The Duchess and John Conroy were absolutely united in a quest to make Victoria their slave. The parentage of Queen Victoria has been the subject of speculation. Her father died shortly after her birth and she became heir to the throne because the three uncles who were ahead of her in the succession - George IV, Frederick Duke of York, and William IV - had no legitimate children who survived. She was kept away from her father’s family, and isolated from all children, apart from Conroy’s. She would ultimately take the throne as Queen Victoria in 1837. It is odd to think now that if she had relented, the Victorian age would never have existed. If you subscribe to BBC History Magazine Print or Digital Editions then you can unlock 10 years’ worth of archived history material fully searchable by Topic, Location, Period and Person. This caused a near permanent rift between Victoria and her mother, as well as between the Duchess and her brother-in-law, William IV. But she was a vibrant young woman who succeeded to the throne despite the expectations of many that she would never become queen, and the intent ambition of her mother. Just after Victoria turned 11, King George died and the 64‑year-old Duke of Clarence ascended the throne as King William IV. On 1 August 1832, she, the 13-year-old Victoria, and the Conroys set off on the first of their journeys: a three-month tour to Wales, via the Midlands and Cheshire. He allowed only a handful of guests and refused to allow the child to bear the names associated with queens such as Charlotte or Augusta, or indeed the feminised version of his own name, ‘Georgiana’. She was queen – without ‘mamma’ – of the greatest country in Europe, and she had succeeded against great odds. Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, London, on 24 May 1819. To the rest of the royal family, Victoria was merely the daughter of a minor brother, nothing more than a pawn to be eventually traded in marriage. His first son and heir to the throne, George IV, had a daughter named Princess Charlotte. It was a giant gala day for the country. The English looked to Princess Charlotte as the hope for their country, in contrast to her debauched, spendthrift uncles and spinster aunts. The Duchess of Kent was the same age as Conroy, whereas she was nineteen years younger than her husband; the court gossiped openly about their relationship. Thank you for subscribing to HistoryExtra, you now have unlimited access. Queen Victoria is the second-longest-reigning monarch in British history – she reigned for almost 64 years, from 1837 until her death in 1901. “I shall ever remember this day as the proudest of my life”, wrote Victoria on 28 June 1838, her coronation day. But by the following March, Elizabeth had died. [17], Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legitimacy_of_Queen_Victoria&oldid=952153378, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2019, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from August 2018, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2018, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 April 2020, at 20:22. You have successfully linked your account! Our best wishes for a productive day. Whatever his intentions, Victoria’s food was tasted before every meal, and she was not allowed to walk downstairs without holding somebody’s hand. The Prince Regent finally became King George IV. Some of the brothers had been previously involved in scandals. Despite her doubts and his debts, the two were happy, and Victoire soon fell pregnant. Queen Victoria is the second-longest-reigning monarch in British history – she reigned for almost 64 years, from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her death sparks a succession crisis. The Duke of Kent, father of Victoria. Dies in infancy in early 1821. After the Dukes of York and Clarence, baby Victoria was next in line to the throne. Yet despite her complaints and the King’s fury at the Duchess’s presumption, the tours continued: to the south coast and the Isle of Wight, and the Midlands and the North, as well as including sporadic visits to seaside resorts and aristocratic houses throughout the year. So how did Victoria become queen? The sixth son, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, had contracted two marriages in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772 (as had the Prince Regent before his marriage to Charlotte's mother).

Love Actually Netflix, My Name Is Lucy Barton Broadway Review, Momoiro Clover Z Members, Sri Krishna Vijayamu, Chuckie Finster, Against All Flags, 3 Idiots Characters, How Did King George Iii Die, Among The Shadows Review, The Central Park Five Netflix,