1. Women

Coco Chanel - it was she who freed the 20th century woman from corsets and created a new silhouette, freeing her body. Fashion designer Coco Chanel revolutionized the appearance of women, she became an innovator and trendsetter, her new ideas contradicted the old fashion canons. Being from…

2. American film actress of the 1950s whose popularity continues to this day. The most famous films with her participation: “Some Like It Hot” (“Some Like It Hot”), “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Misfits”, as well as others. The name Marilyn has long become a common noun in the definition...

3. Nefertiti, wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (or Akhenaten), who lived at the end of the 15th century BC. The ancient master Thutmes created graceful sculptural portraits of Nefertiti, which are kept in museums in Egypt and Germany. Only in the last century were scientists able to understand when they were able to decipher many...

4. (1907-2002) Swedish writer. Author of stories for children "Pippi Longstocking" (1945-1952), "The Kid and Carlson Who Lives on the Roof" (1955-1968), "Rasmus the Tramp" (1956), "The Lionheart Brothers" (1979), "Ronya, the Robber's Daughter" (1981), etc. Remember how the story begins about Malysh and Carlson, who...

5. Valentina Vladimirovna protects her personal life and her loved ones quite strongly, so it is difficult for biographers and journalists to write about her. Considering that in recent years she has not met with journalists and does not participate in literary works dedicated to her. Apparently this attitude towards...

6. Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979-1990. Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. In 1970-1974, Minister of Education and Science. Years will pass, and the image of the “Iron Lady” will take on new colors, the outlines of a legend will appear, and details will disappear. Margaret Thatcher will remain in the history of the 20th century...

7. The wife of the Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin. Member of the Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class since 1898. Editorial secretary of the newspapers "Iskra", "Forward", "Proletary", "Social-Democrat". Participant in the revolutions of 1905-1907 and October revolution. Since 1917, member of the board, since 1929, deputy people's commissar of education of the RSFSR.…

8. (1889-1966) Real name Gorenko. Russian poetess. Author of many poetry collections: “Rosary Beads”, “The Running of Time”; tragic cycle poems "Requiem" about the victims of repressions of the 1930s. She wrote a lot about Pushkin. One of the Russian wits, having gone through the crucible of wars of the 20th century, Stalin’s camps, jokingly remarked in...

9. (1896-1984) Soviet actress, People's Artist of the USSR (1961). She served in the theater since 1915. In 1949-1955 and since 1963 she played in the theater. Mossovet. Her heroines are Vassa ("Vassa Zheleznova" by M. Gorky), Birdie ("Little Chanterelles" by L. Helman), Lucy Cooper ("Next Silence" ...

10. (1871-1919) Leader of the German, Polish and international labor movement. One of the organizers of the Spartak Union and the founders of the German Communist Party (1918). During the First World War she took internationalist positions. Her path to politics began in Warsaw, where revolutionary sentiments were especially strong. Poland…

11. Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in a Jewish family, became famous for her diary of an eyewitness to the Jewish genocide, who died in Bergen-Belsen, one of the Auschwitz counter-death camps. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power in Germany and the oppression of Jews began...

12. (1917-1984) Prime Minister of India in 1966-1977 and since 1980, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1984. Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Participant of the national liberation movement. One of the leaders of the Indian National Congress party, and after its split in 1978, the chairman of the party of Gandhi supporters. Killed...

13. (1647-1717) German artist, naturalist, engraver and publisher. Traveled to Suriname (1699-1701). Discoverer of the world of insects South America(“Metamorphoses of Surinamese insects”, 1705). The most valuable part of Merian’s publications, collections and watercolors was acquired by Peter I for museums and libraries in Russia. From the 17th century it came down to our contemporaries...

14. The Scottish queen in 1542 (actually from 1561) - 1567 also laid claim to the English throne. The revolt of the Scottish Calvinist nobility forced her to abdicate and flee to England. By order of the English Queen Elizabeth I, she was imprisoned. Involved in...

15. (69 BC - 30 BC) The last queen of Egypt from the Ptolemaic dynasty. Smart and educated Cleopatra was the mistress of Julius Caesar, after 41 BC. - his wife. After the defeat in the war with Rome and the entry of the Roman army into Egypt...

16. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) English writer. The hero of her numerous detective novels and stories is the amateur detective Poirot, who has phenomenal intuition and observation: “Poirot Investigates” (1924), “The Mystery of Fireplaces” (1925), “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (1926), etc. Author of the plays “Witness” accusations", "Mousetrap", etc. Almost impossible...

Queen Victoria

"Queen Victoria"

Queen of Great Britain since 1837, last of the Hanoverian dynasty.

It is difficult to find a ruler in history who would have held power longer than Alexandrina Victoria (her first name was given in honor of the Russian emperor - Alexander I). As many as 64 years out of 82 years of life! And even though England of the 19th century was no longer an absolute monarchy, and Victoria did not have the powers of a dictator, even though the state treasury was controlled by prime ministers and bankers, the queen became a symbol of an entire era, which, no less, included almost the entire last century of Great Britain.

Victoria took the throne, covered with clods of dirt, which were “inflicted” on the British royal house by her ancestors, who did not care too much about the reputation of the dynasty. They believed that kings and queens could do anything, and therefore did not deny themselves dubious pleasures. Over the long years of her reign, Victoria was able to discolor many stains, including bloody ones, that adorned the English crown; it completely changed public opinion about the monarchy. From a den that was tolerated only out of habit, fear of change and reverence for high birth, the British dynasty turned, thanks to Victoria, into a stronghold of nepotism, grandfatherly stability and unshakable morality.

