Birth and family

Victoria's father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of the reigning King of the United Kingdom, George III. Until 1817, Edward's niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a succession crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent and his unmarried brothers to marry and have children. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl (1804–1856) and Feodora (1807–1872)—by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen. Her brother Leopold was Princess Charlotte's widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kent's only child, Victoria, was born at 4:15 a.m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London.

Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of Kent's eldest brother George, Prince Regent.

At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, Duke of York; William, Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria's father, Edward, Duke of Kent. The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further legitimate children. William and Edward married on the same day in 1818, but both of William's legitimate daughters died as infants. The first of these was Princess Charlotte, who was born and died on 27 March 1819, two months before Victoria was born. Victoria's father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old. A week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son as George IV. Victoria was then third in line to the throne after Frederick and William. William's second daughter, Princess Elizabeth of Clarence, lived for twelve weeks from 10 December 1820 to 4 March 1821, and for that period Victoria was fourth in line.

The Duke of York died in 1827, followed by George IV in 1830; the throne passed to their next surviving brother, William, and Victoria became heir presumptive. The Regency Act 1830 made special provision for Victoria's mother to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor. King William distrusted the Duchess's capacity to be regent, and in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria's 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided.

Heir presumptive

Victoria later described her childhood as "rather melancholy". Her mother was extremely protective, and Victoria was raised largely isolated from other children under the so-called "Kensington System", an elaborate set of rules and protocols devised by the Duchess and her ambitious and domineering comptroller, Sir John Conroy, who was rumoured to be the Duchess's lover. The system prevented the princess from meeting people whom her mother and Conroy deemed undesirable (including most of her father's family), and was designed to render her weak and dependent upon them. The Duchess avoided the court because she was scandalised by the presence of King William's illegitimate children. Victoria shared a bedroom with her mother every night, studied with private tutors to a regular timetable, and spent her play-hours with her dolls and her King Charles Spaniel, Dash. Her lessons included French, German, Italian, and Latin, but she spoke only English at home.

In 1830, the Duchess of Kent and Conroy took Victoria across the centre of England to visit the Malvern Hills, stopping at towns and great country houses along the way. Similar journeys to other parts of England and Wales were taken in 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835. To the King's annoyance, Victoria was enthusiastically welcomed in each of the stops. William compared the journeys to royal progresses and was concerned that they portrayed Victoria as his rival rather than his heir presumptive. Victoria disliked the trips; the constant round of public appearances made her tired and ill, and there was little time for her to rest. She objected on the grounds of the King's disapproval, but her mother dismissed his complaints as motivated by jealousy and forced Victoria to continue the tours. At Ramsgate in October 1835, Victoria contracted a severe fever, which Conroy initially dismissed as a childish pretence. While Victoria was ill, Conroy and the Duchess unsuccessfully badgered her to make Conroy her private secretary. As a teenager, Victoria resisted persistent attempts by her mother and Conroy to appoint him to her staff. Once queen, she banned him from her presence, but he remained in her mother's household.

By 1836, Victoria's maternal uncle Leopold, who had been King of the Belgians since 1831, hoped to marry her to Prince Albert, the son of his brother Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold arranged for Victoria's mother to invite her Coburg relatives to visit her in May 1836, with the purpose of introducing Victoria to Albert. William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, second son of the Prince of Orange. Victoria was aware of the various matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes. According to her diary, she enjoyed Albert's company from the beginning. After the visit she wrote, "Albert is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful." Alexander, on the other hand, she described as "very plain".

Victoria wrote to King Leopold, whom she considered her "best and kindest adviser", to thank him "for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me, in the person of dear Albert ... He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy. He is so sensible, so kind, and so good, and so amiable too. He has besides the most pleasing and delightful exterior and appearance you can possibly see." However at 17, Victoria, though interested in Albert, was not yet ready to marry. The parties did not undertake a formal engagement, but assumed that the match would take place in due time.

Early reign

Victoria turned 18 on 24 May 1837, and a regency was avoided. Less than a month later, on 20 June 1837, William IV died at the age of 71, and Victoria became Queen of the United Kingdom. In her diary she wrote, "I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing gown) and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen." Official documents prepared on the first day of her reign described her as Alexandrina Victoria, but the first name was withdrawn at her own wish and not used again.

Since 1714, Britain had shared a monarch with Hanover in Germany, but under Salic law women were excluded from the Hanoverian succession. While Victoria inherited all the British Dominions, her father's unpopular younger brother, the Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover. He was her heir presumptive while she was childless.

At the time of Victoria's accession, the government was led by the Whig prime minister Lord Melbourne. The Prime Minister at once became a powerful influence on the politically inexperienced Queen, who relied on him for advice. Charles Greville supposed that the widowed and childless Melbourne was "passionately fond of her as he might be of his daughter if he had one", and Victoria probably saw him as a father figure. Her coronation took place on 28 June 1838 at Westminster Abbey. Over 400,000 visitors came to London for the celebrations. She became the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham Palace and inherited the revenues of the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall as well as being granted a civil list allowance of £385,000 per year. Financially prudent, she paid off her father's debts.

At the start of her reign Victoria was popular, but her reputation suffered in an 1839 court intrigue when one of her mother's ladies-in-waiting, Lady Flora Hastings, developed an abdominal growth that was widely rumoured to be an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Sir John Conroy. Victoria believed the rumours. She hated Conroy, and despised "that odious Lady Flora", because she had conspired with Conroy and the Duchess of Kent in the Kensington System. At first, Lady Flora refused to submit to an intimate medical examination, until in mid-February she eventually agreed, and was found to be a virgin. Conroy, the Hastings family, and the opposition Tories organised a press campaign implicating the Queen in the spreading of false rumours about Lady Flora. When Lady Flora died in July, the post-mortem revealed a large tumour on her liver that had distended her abdomen. At public appearances, Victoria was hissed and jeered as "Mrs. Melbourne".

