marie of România, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, wrote of her grandmother’s reaction to Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, which Victoria was seeing for the first time:
"Towards the end of her life, Queen Victoria, who, for endless decades, because of her widowhood, had shut herself away from all worldly amusements, began to take great interest in theatrical art, opera, drama or comedy.
"So unspoilt was dear Grandmamma in all things concerning amusements, that her joy and interest in these performances was almost childlike.
"During one of my rare visits to England after my marriage, I witnessed one of these performances. Being the guest of honour that evening, I had been placed on the Queen’s right.
"The curtain went up. The representation happened to be Carmen, an opera quite familiar to me, but which the Queen was witnessing for the first time. We were sitting very near the stage and I noticed that Grandmamma was not only following the music with keen interest, but also the plot of the play. Somewhat bewildered by the passionate story, she kept asking me questions, which were not easy to answer owing to the loudness of the music and the unequal heights of our chairs.
"Grandmamma was evidently enjoying it. She shrugged her shoulders from time to time and there was a half-smile on her lips.
"The first act over she turned to me for fuller explanations about the story. With a very young woman’s diffidence I tried to impart to my grandparent my knowledge of Carmen’s rather wild tale. Grandmamma’s shy little smile broadened, this was the sort of story that did not often reach her ears.
"The curtain went up for the second act. Carmen with her smuggler associates was becoming wilder and wilder. I no longer remember who was singing the part, but her acting was as good as her voice so that she was indeed fascinating to watch. The irresistible “Toreador” made his entry which gave Carmen the occasion to exert her wiles, which were followed by her passionate display of temper when poor Don José hears the trumpet call of duty and tries for the last time to save his soldier’s honour. It was all very realistic; most of us in the room had seen it before, but to Grandmamma it was an exciting revelation. Leaning towards me, her eyes full of dawning comprehension, she nevertheless presses me for further explanations which, with flaming cheeks, I give as best I can. Grandmamma raises her fan to her face, she is delightfully, pleasurably scandalized, but she understands; leaning towards me, her fan still over her mouth, she whispers: 'But then, oh my dear child, I am afraid she’s really not very nice!'
Dear old Grandmamma! No, Carmen was certainly not very nice, her morals were abominable, not at all in keeping with your irreproachable court, but all the same how you enjoyed the excitement of being so deliciously shocked!" (234-236)
In 1887 and 1897 Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. On 20 June 1887, Queen Victoria had reigned for fifty years. On 20 June 1897, she had reigned for sixty years. Princess Marie Louise wrote of the Queen’s response to being loudly cheered by a huge crowd during her Diamond Jubilee:
". . . She [Queen Victoria] had been to Kensington Gardens to unveil a statue sculptured by my aunt, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. The crowd was immense, the cheers and acclamations almost deafening. The Queen had asked me to accompany her back to Windsor, and on the way I turned to her and said: 'Oh Grandmama, does not this make you very proud?' She replied, 'No, dear child, very humble.'" (124)
On 5 June 1899 the Honorable Marie Mallet (first a Maid of Honor and later an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria) wrote from Balmoral:
"I always think that the Queen enjoys life with the best of us and in the best and highest way. She said too she loved her Jubilee hymn, it was all so simple and true and I said I could never sing it without tears in my eyes and she added, 'I always cry, too.' This is the most touching thing in the world, these little Sunday evenings with the greatest of Queens, who before God, is the humblest of women, and it is the greatest privilege to serve her be it ever so feebly." (Mallet 169)
During the Boer War Queen Victoria gave all of the soldiers and sailors a slab of chocolate in a metal box with her portrait on it. About this Marie Mallet wrote on 7 February 1900:
"Last night too, we talked of the chocolate, the Queen as usual truthful as the light, said 'I did not think of it myself, I said I wished to give something to each of my soldiers but I could not decide what form the present should take; then three alternatives were suggested and I chose the boxes of chocolates.' The gift has been appreciated beyond the wildest expectations and the invalids at Netley talk more of the chocolate than of their wounds. They have not yet received it but they will do so in time. I feel more than ever what a splendid sense of proportion the Queen has, but it can only be realized by those who come in direct contact with her, even those just outside the inner circle get such distorted views of her opinions and prejudices." (Mallet 181)
Princess Marie Louise wrote of the Queen’s sending a telegram to her troops after the Battle of Colenso in the Boer War:
"The so-called Battle of Colenso in the South African war was far from being a brilliant success, but here is a story regarding it. My sister [Princess Helena Victoria] was sitting with the Queen, when the latter, turning to her, said: 'Thora, go and tell Sir Arthur Bigge [afterward Lord Stamfordham] to clear the line as I wish to telegraph to the troops.'
"Thora went to Lord Stamfordham with this message, and on her return said: 'Grandmama, Sir Arthur says it is only customary for the Sovereign to telegraph to the troops if they win a victory, and this is not a victory.'
"The Queen replied: 'And since when have I not been proud of my troops whether in success or defeat? Clear the line.'
"The line was cleared and the telegram sent." (122)
Queen Victoria continued to work hard until her death.
"Up to the very last days of her life she continued to carry out all the arduous duties of her position as Sovereign. To give you an idea of how faithfully she fulfilled these duties, exacting as they were to one whose health and strength were failing, the boxes containing dispatches were brought to her after her breakfast and not before ten o’clock. Hitherto, Her Majesty had begun her day’s work soon after eight o’clock. Even after dinner, when she had said good night to her guests and entourage, there would still be work to be done..." (Marie Louise 112)
Queen Victoria passed away on 22 January 1901. She was eighty-one years old and had reigned sixty-three years. Tsarina Alexandra, one of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters, wrote: "I cannot really believe she has gone. England without the Queen seems impossible" (St. Aubyn 597). When the Empress Frederick of Germany, Queen Victoria’s eldest child, heard of her mother’s death, she wrote to her daughter, Crown Princess Sophie of Greece:
"Words cannot describe my agony of mind at this overwhelming sorrow. Oh, my beloved Mama! Is she really gone? Gone from us all to whom she was such a comfort and support. To have lost her seems so impossible--and I so far could not see her dear face or kiss her dear hand once more.... What a Queen she was, and what a woman! What will life be to me without her.... In the bitterness of my grief I must admit that it was a mercy she did not suffer pain, and that she had no long illness, a peaceful end." (Pakula 592)
After seeing Victoria and Albert’s mausoleum, the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, remarked that it was cheerful and bright and said that he wished funerals could be white. Tennyson did have a white funeral instead of a traditional black one. Queen Victoria also requested a white funeral, which was definitely granted to her, and not only by her family--the ground was covered with snow.
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Bennett, Daphne. King Without a Crown: Albert, Prince Consort of England, 1819-1861. Philadelphia and New York: Lipincott, 1977.
Fulford, Roger, ed. Dearest Child: Letters Between Queen Victoria and the Princess Royal, 1858-1861. New York, Chicago, and San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.
---. Dearest Mama: Letters Between Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, 1861-1864. New York, Chicago, and San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969.
Hardy, Alan. Queen Victoria Was Amused. New York: Taplinger, 1977.
Hibbert, Christopher, ed. Queen Victoria in Her Letters and Journals. Great Britain: Viking Penguin, 1985.
Longford, Elizabeth. Queen Victoria: Born to Succeed. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row, 1964.
---. Victoria R I. London: Harper & Row, 1973.
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Pakula, Hannah. An Uncommon Woman: The Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
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