Our heroine was able, as they say, to change her mind in time and created a completely new idea of ​​the monarchy - the same one that “sits” in our heads to this day. To modern man It would seem simply blasphemy to assert that the reigning persons carry within themselves the genetic depravity or bloodthirstiness of their ancestors. We believe that in our hectic world the only guarantee of peace and justice is a monarchy untouched by wars, revolutions and “all sorts of avant-gardes.” But humanity owes a lot to this seemingly solid myth of “old lady” Victoria, whose reign entered English art, became famous in literature and is still remembered with some nostalgia. The "Victorian era" is the era of Puritanism, family values, eternal, timeless truths.

Our heroine would never have sat on the British throne if the numerous offspring of the ailing George III had been more prolific. Of the six daughters and six sons of the king, some were childless, and some did not agree to tie the knot at all. Trying to correct the “disastrous” situation for the already fading British dynasty, the last three sons in old age“took a risk” to get married. In the same year, 1818, they urgently acquired a second half, but only one was lucky - the Duke of Kent, who finally had a daughter.

"Queen Victoria"

It is clear that there was “no time for fat” - no time for a son - and triumphant England was ordered to rejoice over the appearance of the heir to the British crown. True, Victoria herself did not know about such an honor until she was 12 years old. And when the unsuspecting princess was told about her brilliant prospect, she, as befits a well-bred girl, exclaimed: “I will be good!”

Victoria's childhood can be called “royal”, meaning only its origin, but in essence it was rather “monastic”. In England, as we know from XIX literature centuries, children were not particularly pampered. The situation in Victoria’s family was complicated by the fact that, as soon as her daughter was eight months old, the elderly Duke of Kent, who was no different approximately life and behavior, died, leaving his wife numerous debts and financial obligations. The future queen was brought up with terrible severity; she was forbidden to sleep separately from her mother or talk with strangers, deviate from the established regime once and for all, eat the wrong kind of sweets. Governess Louise Letzen inspired Victoria that she should not cry in public, and often the girl, barely holding back her tears, ran into her room so as not to let her teacher down. Victoria, despite Louise’s severity and isolation, loved her governess and obeyed her in everything. It must be said that Louise instilled in the future queen many practical traits, which were later so useful to her in the intricate palace intrigues. As a companion, the former teacher for a long time retained influence on the throne until Victoria’s legal husband (as one would expect) removed the overly quick person from the queen.

In short, Victoria was prepared responsibly for her future as ruler. Someone, taking advantage of the applicant’s youth, tried to slip into “grain” positions, enlist her support, deceive her, or please the inexperienced princess. On the eve of the coronation, one of the courtiers literally forcibly handed the girl a pen and paper, demanding her own appointment as secretary. However, despite a serious illness (typhoid), Victoria gave a sharp rebuff to the impudent man. On the day she took the throne, she wrote in her diary that her inexperience in government affairs would not prevent her from being firm in decision-making. For 64 years, she never once betrayed the promise she made to herself.

Victoria was not distinguished by brilliant intellect or encyclopedic knowledge, but she had an enviable ability to cope with what prevented her from fulfilling her destiny - she did not whine, did not reflect, did not plague those around her with unnecessary doubts, but pragmatically chose from numerous pieces of advice the most useful, but from " rubbing shoulders" with individuals who are truly faithful.

"Queen Victoria"

Victoria treated the kingdom as big house, who needs a zealous and calm housewife, “not enough stars from the sky.” “Every day I have so many papers from ministers, and from me to them. I am very pleased with such activities.”

However, the “iron” upbringing did not kill the woman in the queen. Young Victoria anxiously monitors her figure, which tends to be overweight, and hates getting up early and tiring palace etiquette. The first years of her reign were spent in balls and amusements: she seemed to be making up for the time lost behind the boring instructions of Louise Lezen. But what is most striking is that, contrary to popular belief that dynastic marriages of convenience are rarely successful, our heroine was happy in family life and rejoiced at mutual love.

The first years of her reign, when men always hovered at the feet of the young queen, wanting to become favorites, Victoria adored the head of the government cabinet, Viscount Melbourne. However, their relationship did not go beyond romantic friendship and meaningful glances. The Queen was too inexperienced in matters of the heart, too chaste, and Melbourne too smart to make life difficult for himself, and he was quite content with the admiration of the young lady and the influence on the Queen, which he used at every opportunity.

This balance of power seemed to suit everyone except the Duchess of Kent, who, by right of her mother, wanted to see herself as her daughter’s first adviser. However, her clumsy intrigue against the cunning Melbourne ended in scandal. The Duchess accused the main lady of the court, the Viscount's protégé, of being pregnant, which was unthinkable under British court. During the examination, it turned out that the maid of honor was a virgin, and also seriously ill. She soon died, which gave the courtiers a reason to create a fuss and reproach the royal family for being “heartless.” The Duchess of Kent left the palace in disgrace.

In 1840, Victoria married Prince Albert of the Saxe-Coburg dynasty. The young man had a very attractive appearance, was known as a “walking encyclopedia,” especially in technical disciplines, loved music, painting and excelled in “tennis of the 19th century” - fencing, and even with all these advantages he was not a “womanizer”, a spendthrift, a lazy person and frivolous. Victoria did not wait long for the prince's favor; she herself proposed to him. Perhaps Albert’s consent became for the latter the choice of a successful career and nothing more... However, even the queen’s envious people would be afraid to say that the marriage of the royal couple was unsuccessful.

"Queen Victoria"

There was and still is no formula in the English constitution for determining the husband of a reigning person, but a table was immediately set up for Albert in Victoria’s “office.”