In 1839, Melbourne resigned after Radicals and Tories (both of whom Victoria detested) voted against a bill to suspend the constitution of Jamaica. The bill removed political power from plantation owners who were resisting measures associated with the abolition of slavery. The Queen commissioned a Tory, Sir Robert Peel, to form a new ministry. At the time, it was customary for the prime minister to appoint members of the Royal Household, who were usually his political allies and their spouses. Many of the Queen's ladies of the bedchamber were wives of Whigs, and Peel expected to replace them with wives of Tories. In what became known as the bedchamber crisis, Victoria, advised by Melbourne, objected to their removal. Peel refused to govern under the restrictions imposed by the Queen, and consequently resigned his commission, allowing Melbourne to return to office.

Marriage

Though Victoria was now queen, as an unmarried young woman she was required by social convention to live with her mother, despite their differences over the Kensington System and her mother's continued reliance on Conroy. Her mother was consigned to a remote apartment in Buckingham Palace, and Victoria often refused to see her. When Victoria complained to Melbourne that her mother's proximity promised "torment for many years", Melbourne sympathised but said it could be avoided by marriage, which Victoria called a "schocking alternative". Victoria showed interest in Albert's education for the future role he would have to play as her husband, but she resisted attempts to rush her into wedlock.

Victoria continued to praise Albert following his second visit in October 1839. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor. They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, London. Victoria was love-struck. She spent the evening after their wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:

Albert became an important political adviser as well as the Queen's companion, replacing Melbourne as the dominant influential figure in the first half of her life. Victoria's mother was evicted from the palace, to Ingestre House in Belgrave Square. After the death of Victoria's aunt, Princess Augusta, in 1840, Victoria's mother was given both Clarence and Frogmore Houses. Through Albert's mediation, relations between mother and daughter slowly improved.

During Victoria's first pregnancy in 1840, in the first few months of the marriage, 18-year-old Edward Oxford attempted to assassinate her while she was riding in a carriage with Prince Albert on her way to visit her mother. Oxford fired twice, but either both bullets missed or, as he later claimed, the guns had no shot. He was tried for high treason, found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to an insane asylum indefinitely, and later sent to live in Australia. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Victoria's popularity soared, mitigating residual discontent over the Hastings affair and the bedchamber crisis. Her daughter, also named Victoria, was born on 21 November 1840. The Queen hated being pregnant, viewed breast-feeding with disgust, and thought newborn babies were ugly. Nevertheless, over the following seventeen years, she and Albert had a further eight children: Albert Edward (b. 1841), Alice (b. 1843), Alfred (b. 1844), Helena (b. 1846), Louise (b. 1848), Arthur (b. 1850), Leopold (b. 1853) and Beatrice (b. 1857).

Victoria's household was largely run by her childhood governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen from Hanover. Lehzen had been a formative influence on Victoria and had supported her against the Kensington System. Albert, however, thought that Lehzen was incompetent and that her mismanagement threatened his daughter's health. After a furious row between Victoria and Albert over the issue, Lehzen was pensioned off in 1842, and Victoria's close relationship with her ended.

1842–1860

On 29 May 1842, Victoria was riding in a carriage along The Mall, London, when John Francis aimed a pistol at her, but the gun did not fire. The assailant escaped; however the following day, Victoria drove the same route, though faster and with a greater escort, in a deliberate attempt to provoke Francis to take a second aim and catch him in the act. As expected, Francis shot at her, but he was seized by plainclothes policemen, and convicted of high treason. On 3 July, two days after Francis's death sentence was commuted to transportation for life, John William Bean also tried to fire a pistol at the Queen, but it was loaded only with paper and tobacco and had too little charge. Edward Oxford felt that the attempts were encouraged by his acquittal in 1840. Bean was sentenced to 18 months in jail. In a similar attack in 1849, unemployed Irishman William Hamilton fired a powder-filled pistol at Victoria's carriage as it passed along Constitution Hill, London. In 1850, the Queen did sustain injury when she was assaulted by a possibly insane ex-army officer, Robert Pate. As Victoria was riding in a carriage, Pate struck her with his cane, crushing her bonnet and bruising her forehead. Both Hamilton and Pate were sentenced to seven years' transportation.

Melbourne's support in the House of Commons weakened through the early years of Victoria's reign, and in the 1841 general election the Whigs were defeated. Peel became prime minister, and the ladies of the bedchamber most associated with the Whigs were replaced.

In 1845, Ireland was hit by a potato blight. In the next four years, over a million Irish people died and another million emigrated in what became known as the Great Famine. In Ireland, Victoria was labelled "The Famine Queen". In January 1847 she personally donated £2,000 (equivalent to between £178,000 and £6.5 million in 2016) to the British Relief Association, more than any other individual famine relief donor, and also supported the Maynooth Grant to a Roman Catholic seminary in Ireland, despite Protestant opposition. The story that she donated only £5 in aid to the Irish, and on the same day gave the same amount to Battersea Dogs Home, was a myth generated towards the end of the 19th century.

By 1846, Peel's ministry faced a crisis involving the repeal of the Corn Laws. Many Tories—by then known also as Conservatives—were opposed to the repeal, but Peel, some Tories (the free-trade oriented liberal conservative "Peelites"), most Whigs and Victoria supported it. Peel resigned in 1846, after the repeal narrowly passed, and was replaced by Lord John Russell.

