We pick up the coverage of Queen Victoria in this episode of the Broad Chronicles.

Victoria was born in 1819, the third child of her mother, and the first legitimate child of her father, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Her father passed away when she was only 8 months old, leaving Victoria in the care of her mother and his former equerry Sir John Conroy.Victoria was raised in extremely sheltered and isolated conditions and her mother was frequently in conflict with her uncles. The Duchess of Kent in Sir John Conroy frequently tried to bully Victoria into giving them more power over her, which was something she fiercely resisted. Victoria's uncle, William the 4th managed to live until 1 month after Victoria's 18th birthday. Victoria was quick to establish her independence from her mother and, at the age of 19, was crowned queen of the United Kingdom

Victoria ascended the throne upon the death of her Uncle, King William IV, and met her first Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, who she became very close to, sometimes to the point that the media referred to her as “Mrs. Melbourne”. Within her first years of her reign, Victoria was at the center of two major scandals: the Hastings Affair and the Bedchamber Crisis. In the Hastings Affair, she accused the one of her mother’s ladies in waiting, Lady Flora Hastings, of being pregnant out of wedlock by none other than her former archenemy, John Conroy. It was not a good look for Victoria when it came out that Lady Flora was not only innocent, but was dying of cancer.

In The Bedchamber Crisis, Victoria ran into a bit of trouble due to her attachment to Lord Melbourne. When the new PM, Robert Peele, a Tory, took office, it was customary for him to expect to replace Victoria’s Whig-leaning ladies-in-waiting with ladies supportive to his cause. Victoria refused, and Peele ultimately resigned as Prime Minister. This was scandalous because Victoria, as a constitutional monarch, was expected to refrain from showing political opinions or leanings.

Victoria soon married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The pair had a relatively happy marriage. Victoria was strongly devoted to her husband, and the pair went on to have 9 children together. Albert was a hardworking and ambitious man, which was to his advantage throughout his wife’s many pregnancies. He put into place several reforms in the running of the royal household, designed and oversaw the construction of the residences of Balmoral Castle and Osborne House, and launched the Great Exhibition of 1851. This phase of Victoria’s reign also included changes such as the Cold Mine Act, the Irish Potato famine, the Crimean War, and another revolution in France. 

On a personal note, Victoria’s mother died in the spring of 1861, leaving the queen desolate. Meanwhile, the first of their children, Vicky, married Prince Frederick William of Prussia, while their oldest son, Prince Bertie, lived on the wild side. This caused great distress to both Victoria and Albert, who went to chastise his son over his behavior. Upon his return home from the visit, Albert fell gravely ill. It soon became apparent that Albert’s condition was critical and he ultimately succumbed to his illness in December of 1861. Victoria became a widow at the age of 42.

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