At first, the prince’s responsibilities were limited: he, as they say, delved into the affairs of the state. “I read and sign the papers, and Albert blots them...” the queen wrote. But gradually her husband’s influence on Victoria became undeniable. Having learned that the queen, without consulting, allocated 15 thousand pounds sterling to the election campaign of one of the parties, Albert instructed his wife that the monarchy should not support any of the political parties. Thanks to her husband, Victoria began to use the railway, thereby provoking a technical upsurge in the country. WITH light hand Prince, market relations were spreading more and more rapidly in Britain. “You need to make money from everything - no matter in what ways,” the husband taught the queen. England was transforming from an agricultural country into one of the most industrialized countries in Europe.

From his first days in the royal palace, Albert publicly declared that it was his duty to immerse his own self in the personality of his queen wife. In private relationships, in raising children, this did not always work out - the daughter’s first illness caused such panic among the parents that their dispute over treatment methods ended big quarrel, after which Albert scribbled a message to Victoria in his office, warning that the death of the child would fall on her conscience. However, the prince stood firm to guard the interests of the state, and the queen completely trusted him. Their marriage turned out to be, unlike its vicious ancestors, extremely prolific - Victoria gave birth to nine children in twenty years of marriage, and all this between royal affairs.

Successful domestic and foreign policies, victory in the Crimean War, and the prosperity of the British economy formed a cult of the queen even among the sedate English.

Trouble happened in 1861. Albert suddenly died, and the inconsolable queen secluded herself within four walls for a long time, refusing to take part in public ceremonies. But who saw the tears of the queens? The crowd is merciless towards their idols, as soon as they stumble or throw themselves into the abyss of grief. The position of the poor widow was greatly shaken, but her compatriots buried Victoria early. like this a tough woman it was impossible to break even by irrevocable loss. Following the basic policy of her deceased husband, she deftly maneuvered in a difficult situation with Prussia. Albert advocated for the unification of Germany, but he could not foresee the development of events under Bismarck, and the queen, who hated the Prussian “figure” in words, was very cunningly able to establish good relations with him.

"Queen Victoria"

It was only thanks to her personal appeal to Bismarck that Paris escaped massive shelling in 1871. In a word, Victoria gradually and brilliantly returned “to big politics.”

The real heyday of her reign came in the mid-1870s, when Conservative leader Benjamin Disraeli came to power. The wise prime minister gave the Suez Canal and India to the English crown. A grateful Victoria persuaded Disraeli to accept the title of earl. During these years, the external side of the monarchy, its public representation, experienced a rebirth. The Queen, along with her many children and grandchildren, willingly showed herself to the people at ceremonies and happily organized festivities. The celebrations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Victoria's reign turned out to be especially luxurious. There was even an imperial conference in London in honor of Her Majesty with the participation of overseas figures.

In the last years of her life, Victoria’s character deteriorated. And it’s understandable: more and more often, her relatives and ministers perceived her as an out-of-mind old woman, a grouch and a bore. She believed that those around her were unfair to her, that it was too early to write off her experience from the “ship of modernity,” so Victoria continued to interfere in the affairs of the state, wrote angry and instructive letters to ministers and grumbled about new mores. The usual conflict between “fathers and sons”...

And as always, the older generation finds support in their grandchildren. Restrained, averse to the ordinary women's gossip, Victoria became the confidante of her granddaughter Alice, sympathized with her love for the heir to the Russian crown, Nicholas. Victoria remembered how surprised she was by the oddities of the emperor of a distant wild country - also Nicholas, only the First, who in 1844, during a visit to Great Britain, demanded that straw from the royal stables be laid down for him at night instead of feather beds. But does anyone, when they fall in love, listen to their grandmothers? Victoria, in the end, did everything in her power to ensure that her beloved granddaughter became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She was old and experienced, an English queen... Before Alice's wedding, Victoria prophetically remarked: "The condition of Russia is so bad, so rotten that something terrible could happen at any moment." But even this wise turtle“I couldn’t imagine that I had given my beloved granddaughter to the scaffold in a foreign, barbaric country.

Victoria's death after a short illness was sincerely mourned by millions of her subjects. And it’s not surprising - for many of her compatriots, Victoria seemed like an “eternal” ruler; they had never known anyone else in their long lives.

Victoria became a symbol of an entire era, it was under her that Great Britain became an empire that had its lands in India, Africa, Latin America, and it was under her that Britain experienced economic and political takeoff. It is clear that to many, in the hysterical grief of those days, it seemed as if with the death of the queen at the turn of the century the world was collapsing, a catastrophe was coming.

There were, of course, other opinions. They may be a minority, but they are worth mentioning. One of his contemporaries wrote: “Concerning the personality of the queen, they avoid saying everything they think. From what I heard about her, it is clear that in the last years of her life she was a rather banal respectable old lady and resembled many of our widows with limited views, without any understanding of art and literature, loved money, had some ability to understand business and some political abilities, but easily succumbed to flattery and loved it... However, the public began to see in this old lady something like a fetish or an idol..."

But in the end, one can talk endlessly about personality traits and character traits, with the most varied opinions, but the well-being of her country will speak more eloquently about the queen. And Victoria’s children and grandchildren had even more compelling reasons to honor the deceased for her frugality, enterprise, and the wealth that she gave to the reigning British house. Victoria left more than four dozen descendants after her death; almost all the dynasties of Europe were “infiltrated” by her heirs. "Victorianism" is still remembered in England as a heavenly, blessed time. And even if everything was not as serene as it seems now, each state needs “its own Victoria”, like the myth of a “warm”, “cozy” “time”, in which the weather was better, and the women were more beautiful, and the children were not grew up, and old people did not grow old...

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The famous Queen Victoria of Great Britain set the tone during the era of industrial growth in the empire. Although she often wore black and followed strict moral principles, the queen was a kind-hearted and energetic woman. Her reign lasted almost 64 years. /website/

Little Princess

Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819. On June 20, 1837, she became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and reigned until her death on January 22, 1901. She also bore the title of Empress of India.