Internationally, Victoria took a keen interest in the improvement of relations between France and Britain. She made and hosted several visits between the British royal family and the House of Orleans, who were related by marriage through the Coburgs. In 1843 and 1845, she and Albert stayed with King Louis Philippe I at château d'Eu in Normandy; she was the first British or English monarch to visit a French monarch since the meeting of Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France on the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. When Louis Philippe made a reciprocal trip in 1844, he became the first French king to visit a British sovereign. Louis Philippe was deposed in the revolutions of 1848, and fled to exile in England. At the height of a revolutionary scare in the United Kingdom in April 1848, Victoria and her family left London for the greater safety of Osborne House, a private estate on the Isle of Wight that they had purchased in 1845 and redeveloped. Demonstrations by Chartists and Irish nationalists failed to attract widespread support, and the scare died down without any major disturbances. Victoria's first visit to Ireland in 1849 was a public relations success, but it had no lasting impact or effect on the growth of Irish nationalism.

Russell's ministry, though Whig, was not favoured by the Queen. She found particularly offensive the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, who often acted without consulting the Cabinet, the Prime Minister, or the Queen. Victoria complained to Russell that Palmerston sent official dispatches to foreign leaders without her knowledge, but Palmerston was retained in office and continued to act on his own initiative, despite her repeated remonstrances. It was only in 1851 that Palmerston was removed after he announced the British government's approval of President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup in France without consulting the Prime Minister. The following year, President Bonaparte was declared Emperor Napoleon III, by which time Russell's administration had been replaced by a short-lived minority government led by Lord Derby.

In 1853, Victoria gave birth to her eighth child, Leopold, with the aid of the new anaesthetic, chloroform. She was so impressed by the relief it gave from the pain of childbirth that she used it again in 1857 at the birth of her ninth and final child, Beatrice, despite opposition from members of the clergy, who considered it against biblical teaching, and members of the medical profession, who thought it dangerous. Victoria may have suffered from postnatal depression after many of her pregnancies. Letters from Albert to Victoria intermittently complain of her loss of self-control. For example, about a month after Leopold's birth Albert complained in a letter to Victoria about her "continuance of hysterics" over a "miserable trifle".

In early 1855, the government of Lord Aberdeen, who had replaced Derby, fell amidst recriminations over the poor management of British troops in the Crimean War. Victoria approached both Derby and Russell to form a ministry, but neither had sufficient support, and Victoria was forced to appoint Palmerston as prime minister.

Napoleon III, Britain's closest ally as a result of the Crimean War, visited London in April 1855, and from 17 to 28 August the same year Victoria and Albert returned the visit. Napoleon III met the couple at Boulogne and accompanied them to Paris. They visited the Exposition Universelle (a successor to Albert's 1851 brainchild the Great Exhibition) and Napoleon I's tomb at Les Invalides (to which his remains had only been returned in 1840), and were guests of honour at a 1,200-guest ball at the Palace of Versailles.

On 14 January 1858, an Italian refugee from Britain called Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate Napoleon III with a bomb made in England. The ensuing diplomatic crisis destabilised the government, and Palmerston resigned. Derby was reinstated as prime minister. Victoria and Albert attended the opening of a new basin at the French military port of Cherbourg on 5 August 1858, in an attempt by Napoleon III to reassure Britain that his military preparations were directed elsewhere. On her return Victoria wrote to Derby reprimanding him for the poor state of the Royal Navy in comparison to the French one. Derby's ministry did not last long, and in June 1859 Victoria recalled Palmerston to office.

Eleven days after Orsini's assassination attempt in France, Victoria's eldest daughter married Prince Frederick William of Prussia in London. They had been betrothed since September 1855, when Princess Victoria was 14 years old; the marriage was delayed by the Queen and her husband Albert until the bride was 17. The Queen and Albert hoped that their daughter and son-in-law would be a liberalising influence in the enlarging Prussian state. The Queen felt "sick at heart" to see her daughter leave England for Germany; "It really makes me shudder", she wrote to Princess Victoria in one of her frequent letters, "when I look round to all your sweet, happy, unconscious sisters, and think I must give them up too – one by one." Almost exactly a year later, the Princess gave birth to the Queen's first grandchild, Wilhelm, who would become the last German Emperor.

Widowhood

In March 1861, Victoria's mother died, with Victoria at her side. Through reading her mother's papers, Victoria discovered that her mother had loved her deeply; she was heart-broken, and blamed Conroy and Lehzen for "wickedly" estranging her from her mother. To relieve his wife during her intense and deep grief, Albert took on most of her duties, despite being ill himself with chronic stomach trouble. In August, Victoria and Albert visited their son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who was attending army manoeuvres near Dublin, and spent a few days holidaying in Killarney. In November, Albert was made aware of gossip that his son had slept with an actress in Ireland. Appalled, he travelled to Cambridge, where his son was studying, to confront him. By the beginning of December, Albert was very unwell. He was diagnosed with typhoid fever by William Jenner, and died on 14 December 1861. Victoria was devastated. She blamed her husband's death on worry over the Prince of Wales's philandering. He had been "killed by that dreadful business", she said. She entered a state of mourning and wore black for the remainder of her life. She avoided public appearances and rarely set foot in London in the following years. Her seclusion earned her the nickname "widow of Windsor". Her weight increased through comfort eating, which further reinforced her aversion to public appearances.

Victoria's self-imposed isolation from the public diminished the popularity of the monarchy, and encouraged the growth of the republican movement. She did undertake her official government duties, yet chose to remain secluded in her royal residences—Windsor Castle, Osborne House, and the private estate in Scotland that she and Albert had acquired in 1847, Balmoral Castle. In March 1864 a protester stuck a notice on the railings of Buckingham Palace that announced "these commanding premises to be let or sold in consequence of the late occupant's declining business". Her uncle Leopold wrote to her advising her to appear in public. She agreed to visit the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Kensington and take a drive through London in an open carriage.

Through the 1860s, Victoria relied increasingly on a manservant from Scotland, John Brown. Rumours of a romantic connection and even a secret marriage appeared in print, and some referred to the Queen as "Mrs. Brown". The story of their relationship was the subject of the 1997 movie Mrs. Brown. A painting by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer depicting the Queen with Brown was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and Victoria published a book, Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands, which featured Brown prominently and in which the Queen praised him highly.

