Friday is Queen Alexandria Victoria’s 200th birth anniversary.
Victoria's childhood was dominated by her mother and her adviser.
She was only 18 when she became the Queen. She was a fascinating monarch who was on the throne for 63 years and 216 days.
Victoria spoke several languages. Apart from English, she was fluent in French, Italian and Latin. She also spoke German.
The queen was only 4 feet, 11 inches tall and had to be seated on a raised platform in order to be seen during events.
Victoria and her husband Albert raised nine children together. As a means of extending Britain’s influence and building international allegiances, several of their sons and daughters were married into various European monarchies. Within just a couple of generations, Victoria’s family was spread across the continent. Her 42 grandchildren could be found in the royal families of Germany, Russia, Greece, Romania, Sweden, Norway and Spain. She was also called as 'Grandmother of Europe'.
During the course of her 63-year-long reign, the Queen escaped unharmed from at least six serious attempts on her life, some of which were terrifyingly close calls.
Victoria’s life was rocked by the death of her beloved husband. As the Prince was aged just 42, his death from typhoid was highly unexpected. It came as a huge blow to the Queen, who had been intensely on his support, practically and politically as well as emotionally.
Victoria went into a state of depression and began neglecting her royal duties. As she repeatedly refused to take part in public events, her popularity began to reduce.
The British people lost patience with their Queen and questioned what the ‘Widow of Windsor’ did to earn her royal income.
Decades passed but Victoria never fully recovered from the loss of Albert. She continued to wear black clothing and sleep beside an image of Albert. She even had a set of clothes laid out for him each morning, until she died 40 years later in 1901. She was buried beside her husband at Frogmore Mausoleum near Windsor.