Victoria, daughter of Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III, was originally called Drina (from Alexandrina). The girl's father died when she was not even a year old, and her grandfather, King George III, also died soon after.

Princess Victoria (later Queen of Great Britain and Empress of India) at the age of four, 1823. Photo: Public Domain

Victoria was raised by her mother, the German Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She raised me strictly.

Princess Victoria. Self-portrait, 1835. Photo: Public Domain

Victoria with her spaniel Dash, 1833. Portrait by George Hayter. Photo: Public Domain

After the death of her father's three older brothers, at the age of 18, Victoria inherited the throne.

Victoria receives news that she has become queen from Lord Conyngham (left) and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Photo: Public Domain

Victoria became queen, but had no real political power, since the United Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy. However, privately she influenced ministerial appointments and public policy. She was revered for her strict moral principles and became a popular favorite.

Queen Victoria on the day of her coronation. Painting by George Hayter. Photo: Public Domain

In 1840 Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Wedding of Victoria and Prince Albert, 1840. Photo: Public Domain

It was an ideal marriage of love, the spouses sincerely cared for each other. They had nine children, all of whom subsequently married into the noble and royal families of Europe.

Albert, Victoria and their nine children, 1857. From left to right: Alice, Arthur, Albert, Edward, Leopold, Louise, Victoria with Beatrice, Alfred, Victoria and Helen. Photo: Public Domain

Grandmother of Europe

Since many representatives of the royal houses of Europe were united by marriage with the royal family of Great Britain, Victoria received the nickname Grandmother of Europe.

In 1861, Albert died, Victoria lost heart and was in deep mourning, from then until the end of her life she wore only black. Victoria stubbornly avoided public appearances and barely lived in London, which is why she was nicknamed the Widow of Windsor. This led to an increase in Republican influence, but not for long. Soon the Queen's popularity was restored, and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were celebrated with jubilation by the whole of Great Britain.

Victorian era

The period of Victoria's reign (63 years and 7 months) is called the Victorian era. It was characterized by progress in all areas and expansion British Empire. Victoria became the last British monarch of the House of Hanover, her son and heir Edward VII on his father's side belonged to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty.

Queen Victoria on her Golden Jubilee. Public Domain

Queen Victoria became the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, only Elizabeth II recently surpassed this record. Her reign was marked by progress in all areas, the development of culture and industry. Victoria is remembered as a highly moral woman and a fair ruler.

Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee. Photo by W. and D. Downey. Public Domain

On February 10, 1840, the Royal Wedding of the Century took place in London, which was significant for several reasons. The young Queen Victoria was getting married. For love, for someone unequal to you. And in a snow-white dress. Nothing surprising, if you do not take into account the status, era and traditions of that time.

Princess to order

She was born at the beginning of five in the morning on May 24, 1819, and just three months later the man destined for Victoria by providence itself was born - Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. By coincidence, both births were attended by the same midwife. It seems that Victoria’s life in general was full of accidents, each of which turned out to be fateful every time.

Victoria was born "to order". Her father was never a monarch, being only one of 15 children of King George III of Great Britain and fifth in line to the throne. But it so happened that with such numerous offspring, George had only two legitimate granddaughters. The first, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth at the age of 21 (the child was stillborn). The second was Victoria, born two years after this sad event, which threatened the existence of the royal dynasty. The marriage of her father, Edward Augustus Duke of Kent, and her mother, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was hasty and had one goal: to give birth to a child capable of continuing the royal line. The girl's fate was sealed.

Before being on the throne, Victoria had to go through many tests. The future queen herself described her childhood years as “rather dreary,” and that was putting it mildly. Forced to be raised by an oppressive mother, she spent her youth away from the world, which, in the opinion of Victoria Sr., was the center of debauchery. The girl’s only joy was the hours spent with her faithful friend, the spaniel Dash, although she was given catastrophically little time even for playing with her beloved dog: Victoria spent from morning to night reading books, studying several foreign languages and studied with hired teachers without a break. The strict mother also introduced several rules that may now seem absurd to us: Victoria was supposed to sleep with her mother in the same room before marriage, she was not allowed to talk to strangers, and she was not allowed to cry in public (the latter, by the way, would not hurt and many modern girls). In addition to other absurd prohibitions and conditions, young Victoria was obliged to travel around England - her mother was preparing her for the role of queen, as if forgetting that the current ruler of England, Victoria’s uncle, King William, was still alive and even relatively healthy, despite his turbulent youth. The people received the young princess with delight, so her trips became almost endless - in the cold, rain, snow or sun, Victoria shook in an uncomfortable carriage, covering tens of kilometers, suffering from fever, pneumonia and other diseases, to which her mother preferred not to pay any attention. . The torment of the future queen lasted until 1837, until the death of the childless William IV.

On June 20, 1837, at five o'clock in the morning, the eighteen-year-old princess was woken up by her mother and told that the First Chamberlain of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury wanted to see her. As soon as Victoria entered Big hall, the first chamberlain knelt down. There was no doubt - the king had died, and Victoria would have to take his place. Before starting her immediate duties, the new ruler of Great Britain ordered to remove her bed from her mother’s bedroom: the long-awaited freedom had arrived!

Two meetings and one love

They first met in England a year before Victoria ascended the throne. Even then, Victoria’s next uncle, who became the king of Belgium, cherished the dream of strengthening family ties even more by marrying Albert’s nephew of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and... his niece. However, in those days such marriages were not considered closely related, but were in the order of things, so it was only up to the young queen, who was in no hurry to get married, and her first meeting with Albert did not make any impression on her at all. Moreover, in letters to her caring uncle, Victoria casually called her potential husband a “delicate stomach” and even a “disabled person,” claiming that “the very idea of ​​marriage is disgusting to her.” But what else did you want from a girl who was barely 17 years old?