Palmerston died in 1865, and after a brief ministry led by Russell, Derby returned to power. In 1866, Victoria attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time since Albert's death. The following year she supported the passing of the Reform Act 1867 which doubled the electorate by extending the franchise to many urban working men, though she was not in favour of votes for women. Derby resigned in 1868, to be replaced by Benjamin Disraeli, who charmed Victoria. "Everyone likes flattery," he said, "and when you come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel." With the phrase "we authors, Ma'am", he complimented her. Disraeli's ministry only lasted a matter of months, and at the end of the year his Liberal rival, William Ewart Gladstone, was appointed prime minister. Victoria found Gladstone's demeanour far less appealing; he spoke to her, she is thought to have complained, as though she were "a public meeting rather than a woman".

In 1870 republican sentiment in Britain, fed by the Queen's seclusion, was boosted after the establishment of the Third French Republic. A republican rally in Trafalgar Square demanded Victoria's removal, and Radical MPs spoke against her. In August and September 1871, she was seriously ill with an abscess in her arm, which Joseph Lister successfully lanced and treated with his new antiseptic carbolic acid spray. In late November 1871, at the height of the republican movement, the Prince of Wales contracted typhoid fever, the disease that was believed to have killed his father, and Victoria was fearful her son would die. As the tenth anniversary of her husband's death approached, her son's condition grew no better, and Victoria's distress continued. To general rejoicing, he recovered. Mother and son attended a public parade through London and a grand service of thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral on 27 February 1872, and republican feeling subsided.

On the last day of February 1872, two days after the thanksgiving service, 17-year-old Arthur O'Connor, a great-nephew of Irish MP Feargus O'Connor, waved an unloaded pistol at Victoria's open carriage just after she had arrived at Buckingham Palace. Brown, who was attending the Queen, grabbed him and O'Connor was later sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, and a birching. As a result of the incident, Victoria's popularity recovered further.

Empress

After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British East India Company, which had ruled much of India, was dissolved, and Britain's possessions and protectorates on the Indian subcontinent were formally incorporated into the British Empire. The Queen had a relatively balanced view of the conflict, and condemned atrocities on both sides. She wrote of "her feelings of horror and regret at the result of this bloody civil war", and insisted, urged on by Albert, that an official proclamation announcing the transfer of power from the company to the state "should breathe feelings of generosity, benevolence and religious toleration". At her behest, a reference threatening the "undermining of native religions and customs" was replaced by a passage guaranteeing religious freedom.

In the 1874 general election, Disraeli was returned to power. He passed the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874, which removed Catholic rituals from the Anglican liturgy and which Victoria strongly supported. She preferred short, simple services, and personally considered herself more aligned with the presbyterian Church of Scotland than the episcopal Church of England. Disraeli also pushed the Royal Titles Act 1876 through Parliament, so that Victoria took the title "Empress of India" from 1 May 1876. The new title was proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar of 1 January 1877.

On 14 December 1878, the anniversary of Albert's death, Victoria's second daughter Alice, who had married Louis of Hesse, died of diphtheria in Darmstadt. Victoria noted the coincidence of the dates as "almost incredible and most mysterious". In May 1879, she became a great-grandmother (on the birth of Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen) and passed her "poor old 60th birthday". She felt "aged" by "the loss of my beloved child".

Between April 1877 and February 1878, she threatened five times to abdicate while pressuring Disraeli to act against Russia during the Russo-Turkish War, but her threats had no impact on the events or their conclusion with the Congress of Berlin. Disraeli's expansionist foreign policy, which Victoria endorsed, led to conflicts such as the Anglo-Zulu War and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. "If we are to maintain our position as a first-rate Power", she wrote, "we must ... be Prepared for attacks and wars, somewhere or other, CONTINUALLY." Victoria saw the expansion of the British Empire as civilising and benign, protecting native peoples from more aggressive powers or cruel rulers: "It is not in our custom to annexe countries", she said, "unless we are obliged & forced to do so." To Victoria's dismay, Disraeli lost the 1880 general election, and Gladstone returned as prime minister. When Disraeli died the following year, she was blinded by "fast falling tears", and erected a memorial tablet "placed by his grateful Sovereign and Friend, Victoria R.I."

Later years

On 2 March 1882, Roderick Maclean, a disgruntled poet apparently offended by Victoria's refusal to accept one of his poems, shot at the Queen as her carriage left Windsor railway station. Two schoolboys from Eton College struck him with their umbrellas, until he was hustled away by a policeman. Victoria was outraged when he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, but was so pleased by the many expressions of loyalty after the attack that she said it was "worth being shot at—to see how much one is loved".

On 17 March 1883, Victoria fell down some stairs at Windsor, which left her lame until July; she never fully recovered and was plagued with rheumatism thereafter. John Brown died 10 days after her accident, and to the consternation of her private secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby, Victoria began work on a eulogistic biography of Brown. Ponsonby and Randall Davidson, Dean of Windsor, who had both seen early drafts, advised Victoria against publication, on the grounds that it would stoke the rumours of a love affair. The manuscript was destroyed. In early 1884, Victoria did publish More Leaves from a Journal of a Life in the Highlands, a sequel to her earlier book, which she dedicated to her "devoted personal attendant and faithful friend John Brown". On the day after the first anniversary of Brown's death, Victoria was informed by telegram that her youngest son, Leopold, had died in Cannes. He was "the dearest of my dear sons", she lamented. The following month, Victoria's youngest child, Beatrice, met and fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenberg at the wedding of Victoria's granddaughter Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine to Henry's brother Prince Louis of Battenberg. Beatrice and Henry planned to marry, but Victoria opposed the match at first, wishing to keep Beatrice at home to act as her companion. After a year, she was won around to the marriage by their promise to remain living with and attending her.

