How Much Do You Know About Queen Victoria?

Victoria and Albert bought the Osborne House in 1845 and spent the next six years rebuilding it based on architectural plans by Albert. Victoria loved its rustic beauty and visited often, even after Albert’s death in 1861. Queen Victoria passed away at the Osborne House on January 22, 1901. Her son Edward VII, who was never fond of the home, donated it to the government after his coronation.

The Victoria Cross was created in 1856 by the queen at the request of her husband, Prince Albert. It is more prestigious than any other medal or order awarded by the British government and entitles the recipient to add the initials “V.C.” to their legal name. The first crosses awarded were made of bronze taken from Russian guns during the Crimean War.

Victoria had all types of dogs and other animals as pets her entire life — as a teen she was especially close with Dash, her Cavalier King Charles spaniel. After importing four Pomeranians from Italy in 1888, the queen fell in love with the breed’s puffy coat and small size. Her love for Pomeranians spread throughout the kingdom, elevating the breed to a popularity that still reigns today.

Nicknamed “the Munshi,” meaning “the teacher,” Abdul Karim met Queen Victoria when he was 23 and she was 68, and the two developed a close bond. He helped the queen learn Urdu, while she bestowed royal titles and honors on him, earning suspicion and jealousy from her other advisers. According to records, after Karim prepared a curry dish for her in 1887, it was added to the menu twice a week on Sundays and Tuesdays.

Victoria reigned for more than 60 years, during which time the U.K. significantly expanded its colonial presence in places like Australia, Canada, and India. As a result, many new settlements around the world were named for the queen. Cities weren’t the only places to receive the royal namesake — Victoria Falls in southern Africa and the state of Queensland, Australia, are both named for Queen Victoria.

Prior to the Victorian era, wearing white was associated more with mourning than marriage or purity. For her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, Victoria chose to wear a white dress and instructed other guests to avoid the color. Contrary to popular belief, Victoria wore white not to represent purity but because it was the best color for showing off the dress’ intricate lace design.

Victoria became the presumptive heir to the throne at age 11. Understanding her daughter’s future responsibilities, Victoria’s mother raised her under a set of rigid guidelines known as the Kensington System. Though the strict upbringing kept the young Victoria from interacting with many children her age, it also included private lessons in foreign languages, reading, writing, and etiquette.

The nickname “Grandmother of Europe” was quite literal: Victoria and Albert had nine children and many grandchildren who went on to marry into other royal European households. Victoria’s own children married into the royal houses of Prussia, Denmark, Russia, Schleswig-Holstein, Waldeck, and Battenberg. Her grandchildren became monarchs of Germany, Greece, Russia, Spain, and more.

By the 1840s, the British media was reporting on all aspects of Victoria and Albert’s life, including their holiday traditions. Victoria loved to decorate Christmas trees, a ritual inherited from her German mother. In 1848, a newspaper published images of the royal couple decorating a tree with their children. British citizens immediately took to the idea, and it soon became a well-established custom.

Albert Edward “Bertie,” Victoria’s oldest son, became King Edward VII upon his mother’s death in 1901. He reigned until May 6, 1910, when he died at the age of 68. As the heir apparent, Bertie grew up with strict educational requirements and undertook public duties during his mother’s reign, acting as her deputy from 1898 on. Upon his death, his son George (King George V) took the throne.

The Resolute Desk, a regular focal point of the White House’s Oval Office, was a gift to President Hayes from the queen in 1880. The desk, known to have been used by several Presidents, is made from the oak timbers of the British ship the HMS Resolute. During an Arctic voyage, the ship became trapped in ice, but was later recovered by an American whaler and returned to the queen.

After a vacation to the region, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert fell in love with the Scottish Highlands. Albert said it reminded him of his homeland in Germany. The royal couple soon decided to buy property in the region, and Albert oversaw the building of the neo-Gothic castle, completed in 1856. Balmoral Castle is still owned by the Crown and used as a holiday home for the royal family.

Although Canada officially gained its independence from Great Britain through the Canada Act of 1982, it still recognizes Victoria Day as a federal holiday. It has been an official Canadian holiday since 1901, the year of Queen Victoria’s death, and is celebrated on the Monday preceding May 25. Interestingly, most of England does not celebrate this holiday, though some regions of Scotland do.

From 1531 to 1837, the official British royal residence was St. James’s Palace. But Victoria, known for her independence, decided to make the switch to Buckingham Palace upon inheriting the throne. She and her husband, Prince Albert, transformed Buckingham into the spectacle it is today. The couple introduced elegance and modern amenities such as electricity and a telephone to the palace.

Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, in Kensington Palace in London. At the age of 18, she became queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The last of the House of Hanover, Victoria was responsible for bringing about her namesake era, the Victorian era. She ruled for more than 63 years, making her the second-longest-reigning British monarch in history, after Queen Elizabeth II.

Victoria’s mother was Princess Victoria Saxe-Saalfield-Coburg of Germany, and her father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. She was fifth in line to the throne at the time of her birth, but became heir apparent after the death of her uncles and father. Her British royal lineage came from her paternal grandfather, King George III, while her mother’s brother was Leopold I, the first king of the Belgians.

On June 13, 1842, Queen Victoria became the first British ruler to ride on a passenger train, traveling from Slough in Berkshire to London Paddington. What did the queen think of her royal ride? She wrote in her diary that it was “delightful.” Queen Elizabeth II recreated this train ride for its 175th anniversary in 2017.

Taking the throne as an unwed 18-year-old, Queen Victoria had to live with her mother until she married, despite her regal status. Though Victoria wasn’t in any rush to get married, she fell in love with Prince Albert almost immediately upon their first meeting in April 1836. The couple was engaged in 1839 and married in 1840 at St. James’ Palace in London.

Although life expectancy was skewed by the high infant mortality rate of the era, adults who made it to middle age had life expectancies comparable to those of today. Ruling from the age of 18 until her death at 81, Victoria was surpassed in her 63-year reign only by Queen Elizabeth II in the fall of 2015, who ruled for more than 70 years before her passing in 2022.

Called the “Penny Black,” this stamp made its debut in May 1840. It was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used by a public mailing system. The simple stamp was featured an illustration of Queen Victoria's profile against a black background, along with the words “postage” and “one penny.” Following this tradition, all British stamps incorporate an image of the reigning monarch.