Albert found his cousin good-natured, but nothing more. And indeed, Victoria was not distinguished by her beauty; her ill-wishers gloated: the queen’s upper lip was significantly smaller than her lower lip, and therefore she was often forced to keep her mouth slightly open, which was considered a serious flaw. Victoria treated her appearance with irony. In her diary, historians found, for example, the following entry: “We, however, are quite short for a queen.”

The second meeting changed everything. On October 10, 1839, Albert and his brother Ernest arrived to stay in Windsor, and the queen’s entire habitual existence, coupled with radical views on family life, collapsed like a house of cards: youth took its toll, the queen fell in love. Victoria looked at Albert differently now. In her diary, she noted the external advantages of the groom: “an exquisite nose,” “an elegant mustache and small, barely noticeable sideburns,” “a beautiful figure, wide at the shoulders and thin at the waist.” The very next day after the fateful meeting, Victoria received Albert alone and... proposed to her chosen one. No one expected such a turn, however, stubborn future husband the queen did not become, and on February 10, 1840 they were married.

At his wedding, later called " main wedding XIX century", the Queen, contrary to tradition, appeared in a snow-white dress, decorated with the same white petals of orange flowers, and with a train 5 meters long. Victoria had a wreath and a snow-white veil on her head. Photos of her attire instantly hit the press, giving rise to a triumphant procession white in wedding fashion. Now it’s hard to believe that the bride’s white dress, the veil, the groom’s boutonniere, and even the classic wedding cake are not a tribute to the centuries-old traditions of their ancestors, but an invention of the young and loving English Queen Victoria, which overnight became a classic and an example to be followed. .

Marriage without flaws

The Queen was passionately in love, seeing in Alberta not only an advantageous match, which was the rule rather than the exception in those days, but also the love of her life. Victoria turned out to be one of those few lucky women who managed to get married not only out of duty. After her wedding night, the Queen again turned to her diary: “I have NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening! MY DEAR, DEAR, DEAR Albert... his great love and affection gave me the feeling heavenly love and happiness that I never expected to feel before! He pulled me into his arms and we kissed each other over and over again! His beauty, his sweetness and gentleness - how can I ever be truly grateful for such a Husband!... It was the happiest day of my life!”

Was Albert as fascinated by his wife as she was by him? Historians around the world have been fiercely arguing about this for a century now. Considering that Albert’s female society was depressing, and the ladies in love frightened him rather than attracted him, he was never an ardent lover. Most likely, the young husband was driven primarily by a sense of duty, but Albert’s sincere affection for Victoria also cannot be denied. At least, he wrote very restrained messages about family life to his friends, mentioning only that he was quite pleased with his young wife.

It is unlikely that the prince was being a hypocrite. This trait was not in his character. Some believe that in response to the boundless devotion of his young cousin, he naturally experienced feelings of tenderness and gratitude, but the all-consuming reciprocal passion passed him by. Although he really liked Victoria, in this unusual situation he was more interested in his own feelings. And here there was something to think about.

Of course, Albert, who had absolutely nothing to do with the British throne, assumed that he would have a very minor role in the palace, but he could not even imagine all the difficulties that he would have to face when becoming the queen’s husband. Despite his excellent upbringing and education, the newly-minted prince was not allowed into politics, Albert’s social circle did not take Albert seriously, and even in his family life, which, as before, was scheduled by the hour, he was forced to obey his domineering wife (however, such a situation things even suited Albert).

Unlike her husband, Victoria did not have high intelligence and did not strive for self-education, often relying on the opinion of advisers, and was much more passionate about her husband. Despite the fact that there were real horror stories at court about the manic pedantry of the Prince Consort, the relationship between the spouses became the standard of almost an exemplary family. No betrayals, no scandals, not even the slightest rumors discrediting marital virtue. There is even a kind of story telling about the only conflict in our entire life together. The quarrel broke out over the daughter's illness. The couple argued about which treatment was best. The mother was the first to flare up. She ran out of the room in tears. Albert sat down at the table and wrote her a message, warning that the death of the child would be on her conscience if she persisted in her recommendations. Victoria relented.

Within a year of her married life, Victoria gave birth to her first child - a girl, who was traditionally named Victoria, and then a boy, he was to become King Edward VII and the founder of the Saxe-Coburg dynasty, which during the First World War, so as not to irritate its compatriots with its German sound, was renamed to the Windsor dynasty. In total, the selfless queen bore her husband nine children. For this alone, Victoria can be considered a heroine, especially considering that Her Majesty hated being pregnant, was disgusted by breastfeeding, and considered newborns to be ugly creatures.

Over time, overcoming the neglect of the royal entourage, Albert became the queen's sole and indispensable adviser. Rising from bed before sunrise, he set to work: writing letters, drafting responses to requests from ministers. And when Victoria joined him, all she had to do was sign the papers he had prepared. She noticed that Albert was becoming more and more interested in politics every day and state affairs and understands everything perfectly. “I,” she wrote again in personal diary, - I’m losing interest in business. We women are not cut out to rule, if we were honest with ourselves, we would refuse men's activities... Every day I am more and more convinced that women should not take over the leadership of the Kingdom.”

Thanks to him, Victoria reconsidered her view of some things that had previously seemed unacceptable to her. So, for example, she stopped being afraid to use the railway, and she agreed to receive guests at her residence whose company tired her. But for the sake of her husband, Victoria was ready to sacrifice her interests. Over the years, Albert, emboldened, became the almost unofficial ruler of England. “Dear angel,” as his wife called him, gently but confidently removed his wife from business, allowing her to do what she really liked - take care of the children and the house.