Victoria was pleased when Gladstone resigned in 1885 after his budget was defeated. She thought his government was "the worst I have ever had", and blamed him for the death of General Gordon at Khartoum. Gladstone was replaced by Lord Salisbury. Salisbury's government only lasted a few months, however, and Victoria was forced to recall Gladstone, whom she referred to as a "half crazy & really in many ways ridiculous old man". Gladstone attempted to pass a bill granting Ireland home rule, but to Victoria's glee it was defeated. In the ensuing election, Gladstone's party lost to Salisbury's and the government switched hands again.

Golden Jubilee

In 1887, the British Empire celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. She marked the fiftieth anniversary of her accession on 20 June with a banquet to which 50 kings and princes were invited. The following day, she participated in a procession and attended a thanksgiving service in Westminster Abbey. By this time, Victoria was once again extremely popular. Two days later on 23 June, she engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters, one of whom was Abdul Karim. He was soon promoted to "Munshi": teaching her Urdu (known as Hindustani) and acting as a clerk. Her family and retainers were appalled, and accused Abdul Karim of spying for the Muslim Patriotic League, and biasing the Queen against the Hindus. Equerry Frederick Ponsonby (the son of Sir Henry) discovered that the Munshi had lied about his parentage, and reported to Lord Elgin, Viceroy of India, "the Munshi occupies very much the same position as John Brown used to do." Victoria dismissed their complaints as racial prejudice. Abdul Karim remained in her service until he returned to India with a pension, on her death.

Victoria's eldest daughter became empress consort of Germany in 1888, but she was widowed a little over three months later, and Victoria's eldest grandchild became German Emperor as Wilhelm II. Victoria and Albert's hopes of a liberal Germany would go unfulfilled, as Wilhelm was a firm believer in autocracy. Victoria thought he had "little heart or Zartgefühl tact – and ... his conscience & intelligence have been completely wharped ".

Gladstone returned to power after the 1892 general election; he was 82 years old. Victoria objected when Gladstone proposed appointing the Radical MP Henry Labouchère to the Cabinet, so Gladstone agreed not to appoint him. In 1894, Gladstone retired and, without consulting the outgoing prime minister, Victoria appointed Lord Rosebery as prime minister. His government was weak, and the following year Lord Salisbury replaced him. Salisbury remained prime minister for the remainder of Victoria's reign.

Diamond Jubilee

On 23 September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. The Queen requested that any special celebrations be delayed until 1897, to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee, which was made a festival of the British Empire at the suggestion of the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain. The prime ministers of all the self-governing Dominions were invited to London for the festivities. One reason for including the prime ministers of the Dominions and excluding foreign heads of state was to avoid having to invite Victoria's grandson, Wilhelm II of Germany, who, it was feared, might cause trouble at the event.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee procession on 22 June 1897 followed a route six miles long through London and included troops from all over the empire. The procession paused for an open-air service of thanksgiving held outside St Paul's Cathedral, throughout which Victoria sat in her open carriage, to avoid her having to climb the steps to enter the building. The celebration was marked by vast crowds of spectators and great outpourings of affection for the 78-year-old Queen.

Victoria visited mainland Europe regularly for holidays. In 1889, during a stay in Biarritz, she became the first reigning monarch from Britain to set foot in Spain when she crossed the border for a brief visit. By April 1900, the Boer War was so unpopular in mainland Europe that her annual trip to France seemed inadvisable. Instead, the Queen went to Ireland for the first time since 1861, in part to acknowledge the contribution of Irish regiments to the South African war.

Death and succession

In July 1900, Victoria's second son, Alfred ("Affie"), died. "Oh, God! My poor darling Affie gone too", she wrote in her journal. "It is a horrible year, nothing but sadness & horrors of one kind & another."

Following a custom she maintained throughout her widowhood, Victoria spent the Christmas of 1900 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Rheumatism in her legs had rendered her lame, and her eyesight was clouded by cataracts. Through early January, she felt "weak and unwell", and by mid-January she was "drowsy ... dazed, and confused". She died on Tuesday 22 January 1901, at half past six in the evening, at the age of 81. Her son and successor, King Edward VII, and her eldest grandson, Emperor Wilhelm II, were at her deathbed. Her favourite pet Pomeranian, Turi, was laid upon her deathbed as a last request.

In 1897, Victoria had written instructions for her funeral, which was to be military as befitting a soldier's daughter and the head of the army, and white instead of black. On 25 January, Edward, Wilhelm, and her third son, the Duke of Connaught, helped lift her body into the coffin. She was dressed in a white dress and her wedding veil. An array of mementos commemorating her extended family, friends and servants were laid in the coffin with her, at her request, by her doctor and dressers. One of Albert's dressing gowns was placed by her side, with a plaster cast of his hand, while a lock of John Brown's hair, along with a picture of him, was placed in her left hand concealed from the view of the family by a carefully positioned bunch of flowers. Items of jewellery placed on Victoria included the wedding ring of John Brown's mother, given to her by Brown in 1883. Her funeral was held on Saturday 2 February, in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and after two days of lying-in-state, she was interred beside Prince Albert in the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, at Windsor Great Park.

With a reign of 63 years, seven months, and two days, Victoria was the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history until her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II surpassed her on 9 September 2015. She was the last monarch of Britain from the House of Hanover. Her son and successor Edward VII belonged to her husband's House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Legacy

According to one of her biographers, Giles St Aubyn, Victoria wrote an average of 2,500 words a day during her adult life. From July 1832 until just before her death, she kept a detailed journal, which eventually encompassed 122 volumes. After Victoria's death, her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was appointed her literary executor. Beatrice transcribed and edited the diaries covering Victoria's accession onwards, and burned the originals in the process. Despite this destruction, much of the diaries still exist. In addition to Beatrice's edited copy, Lord Esher transcribed the volumes from 1832 to 1861 before Beatrice destroyed them. Part of Victoria's extensive correspondence has been published in volumes edited by A. C. Benson, Hector Bolitho, George Earle Buckle, Lord Esher, Roger Fulford, and Richard Hough among others.

