Biography of Princess, Queen Alexandrina Victoria

Princess Alexandrina Victoria, was born 24th May 1819, at Kensington Palace – the London home of her parents the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

She was the only daughter of Edward Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III.

When they found out Victoria’s mother was pregnant, Her mother and father rushed back from Germany so Victoria could be born in England.

The Duke was anxious – childbirth being so dangerous – so remained by the Duchess’s side throughout.

The room where Victoria was born, had been a dining room.
It was decided it was the best room for the Duchess to give birth in, as the kitchens were directly underneath for supplies of hot water, and officials could gather next door to witness the birth.

Two doctors managed the birth, including, rather unusually, Germany’s first female gynaecologist Charlotte Heidenreich von Siebold, who had travelled to London with the Duchess.

On the day she was born, Victoria was fifth in line to the throne.

Three months later, Siebold delivered another royal baby – Victoria’s cousin, and future husband, Albert.

In 1820, The Duke and Duchess of Kent had been living happily by the seaside, with their baby daughter, Victoria.

While out walking one day, the Duke got soaked and caught a chill.
Within days he was dead, and his stunned wife returned to Kensington Palace, with her Daughter.

Her protective mother, knew there was a chance Victoria might become Queen one day.
She was raised under strict supervision, by her mother ~ and at 5 years old, Victoria was placed in the care of Governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen.

Baroness Louise Lehzen, was not just Victoria’s governess, but also her dearest friend.
She was strict, but devoted to Victoria, and brought structure and discipline to Victoria’s life.

Lehzen was the daughter of a German village pastor, and she first came to England in 1819, to care for Victoria’s older half-sister, Feodore.

Victoria grew up under the ‘Kensington System’ ~ strict rules that governed Victoria’s life.
The ‘System’ was supposed to prepare her for when she would be Queen.

One of the rules was that she could never walk down the stairs unaccompanied, in case she might fall which meant someone had to hold her hand every time she wanted to go down.

13 year old Victoria began writing a daily diary in 1832.
It was read by the Duchess and Lehzen every day, so was written with them in mind.

Victoria quickly learned self-censorship in her writing, knowing it would be read.

She also had to share a bedroom with her mother, so had very little independence.

The young Victoria loved dancing, singing and music and enjoyed frequent trips to the theatre, ballet and opera.
After each performance Victoria attended, she wrote detailed reviews of the singers and dancers in her diary.

Her sketchbooks were full of the scenes and characters that captured her imagination.

The death of George IV, and the coronation of the elderly King William IV in 1830, meant Victoria was now officially heir.

She was sent on tours of England and Wales to firmly establish the Princess and her mother in the public eye.
She caught typhoid fever in Kent when she was 16.

On 24 May 1836, Victoria turned 17 and her mother held a lavish ball.
The question of who Victoria would marry had been hotly debated since she was 11 years old.

Now she was a young woman, several potential husbands were invited to the ball.

The King had a politically advantageous match in mind, a prince from the Netherlands.
Victoria’s German family had other plans, her first cousin Albert, was their preference.

From the moment they met, Victoria and Albert made a lasting impression on each other.

Victoria fell totally and utterly in love with Albert.
He became, in her words, ‘an angel whose brightness shall illuminate my life’.
They were wed in 1840, and were married for 21 years.

As dawn broke on 20 June 1837, The Lord Chamberlain and Archbishop of Canterbury arrived at Kensington Palace to break the news that the King was dead.

This meant Victoria was now Queen.

As Victoria was now 18 she could rule alone, dashing her mother’s plan to be Regent.

She relished her new independence and within 13 days, she left Kensington to finally have her own bedroom in Buckingham Palace.

The Victorian age had begun, her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than any previous Monarch, a record that stood until 9th September 2015, when it was broken by her great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II