But, as you know, cloudless happiness cannot last forever. In 1861, Albert fell ill. However, Victoria, seemingly confident in the immortality of her idol, did not betray the illness and came to her senses only when the court doctors delivered a disappointing verdict - Albert was dying. Her Albert, her love, angel, light, the meaning of life, died, having only managed to say “my dear wife.” Life ended. For both him and her...

After love

From now on everything has changed. The Queen, having lost her faithful companion, shut herself up within four walls, stopped taking part in public ceremonies, and in general rarely appeared from her bedroom, where everything was preserved the same as it was with her husband: his favorite flowers in vases, hot tea, favorite books. Every evening the servants were ordered to put fresh pajamas on the marital bed for Albert, as if he could return any minute. Rumors multiplied, it was said that the ruler was slowly but surely going crazy, became interested in seances and talked for hours with the deceased. The ministers were indignant: the queen must remain a queen, regardless of life circumstances. However, Victoria didn’t care much about gossip; it seemed to her that life had lost all meaning. The only entertainment for her was the erection of monuments to her deceased husband; moreover, Victoria erected a grandiose mausoleum in the palace park, which has survived to this day, and it is there that Albert is buried.

After a while, Queen Victoria finally pulled herself together. She returned to business and was again determined to rule with a firm hand. She wrote in her diary that she would not allow anyone to dictate what she should do.

Later, a certain Mr. John Brown appeared in the queen’s entourage, with whom Victoria’s close relationship with whom was legendary. In fact, the connection remained unproven - until the end of her days, the Queen of Great Britain remained devoted to her “angel,” afraid to disturb his peace even after death.

Victoria outlived her only lover by forty years and died on January 22, 1901. According to her own will, the ruler was buried next to her husband, in a white dress and wedding veil, the same one in which once many years ago she married the best of men, her Albert, her angel.

Actor Stephen Fry jokes about Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria managed to restore the reputation of the monarchy, which had been considerably tarnished during the reign of her extravagant uncles. Moreover, Victoria formed a completely new model of relations between society and Royal family through the introduction of civil functions for the latter.

Despite miniature stature just in 157 sentiments, about which Stephen Fry joked that Victoria “was wider than long” (her impressive breasts reached 168 centimeters in circumference), this woman became a symbol of the soaring greatness of the British Empire. Together with her husband, Prince Albert, and their nine children, Queen Victoria became the personification of a new, happy era in British history.

Waiting for the throne

Portrait of Princess Victoria and her mother

Alexandrina Victoria received a title at birth Duchess of Kent. Her father was the fourth son of King George III, and little Victoria became fifth in line to the throne, ahead of her father and three elderly uncles.

Victoria's father died when the baby was only 8 months old, and, given the advanced age of the other contenders, baby Victoria had every chance to eventually take the throne.

The princess was brought up in Kensington Palace. Her education was carried out by a governess, Baroness Lehzen, who taught the future Queen languages, arithmetic, drawing and music.

Victoria's widowed mother was lonely and completely dependent on John Conroy- servants of her deceased husband, who strove for power by any means.

Controlled childhood

Portrait engraving of Victoria in 1834

Very soon, young Victoria became first in line to the throne after her only surviving uncle, King William IV.

However, despite this, everything early years the princesses passed under the yoke the strictest rules, called " Kensington system" This system, in particular, meant that the young heir to the throne would share a room with her mother and would not be able to be alone. Invented the system John Conroy, who thus hoped to manipulate Victoria in order to gain more power and influence over her.

When Victoria was 13 years old, she went on a tour of the midlands with Conroy and her mother, the purpose of which was to introduce the future Queen to the public. The princess found this trip extremely tiring, and her character became more and more stubborn and willful. At that time she began to lead diary. Her first entry in it was the following: “Men, women, children, country, houses - everything around is black... And now I see one building blazing with fire.”.

Victoria becomes Queen

Victoria came to the throne only a few weeks after her 18th birthday. Her first order was to leave her alone for an hour - something she had been denied for many years.

Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace, making it his official royal residence in London. The first manifestation of her strong will was the removal of her mother, who was immediately sent to the distant chambers of the palace. Her next step was to expel John Conroy, the courtier who poisoned her childhood, from the state apartments. Her first Prime Minister became the Queen's close associate, Lord Melbourne, who treated young Victoria with paternal affection. Soon after Parliament awarded her an annual annuity of £385,000, Queen Victoria became richest woman in the world.

Victoria was crowned Westminster Abbey, near which a crowd of 400 thousand people gathered, eager to catch the eye of the newly proclaimed Queen.

Victoria wore a robe of white satin and red velvet. The ceremony lasted as much as 5 hours and was not flawless: this was explained by the fact that the abbot of the abbey, who had been present at previous coronations, was absent due to illness. As a result, Victoria was mistakenly given the orb at the wrong time, and the Archbishop of Canterbury put the ring on the wrong finger, after which it took an hour to remove it. After the ceremony, Victoria returned to Buckingham Palace for a family celebration and watched the fireworks from her mother's balcony.

Beginning of reign

At the beginning of her reign, Queen Victoria made a number of rash acts, allowing her emotions to prevail over reason. For example, young Victoria believed false reports about the pregnancy of her maid of honor Lady Flora Hastings, for which she was booed by the public. On another occasion, Victoria found itself in the midst of a political crisis when the Whig government fell and Lord Melbourne resigned. Tory politician Robert Peel agreed to become prime minister on the condition that Victoria replace some of her Whig ladies-in-waiting with Tories. The Queen refused and reappointed Lord Melbourne to this post. This decision by the Queen was subsequently heavily criticized as unconstitutional.