Victoria was physically unprepossessing—she was stout, dowdy and only about five feet tall—but she succeeded in projecting a grand image. She experienced unpopularity during the first years of her widowhood, but was well liked during the 1880s and 1890s, when she embodied the empire as a benevolent matriarchal figure. Only after the release of her diary and letters did the extent of her political influence become known to the wider public. Biographies of Victoria written before much of the primary material became available, such as Lytton Strachey's Queen Victoria of 1921, are now considered out of date. The biographies written by Elizabeth Longford and Cecil Woodham-Smith, in 1964 and 1972 respectively, are still widely admired. They, and others, conclude that as a person Victoria was emotional, obstinate, honest, and straight-talking. Contrary to popular belief, her staff and family recorded that Victoria "was immensely amused and roared with laughter" on many occasions.

Through Victoria's reign, the gradual establishment of a modern constitutional monarchy in Britain continued. Reforms of the voting system increased the power of the House of Commons at the expense of the House of Lords and the monarch. In 1867, Walter Bagehot wrote that the monarch only retained "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". As Victoria's monarchy became more symbolic than political, it placed 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. The concept of the "family monarchy", with which the burgeoning middle classes could identify, was solidified.

Descendants and haemophilia

Victoria's links with Europe's royal families earned her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". Of the 42 grandchildren of Victoria and Albert, 34 survived to adulthood. Their living descendants include Elizabeth II; Harald V of Norway; Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; Margrethe II of Denmark; and Felipe VI of Spain.

Victoria's youngest son, Leopold, was affected by the blood-clotting disease haemophilia B and at least two of her five daughters, Alice and Beatrice, were carriers. Royal haemophiliacs descended from Victoria included her great-grandsons, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia; Alfonso, Prince of Asturias; and Infante Gonzalo of Spain. The presence of the disease in Victoria's descendants, but not in her ancestors, led to modern speculation that her true father was not the Duke of Kent, but a haemophiliac. There is no documentary evidence of a haemophiliac in connection with Victoria's mother, and as male carriers always suffer the disease, even if such a man had existed he would have been seriously ill. It is more likely that the mutation arose spontaneously because Victoria's father was over 50 at the time of her conception and haemophilia arises more frequently in the children of older fathers. Spontaneous mutations account for about a third of cases.

Namesakes

Around the world, places and memorials are dedicated to her, especially in the Commonwealth nations. Places named after her include Africa's largest lake, Victoria Falls, the capitals of British Columbia (Victoria) and Saskatchewan (Regina), two Australian states (Victoria and Queensland), and the capital of the island nation of Seychelles.

The Victoria Cross was introduced in 1856 to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War, and it remains the highest British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand award for bravery. Victoria Day is a Canadian statutory holiday and a local public holiday in parts of Scotland celebrated on the last Monday before or on 24 May (Queen Victoria's birthday).

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles and styles

• 24 May 1819 – 20 June 1837: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent

• 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901: Her Majesty The Queen

At the end of her reign, the Queen's full style was: "Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India".

Honours

British honours

• Royal Family Order of King George IV, 1826

• Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Star of India, 25 June 1861

• Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 10 February 1862

• Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Crown of India, 1 January 1878

• Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Indian Empire, 1 January 1878

• Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Red Cross, 27 April 1883

• Founder and Sovereign of the Distinguished Service Order, 6 November 1886

• Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, 1887

• Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, 23 April 1896

Foreign honours

Arms

As Sovereign, Victoria used the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Before her accession, she received no grant of arms. As she could not succeed to the throne of Hanover, her arms did not carry the Hanoverian symbols that were used by her immediate predecessors. Her arms have been borne by all of her successors on the throne.

Outside Scotland, the blazon for the shield—also used on the Royal Standard—is: Quarterly: I and IV, Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England); II, Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); III, Azure, a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland). In Scotland, the first and fourth quarters are occupied by the Scottish lion, and the second by the English lions. The crests, mottoes, and supporters also differ in and outside Scotland.

Issue

Ancestry

出生、家人

維多利亞的父親是肯特與斯特拉森公爵愛德華親王，他是當時英王喬治三世的第四子。她的母親是肯特公爵夫人、薩克森-科堡-薩爾費爾德公主維多利亞，是一位德國公主。公爵夫人的兄弟是比利時第一任國王、鰥夫利奧波德。在維多利亞出生的兩年前（1817年），利奧波德的妻子、維多利亞的堂姐夏洛特公主因難產而逝。夏洛特公主的逝世造成英國一場繼承危機，因為她是喬治三世唯一享有英國王位繼承權的孫女。這給了包括肯特公爵在內的喬治三世的兒子們結婚生育的壓力。肯特公爵在1818年與肯特公爵夫人結婚，他們的唯一子女，維多利亞於1819年5月24日4點15分在倫敦肯辛頓宮出生。

維多利亞在1819年6月24日在肯辛頓宮Cupola Room由坎特伯雷大主教施洗。她受洗時，名為亞歷山德琳娜（Alexandrina），從其中一個教父，亞歷山大一世之名，而次名維多利亞（Victoria）則從母親之名。其他由她父母提出的名字有：喬治娜（Georgina或 Georgiana）與奧古斯丁（Augusta），都被公爵的長兄攝政王否決。

