Victoria, Queen

Queen Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. She reigned over her country longer than any other British king or queen before her. Her reign is called the Victorian Age.

Early Life

Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, in London, England, the capital of the United Kingdom. Her father was a son of King George III. Her mother was a German princess.

Reign

Victoria became queen in 1837. She was 18 years old. The young queen learned about the British government from Lord Melbourne, the British prime minister (head of government).

In 1840 Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They had nine children together. Almost all of them married members of European royal families.

Albert died in 1861. Victoria was never really happy after that. She stopped going to places where people could see her. She spent less and less time in London and more and more time in a castle in Scotland called Balmoral.

Then another prime minister, named Benjamin Disraeli, became Victoria’s friend. Disraeli pleased Victoria in 1876 by making the British government a part owner of the Suez Canal. The canal was an important link between Europe and Asia. Disraeli pleased Victoria even more by giving her the title of empress of India in 1876.

Later Years

As the years passed, Victoria kept her popularity. In 1887 the British people had a big celebration called the Golden Jubilee to honor her 50 years as queen. Ten years later they had another big celebration called the Diamond Jubilee.

On January 22, 1901, Victoria died at age 81 on the Isle of Wight, an island in the English Channel. Her son Edward VII then became king.