Prince Albert and Victoria

Victoria fell in love with her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, when he visited Great Britain in 1839. In her diary on October 15, 1839, she wrote: “He was so kind and so affectionate; ABOUT! The feeling that I was loved, loved by an angel like Albert, is too great a joy to describe in words!”

As head of state, the Queen herself proposed to her lover, and the couple married the following year. On her wedding day Victoria wore white Wedding Dress , and a multi-level wedding cake was prepared for the guests of the ceremony. This started a new tradition among brides who previously wore their best prom dress to the wedding. It cannot be said that an idyll reigned in this marriage - very often, when communicating with her husband, Victoria lost her composure. Albert took on the role of his wife’s “moral mentor,” which, on the one hand, irritated her very much, but, on the other, allowed her to often resort to his support.

Attempts on Victoria

Queen Victoria, who often traveled in an open carriage, suffered a total of 8 assassination attempts.

During the first attempt, a teenager named Edward Oxford shot her as she and Albert drove out of Buckingham Palace. The shooter was detained by witnesses to this scene. And although the Queen was in shock and horror, she found the strength to smile at the audience during the return trip through Hyde Park.

Here is what Victoria wrote in her diary about this, June 10, 1840: “I saw him aiming at me with another pistol. I lowered my head and another shot immediately followed, just as loud as the previous one.”.

Oxford was declared insane and sent to Bedlam, a hospital for the mentally ill in London, the name of which became a household name. In 1867 he was released from the hospital and deported to Australia. All those who attacked the Queen acted alone and were subsequently recognized as mentally ill.

The Royal Family

Victoria became pregnant for the first time shortly after the wedding and gave birth to a daughter, named Victoria, 9 months later.

The Queen hated the process of childbirth and suffered from postpartum depression. However, this did not stop her from giving birth to nine children over the 16 years of her marriage to Albert. An astute diplomat, she helped her children marry into the royal families of Europe. Unfortunately, Victoria was a carrier hemophilia gene, which was passed on to her 10 male descendants, including son of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei.

Love for Scotland

On their first visit to Scotland, the Victoria and Albert couple fell in love with this country with all their hearts. Scotland seemed to them a romantic and untouched land, and the North Scottish Highlands reminded Albert of his native Germany.

As a result, the royal couple acquired in Scotland Balmoral estate, and from 1853 to 1856 Albert personally supervised the construction of a new castle there in the neo-Gothic style. To this day, this castle remains a private residence for members of the royal family. Victoria's frequent visits to Scotland helped strengthen the monarchy in that country.

New royal traditions

Queen Victoria started many royal traditions. In 1852, she attended the Opening of Parliament for the first time in a luxurious Irish parade carriage. The ceremony was held in the new building of the Palace of Westminster (the previous one was destroyed in a fire in 1834). The Queen led the procession and made a speech in Parliament. The protocols and traditions laid down then have since been carefully observed by all subsequent British monarchs.

Together with Albert, Victoria rebuilt the system constitutional monarchy, in order to prevent the growing republican movement.

She became the patron of 150 different institutions, including dozens of charities, and Prince Albert strongly supported the development of educational museums. The royal couple made public visits to industrial cities such as Leeds and attended military training camps to support the military. Together, Victoria and Albert were able to stop rumors that the royal family was not living up to their wages.

Victoria Cross

Reward "Victoria Cross" was introduced by the Queen to encourage acts of military heroism during the Crimean War. This award was awarded for special merits in battle, regardless of rank and type of troops.

The Crimean War was fought by an alliance of several countries, including Great Britain, against Russia. The queen was then suspected of secretly supporting the Russian Tsar. But Victoria managed to dispel these suspicions by showing increased attention to the care of wounded soldiers. She also personally awarded the first Victoria Crosses to 62 military personnel at a grand awards ceremony in Hyde Park in 1857. This marked the first time in history that officers received awards together with ordinary military personnel.

Royal photographs

During Victoria's reign, a set of 14 portrait photographs of the royal couple was published.

Total sold over 60 thousand copies this set, despite the rather high price for those times of four pounds and four shillings each. This led to the emergence of a photography culture famous people. Women imitated Queen Victoria's dressing style, and men copied Prince Albert's hairstyle and mustache.

Death of Albert

Prince Albert died at the age of 42. Victoria was inconsolable with grief and mourned for the rest of her life.

After Albert's death, Victoria distanced herself from public life, but continued to correspond and receive ministers and official visitors. She ordered the construction of monuments in honor of Prince Albert throughout the country and throughout the British Empire, including the famous Prince Albert Memorial in London. She became very close to John Brown, her servant at Balmoral Castle, which caused rejection from her children. Victoria was mockingly called "Mrs. Brown" in the press, but despite all the speculation, the Queen flatly refused to break off this friendship.

Victoria returns to public life

When her son Edward fell ill with typhus, the Queen became desperate.

This happened a year after the founding of the Third French Republic, which provoked a wave of anti-monarchy sentiment in Great Britain. As Edward recovered, the Queen carefully planned events to increase support for the royal family. She ordered a public thanksgiving service and appeared before the public for the first time in a long time on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. This event marked the Queen's gradual return to public life.

The Queen Who Became Empress

Caricature: Prime Minister Disraeli presenting the Imperial Crown to Victoria

Victoria became Empress of India, in order to strengthen the bonds between the monarchy and the empire.

She accepted this title on the advice of her seventh Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, whose political advice she completely trusted. Victoria approved of his imperial ambitions, which made Britain the most powerful country in the world. As a result, Victoria's popularity in Britain skyrocketed, and by the end of her reign she had become a true symbol of the empire.

New lover from India

In commemoration "Golden Jubilee"(50th anniversary of the reign) of Queen Victoria, she received Indian servants at her disposal. One of them, Abdul Karim, became her favorite and personal teacher (“munshi”).

