Victoria of the United Kingdom

Legacy

Queen Victoria was Britain's first modern monarch. Previous monarchs had been active players in the process of government. A series of legal reforms saw the House of Commons' power increase at the expense of the Lords and the monarchy, with the monarch's role becoming more symbolic. From Victoria's reign on, the monarch in Walter Bagehot's words, had "the right to be consulted, the right to advise, and the right to warn".

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Victoria's monarchy became more symbolic than political, with a strong emphasis on morality and family values, in contrast to the sexual, financial and personal scandals that had been associated with previous members of the House of Hanover and which had discredited the monarchy. Victoria's reign created for Britain the concept of the 'family monarchy' with which the burgeoning middle classes could identify.

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Internationally Victoria was a major figure, not just in image or in terms of Britain's influence through the empire, but also because of family links throughout Europe's royal families, earning her the affectionate nickname "the grandmother of Europe". An example of that status can be seen in the fact that three of the main monarchs with countries involved in the First World War on opposite sides were themselves either grandchildren of Victoria's or married to a grandchild of hers. Eight of Victoria's nine children married members of European royal families, and the other, Princess Louise, married a Scottish Duke.

Related Topics:
First World War - Princess Louise

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Victoria was the first known carrier of haemophilia in the royal line, but it is unclear how she acquired it. She may have acquired it as a result of a sperm mutation, her father having been fifty-two years old when Victoria was conceived. It had also been rumoured that the Duke of Kent was not the biological father of Victoria, and that she was in fact the daughter of her mother's Irish-born private secretary and reputed lover, Sir John Conroy. While there is some evidence as to the allegation of a relationship between the duchess and Conroy (Victoria herself claimed to the Duke of Wellington to have witnessed an incident between them) Conroy's medical history shows no evidence of the existence of haemophilia in his family, nor is it normally passed on the male side of the family. It is much more likely that she acquired it from her mother, though there is no known history of haemophilia in her maternal family. Though she did not suffer from the disease, she passed it on to Princess Alice and Princess Beatrice as carriers, and Prince Leopold was affected with the disease. The most famous haemophilia victim among her descendants was her great-grandson, Alexei, Tsarevich of Russia. However, Victoria's line of haemophilia has now probably been eliminated. There could still be a surviving branch in the royal family of Spain, but as of 2005, the disease has not surfaced.

Related Topics:
Haemophilia - Sperm - Princess Alice - Princess Beatrice - Prince Leopold - Alexei, Tsarevich of Russia - As of 2005

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As of 2004, the European monarchs and former monarchs descended from Victoria are: the Queen of the United Kingdom, the King of Norway, the King of Sweden, the Queen of Denmark, the King of Spain, the King of the Hellenes (deposed) and the King of Romania (deposed). The pretenders to the thrones of Yugoslavia and Serbia, Russia, Prussia and Germany, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Hanover, Hesse, and Baden are also descendants.

Related Topics:
2004 - Queen of the United Kingdom - King of Norway - King of Sweden - Queen of Denmark - King of Spain - King of the Hellenes - King of Romania - Yugoslavia and Serbia - Russia - Prussia and Germany - Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Hanover - Hesse - Baden

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Queen Victoria experienced unpopularity during the first years of her widowhood, but afterwards became extremely well-liked during the 1880s and 1890s. In 2002, the British Broadcasting Corporation conducted a poll regarding the 100 Greatest Britons; Victoria attained the eighteenth place.

Related Topics:
2002 - British Broadcasting Corporation - 100 Greatest Britons

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Innovations of the Victorian era include postage stamps, the first of which—the Penny Black (issued 1840)—featured an image of the Queen, and the railway, which Victoria was the first British Sovereign to ride.

Related Topics:
Postage stamp - Penny Black - 1840 - Railway

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Several places in the world have been named after Victoria, including two Australian States (Victoria and Queensland), the capitals of British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Canada, the capital of the Seychelles, Africa's largest lake, and Victoria Falls. See also List of places named after Queen Victoria.

Related Topics:
Victoria - Queensland - Capitals of British Columbia - Saskatchewan, Canada - Capital of the Seychelles - Africa's largest lake - Victoria Falls - List of places named after Queen Victoria

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Queen Victoria remains the most commemorated British monarch in history, with statues to her erected throughout the British Empire. The most prominent statue is the Victoria Monument outside Buckingham Palace, which was erected as part of the remodelling of the façade of the Palace a decade after her death.

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A much more controversial statue to Queen Victoria sculpted by Irishman John Hughes was erected on the Kildare Street front of Leinster House in Dublin, the then headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society. It was unveiled by King Edward VII. In 1924, two years after renting the property for parliamentary purposes, the building was bought and turned into the official seat of Oireachtas Eireann, the parliament of the Irish Free State. After years of criticism of having a statue of Victoria, known disparagingly by Irish republicans as the "famine queen", outside Ireland's parliament, the statue was removed in 1947. After decades in storage the statue was given by the Republic of Ireland to Australia and unveiled on 20 December 1987 to stand outside the Queen Victoria Building in the centre of Sydney.

Related Topics:
Kildare Street - Leinster House - Dublin - Royal Dublin Society - Edward VII - 1924 - Oireachtas Eireann - Irish Free State - 1947 - Republic of Ireland - Australia - 20 December - 1987 - Queen Victoria Building - Sydney

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A statue of Queen Victoria was also unveiled in 1906 in Queens Gardens in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Related Topics:
Queens Gardens - Brisbane - Queensland - Australia

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