出生時，維多利亞是第五順位繼承人，排名在她三位伯父--分別為：攝政王、約克公爵與克拉倫斯公爵（即之後的威廉四世）與父親之後。攝政王與妻子分居，而約克公爵已有52歲，所以兩人似乎在未來也不會有子嗣。三伯父克拉倫斯公爵與父親肯特公爵在維多利亞出生前一年同日結婚。克拉倫斯公爵的長女夏洛特在1819年出生不久即去世。次年，即1820年，維多利亞的祖父、父親去世，去世時間相距一個星期。年底，克拉倫斯公爵的次女伊麗莎白公主出生。維多利亞的繼承順序因此下降一位，但伊麗莎白公主在次年即夭折。而做為王位第一順位繼承人（推定繼承人）的二伯父約克公爵在1827年去世，她成為王位第二順位繼承人。

1830年，大伯父喬治四世去世，三伯父克拉倫斯公爵繼位，即威廉四世。她成為王位第一順位繼承人（推定繼承人）。規定，如威廉四世去世，則可由肯特公爵夫人攝政。但根據1836年新頒布的攝政法令，假若威廉四世去世時，而維多利亞已年滿18歲，則攝政不生效。

推定繼承人

維多利亞稱她的童年「相當憂鬱」（"rather melancholy"）。維多利亞的母親對她非常嚴格，使得她在與其他兒童隔絕的下成長。這套嚴格的規定由肯特公爵夫人與她的緋聞情人——主計長所設計。其目的是避免公主與「不良」的人見面（而誰是「不良」的人，則由肯特公爵夫人與康羅伊定奪，其中包括維多利亞父系的大部分家族成員），並設計使她軟弱、依賴他們。肯特公爵夫人對女兒的嚴格要求，日後的維多利亞精神或許與之有關。維多利亞每晚與母親在同一睡房睡覺，依時間表與家教學習，玩樂時間與玩偶、達什渡過。維多利亞的課程包括法文、德文、義大利文與拉丁文，但在家中，她只使用英文。

在1830年，公爵夫人與康羅伊帶領維多利亞越過英格蘭中部遊覽，在沿途的城鎮、鄉間別墅停留。他們在1832年、1833年、1834年與1835年也到英格蘭與威爾士其他部分做了類似遊覽。與威廉國王相反的是，在每一站，維多利亞都受到了熱烈的歡迎。威廉四世在比較了維多利亞的旅程與他自己的入城儀式後，將她視為對手，而不是推定繼承人。維多利亞不喜歡這些旅程；頻繁出現在公眾場合使她疲倦、生病，而給予她的休息時間很短。維多利亞以國王反對為由，提出暫停旅程。但她的母親以國王的反對是出于妒忌為由，強逼維多利亞繼續旅程。在1835年10月，在公羊門，維多利亞數次發燒，康羅伊認為她是在裝病，沒有理會。維多利亞發燒其間，康羅伊與公爵夫人試圖讓前者成為她的私人秘書，未獲成功。年輕的維多利亞不斷阻止康羅伊進入她的隨從的行列。有一次，她禁止康羅伊在她面前出現，但他仍然留在她母親家中。

在1836年，公爵夫人的弟弟利奧波德一世，希望他的侄子薩克森-科堡與哥達的阿爾伯特與侄女維多利亞結婚。利奧波德、維多利亞的母親與阿爾伯特的父親薩克森-科堡與哥達公爵歐內斯特一世是兄弟姊妹。在利奧波德的安排下，在1836年5月，維多利亞的母親邀請阿爾伯特與自己見面，以向阿爾伯特介紹維多利亞。威廉四世反對維多利亞與科堡成員結婚，並提出以荷蘭奧蘭治親王威廉的次子亞歷山大王子代替。維多利亞注意到了各個的丈夫候選人，並作出了評判性的評論。根據她的日記，一開始，她非常欣賞阿爾伯特。在阿爾伯特到訪後，她寫到：「阿爾伯特非常英俊；他的髮色與我一樣；他的眼睛大而藍，並有一隻美麗的鼻子與一張非常甜美的嘴巴，裡面的牙齒白淨整齊；但最令人愉快的是，他善于用表情表達自己的感受。」而另一位候選人，她則評論到：「很平淡。」

維多利亞向她所認為的「最佳、最善心的顧問」舅父利奧波德寫信，感謝他向她介紹了阿爾伯特，稱阿爾伯特帶給了她極大的快樂。雖然維多利亞對阿爾伯特感興趣，然而，當時的她只有17歲，還不到結婚的時候。

在位初期

維多利亞于1837年5月24日年滿18歲，因此，不需要由肯特公爵夫人攝政。在1837年6月20日，威廉四世去世，享年71歲，維多利亞成為了英國女王。她在日記中寫到：「六點鐘，我被母親喚醒，她告訴我與要見我。我起床，走進客廳（只穿著晨衣）見他們。肯林根勳爵告訴我，我可憐的伯父，國王，已不在人間，在今晨2時12分去世，而我成為了女王。」她在位第一日，在準備的文件上，她的名字是亞歷山德麗娜·維多利亞，但是，在後來，因她個人的意願，去除前名「亞歷山德麗娜」，不再使用。

自1714年起，英國君主兼任德意志國家漢諾威王國君主，但根據薩利克法，女性不能夠繼承漢諾威皇位。漢諾威皇位由維多利亞父親的幼弟，鮮為人知的坎伯蘭與特維奧特戴爾公爵（Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale）繼承，他登基為恩斯特·奧古斯特一世。他是維多利亞的推定繼承人，直至維多利亞結婚生育。

在維多利亞登基時，政府為輝格黨所領導，首相是墨爾本勳爵，一度對政治經驗不足的女王有巨大的影響力，女王為得到意見依靠他。認為無妻、無子女的墨爾本「十分喜歡她，將她當做自己的女兒，如果他有的話」（英語原文：），而維多利亞則可能將墨爾本看作自己的父親。她的加冕儀式在1838年6月28日舉行，她是第一個居住在白金漢宮的英國君主。她每年從康沃爾公國和蘭開斯特公國收受385,000英鎊，她謹慎地用這筆錢還清了父親的債務。

