From Victoria's diary (24 May 1837):"I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma...who told me the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing gown) alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen..."
She was to have reigned as Alexandrina Victoria, but the first name was withdrawn at her request.
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Victoria had met her future husband when she was only seventeen. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was her first cousin. The queen proposed to Albert in October of 1838, and they were married early in 1839. Apparently he said yes.
Albert became not only Victoria's companion, but her close advisor as well. Victoria's mother was then evicted from Buckingham Palace, as the young queen, now married, was no longer required to live with her. Her mother was thereafter seldom visited.
Fun fact: Victoria was taught only in German until she was 3 years old, then in English and French, becoming virtually tri-lingual. (Tri-lingual means she had three tongues, to Albert's delight, tho' some say it contributed to his early demise. Some, not I.) Her seldom-visited mother spoke to her daughter in German, though she approached proficiency in English. Is that cool, or what?
[Next: 9 children, the future movers and shakers of all of Europe]
Good grief.... It's like the Zombie Apocalypse, Resurrection of the Blogs!
ReplyDeleteVictoria, as we know, was an insatiably lustful hottie. She and Albert were constantly nipping into broom-cupboards for quickies, she had more offspring than a labrador.
Victoria was a saint. Pure and pristine as the driven snow. All nine were immaculate conceptions. And her son was NOT Jack The Ripper!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was paying attention. Is this where you'll be living this year? cool!
ReplyDeleteWhat about Prince Albert's eponymous piercing then?
ReplyDeleteI'll bet it was her idea. And I bet she got one at the same time... and maybe a tasteful little tattoo, with a Lion and Unicorn coat of arms somewhere... intimate.
Janet, I will be living here part time. One-third time. But my posts will be very short and pithy. :) Thank you for finding me!
ReplyDeleteSoubriquet, I refuse to answer comments that I have to look up words in.
Frankly I had no idea his consortiumness even played a euphonium, much less that it had a named hole in it. I think you have him mistaken for Professor Harold Hill, and her majestic tininess for 'Liza Doolittle of marbles-in-mouth fame. Liza was not multi-tongued, strickly speaking.
This information is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteDorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Hi Dorothy! Thank you. It is fun to research this. :)
ReplyDelete