Introduction (Hook & Thesis):

30 seconds

Queen Victoria’s early life was predominantly in isolation due to a strict set of rules that
was imposed upon her. Her father died of pneumonia when she was only 8 months old,
leaving Victoria under her mother and Sir John Conroy’s care. These 2 figures played a
significant role in shaping her perspective and personality. Today we will share with you
how Queen Victoria’s childhood and relationships with others influenced her decision
making and overall impacted the British Empire.

Life experience:

Queen Victoria was born on May 24th, 1819, as the only child of Prince Edward, the
Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Born into the House of
Hanover, she was 5th in line to the throne and was initially considered a minor royal.
However, her father, grandfather, and 2 uncles died of old age and sicknesses, leaving
the teenage Victoria the final surviving heir of the throne to her uncle, King William IV.
During her childhood, Victoria’s life was heavily influenced by Sir John Conroy, her
father’s former advisor. Conroy, along with Victoria’s mother, implemented the
“Kensington System,” a set of strict rules designed to control her upbringing and make
her dependent on them. Despite this manipulation, Victoria benefited in many ways.
She was very well educated by her governess, Baroness Lehzen, who taught her
subjects such as languages, arithmetic and art. At a young age, she developed a strong
standing point. This was evident in 1835, when Sir John Conroy tried to utilize Victoria’s
vulnerability when she contracted a severe fever. He pressured her to sign a document
that would make him her private secretary, but to his surprise, she firmly refused.
Victoria’s isolation also worked in her favour. She had little contact with the royal family
and wasn’t associated with her unpopular uncles. As a result, British public saw her as
a fresh start and was named as the “Nation’s Hope.” This helped her gain supporters
from the British general public. In 1838 on June 20th when she was 20 years old, Victoria
married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha on February 10th, 1840. Although Victoria
did love Albert, she decided to marry partly because she needed support with her royal
responsibilities, and partly to win public approval. During their marriage, Albert gave
Victoria a lot of support and over time changed her mindset, and consequently, her
political standings. He took on many of her responsibilities when she was pregnant and
took on an active parenting role. On June 10th, 1840, Edward Oxford attempted to
assassinate Victoria as she passed in her carriage. Luckily, the bullets missed, and she
survived the assassination attempt. In the aftermath of the attack, Victoria’s popularity
rose, and earlier scandals that tarnished her reputation were forgotten.

Historical Relevance:
The Victorian Era lasted from June of 1837 to January of 1901, Queen Victoria ruled for
almost 64 years until she passed, becoming the longest reigning monarch in British
history, after Queen Elizabeth II. Under her rule, the British Empire reached its zenith,
controlling a quarter of the world’s landmass and a third of its population. London’s
population grew from 1 million to 6 million, fuelled by rapid industrialization and the
development of the London Underground (one of the first underground train systems in
the world). Victoria also made history by becoming the first British monarch to visit a
French monarch, King Louis Philippe I, strengthening political ties between the two
nations. Victoria, alongside her husband, made lots of connections to foreign royal
families across the European continent. Many of the thrones of Europe belonged to or
were closely related to Victoria’s nine children and her 42 grandchildren. The success
of this was shown in 1851 when Prince Albert organised ‘The Great Exhibition’. It was
the celebration of technological innovation and the expansion of trade and British
interests with over 100,000 exhibits from all over world. This was great for Victoria as for
millions of her subjects who would never travel abroad, it was an opportunity to explore
the accomplishments made throughout the monarchy. By the time the exhibition
closed, it had attracted over 6 million visitors.

She was nicknames as ‘The Grandmother of Europe’ her intentions were to create world
peace and create an environment where everyone could live harmoniously together,
but that plan quickly backfired. Shortly after her death her children declared war on
each other which made Europe enter a phase of war leading to WW1 and WW2

The Victorian Era was a time of remarkable progress, marked by scientific discoveries
and technological innovations. Victoria wrote over 60 million words in her lifetime,
offering a unique glimpse into her thoughts and experiences.