Karim taught Victoria the Urdu language and told her about the peculiarities of life in India, and also introduced her to an Indian dish for the first time. curry” (the most popular dish in Britain these days). He was only 24 years old, but thanks to the efforts of this young man Victoria was fascinated by India, a country she ruled but never visited. Despite the disapproval of politicians and members of the royal family, Victoria rewarded Karim with various honors and lands in India, and even took him with her on trips to the French Riviera.

Victoria's Golden Jubilee on the throne strengthened her image as a ruler. In honor of this event, her face appeared on a variety of products, from mugs to mustard jars.

Although the jubilee celebrations centered around the Queen's personality, at the same time they demonstrated Britain's greatness as a world power. Her Majesty's troops proceeded in solemn march through London. In honor of the anniversary, Victoria threw a real feast, which was attended by 50 foreign kings and princes, along with the heads of overseas British colonies and dominions.

Diamond Jubilee

Victoria's Golden Jubilee was followed by Diamond(60 years on the throne). Celebrations were organized in his honor throughout the country.

The elderly Queen attended a number of events, although her health was by then in poor health.

Victoria decided to resort to new technologies and sent telegrams of gratitude to the subjects of her Empire. She also attended the ceremonial procession to St. Paul's Cathedral. Street celebrations were held across Britain to mark the Jubilee, and Sydney Harbor in Australia was decorated with illuminations. In India, 19 thousand prisoners were pardoned by the Queen.

End of the Victorian era

Victoria died after several weeks of serious illness. Her son and heir, Edward VII, and grandson, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, were at her deathbed.

Although the Queen ruled a vast Empire that covered a quarter globe and numbered 400 million subjects, she never forgot the people who supported her. Before her death, Victoria asked that her late husband Albert's robe and a plaster cast of his hand be placed in her coffin. In addition, she ordered that a lock of John Brown's hair and a photograph of him be placed in her hand. She also ordered that Abdul Karim be among the chief mourners at her funeral.

Until her very last days, Victoria remained an indomitable monarch, consistently implementing her will.

Based on materials from bbc.co.uk. All images taken from bbc.co.uk

Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II are the two longest reigning monarchs in history. British history: the total duration of their reign exceeds 125 years. The BBC provides facts and figures from the lives of the two queens, through which you can see how the monarchy has changed over the years.

Early years
Queen Victoria belonged to the German Hanoverian dynasty, ascended the throne at age 18 and ruled the United Kingdom for 23,226 days - 63 years, 7 months and 2 days.

Elizabeth II is the successor of the German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, which during the First World War was renamed the Windsor dynasty for patriotic reasons. Elizabeth ascended to the throne at the age of 25, and on September 9, 2015, her reign will exceed the record length of Queen Victoria's reign.

Personal data
Victoria was very vertically challenged(1 meter 50 centimeters) and became very plump with age, as can be judged by the ones regularly put up for auction: the waist circumference of her underwear fluctuated at different times from 94 to 113 cm.

Elizabeth's height is 1 meter 60 centimeters, and her clothing size is kept secret by the royal tailors.

Marriage and children
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on February 10, 1840, at the age of 21. They were married for 21 years; Prince Albert died in December 1861. Queen Victoria had nine children, four of whom became reigning monarchs or married into reigning monarchs.

Elizabeth II married the grandson of the Greek King George I, Philip Mountbatten (who on the eve of the marriage received the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Marionette and Baron Greenwich) on November 20, 1947, also at the age of 21. Elizabeth became the first British monarch to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee - she has now been married to Prince Philip for almost 68 years. The Queen has four children - three sons and a daughter.

Coronation
At Victoria's coronation in London in 1837, a crowd of at least 400,000 people gathered from her subjects and foreign guests.

In 1953, thanks to the first ever live television broadcast, 27 million people in the UK watched and another 11 million listened to the report on radio.

United Kingdom population
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the population of the kingdom doubled: from 16 million people in 1837 to 32.5 million people in 1901.

In 1952, when King George VIII died and the throne passed to Elizabeth, the population of Great Britain was 50 million. As of July 2014 (), the country has a population of 64.6 million people.

The Rise and Fall of the Empire
Under Queen Elizabeth, Great Britain became an empire that occupied a quarter of the globe, and the total number of subjects of the crown was almost 400 million people.

Under Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom lost its last colonies (1997 - Hong Kong). Now she heads the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes 53 countries - former colonies and dominions of the British Empire. The Commonwealth is voluntary and some countries in different years left it and sometimes returned, in accordance with the political situation.

International affairs
Queen Victoria left Great Britain only once: in 1849, she paid an official visit to Ireland.

Queen Elizabeth II made official visits to 116 countries, and the total length of her foreign trips exceeded 70,000 kilometers (for comparison, the length of the Equator is 40,075 kilometers).

Welfare
The British Parliament presented Queen Victoria with £385,000 on the occasion of her accession to the throne. Subsequently, the queen used this money to buy the Scottish castle Balmoral and build the Osborne House palace on the Isle of Wight.

Queen Elizabeth II's estate is valued at £340 million.

Prime Ministers
During the reign of Queen Victoria, Great Britain had 10 prime ministers. William Gladstone held this post four times.

Under Elizabeth II, there were 12 prime ministers. The first of them was Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher held the post of head of government for the longest time (eleven years).

Money
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the United Kingdom mint minted 2.5 billion coins.

During the reign of Elizabeth II, the Royal Mint minted over 68 billion coins - 8.1 billion before the reform monetary system and 60.3 billion coins after the transition to the decimal calculation system.

Streets
In the United Kingdom, 153 streets are named after Queen Victoria and 237 streets are named after Queen Elizabeth II.