在位初期，維多利亞很受歡迎，但她的聲譽在1839年的一個事件中受損。她母親的一個女侍官，由於腹部無故變大且拒絕讓醫生檢查，而被討厭她的和貝德福公爵夫人散播謠言指她與人有染，導致懷孕，對象則可能是爵士。維多利亞相信了這個謠言。她憎恨康羅伊，並鄙視「可憎的弗洛拉」，因為她在中和康羅伊及肯特公爵夫人同謀。弗洛拉一開始不願意裸體接受醫學檢查，直至二月中旬才同意接受檢查，結果發現她還是處女。康羅伊、黑斯廷斯家人與在野的托利黨組織了一次出版戰，散布謠言，稱這個事件與女王有關。維多利亞被公眾譏諷為「墨爾本夫人」（）。

在1839年，墨爾本入Radiccals與托利黨（兩黨皆被維多利亞所厭惡），以投票反對暫停牙買加立憲的法案。法案從政權中移去抵制相關法律廢除奴隸種植園所有者。維多利亞委任保守黨主席羅伯特·皮爾爵士組成新政府。在當時，Royal Household習慣由首相任命，通常由他的政治盟友的配偶擔任。女王有許多是輝格黨人之妻，而皮爾欲以托利黨人之妻代替他們。這被稱為Bedchamber Crisis，維多利亞在墨爾本的建議下要移除他們。皮爾拒絕在女王施加的限制下執政，所以辭去他的職務，墨爾本再次上任。

結婚

雖然貴為女王，但作為一個未婚的年輕女子，依照社會習俗維多利亞女王尚需與她的母親一起生活。然而她們之間的分歧依舊存在于整個肯辛頓體系，而且她母親依然信賴康羅依。維多利亞即位後她的母親被安置在白金漢宮一間位置偏僻的房間裡，維多利亞經常拒絕見她。維多利亞曾向首相墨爾本勳爵抱怨母親的密切監視是她「多年的煎熬」，墨爾本對此表示同情並建議利用婚姻來規避。維多利亞稱其婚姻為「令人震驚的轉變」，之前她經常表現出對阿爾伯特所受教育的關心，因為將來他會成為自己的丈夫，不過她也反對任何強迫她結婚的企圖。

1839年5--6月，維多利亞曾與到訪的俄羅斯皇儲亞歷山大二世有過一段甜蜜的初戀，當時激動不安的維多利亞曾在日記中毫不掩飾的表達了對這位深情英俊的俄國皇儲的愛情。但在國家利益和政治考慮下，維多利亞最終決定與阿爾伯特結婚。1839年10月阿爾伯特第二次拜訪維多利亞，維多利亞對他很是讚賞，很快兩人心意互通。僅僅在阿爾伯特抵達溫莎五天之後，即1839年10月15日，女王向阿爾伯特求婚。1840年2月10日兩人在倫敦聖詹姆士宮皇家教堂完婚，當時維多利亞女王神魂俱醉。婚禮結束後當天晚上因頭痛躺臥在床，但她在日記中寫道：

自此阿爾伯特取代墨爾本勳爵成為女王的重要的政治顧問以及伴侶，在女王在位前期位高權重占據主導，成為一名對女王非常有影響力的人物。而維多利亞的母親被趕出了王宮安置在貝爾格雷夫廣場的住所中。1840年奧古斯塔索菲亞公主逝世後，維多利亞的母親在克拉倫斯宮和浮若閣摩爾樓中生活。後經阿爾伯特的調解，母女之間的關係逐步改善。

結婚後不久維多利亞即首次懷孕。1840年當身懷六甲的維多利亞女王與阿爾伯特親王坐著馬車前去探望母親時，18歲的愛德華·奧克斯福德企圖暗殺她。奧克斯福德兩度開槍卻皆未射中，此後以叛國罪起訴，但又以患有精神障礙為由被判無罪。這次暗殺的直接結果是使維多利亞的聲望劇增，稀釋了公眾因弗洛拉黑斯廷斯事件和閨房危機產生的不滿情緒。她的長女出生于1840年11月21日，也叫維多利亞。女王討厭懷孕、厭惡哺乳並認為新生兒很醜。然而她和阿爾伯特陸續又育有八個子女。

維多利亞的家庭事務大部分由她童年的家庭女教師路易絲·蘭辛男爵夫人處理。蘭辛夫人來自漢諾威，對維多利亞的性格形成產生過很大影響， 她還支持維多利亞反抗肯辛頓體系。但是阿爾伯特認為蘭辛夫人並不稱職，而且因其不良管理使他女兒的健康受到威脅。維多利亞和阿爾伯特之間因此問題產生了激烈爭吵，最後蘭辛夫人被解僱，維多利亞與她的親密關係自此終結。

1842年－1860年

1842年5月29日，正當維多利亞女王的馬車沿著倫敦林蔭道大道行進時，約翰·弗朗西斯執槍行弒，不過槍未擊發，約翰·弗朗西斯轉身逃脫。翌日女王沿著同樣的路線行進，只是速度更快護衛更嚴。之所以選擇同樣的路線，目的在于誘使弗朗西斯再次出擊並將其當場抓獲。果然不出所料，弗朗西斯又向女王舉槍，迅即被便衣警察逮捕，之後以叛國罪起訴。7月5日又有一名叫做約翰·威廉·比恩的人用手槍襲擊女王，但其槍膛內只裝有煙草和紙，因此幾乎沒有受到指控，而此時弗朗西斯的死刑判決被改為終生流放才過兩天。愛德華·奧克斯福德認為，對比恩從輕發落是因為他自己在1840年被無罪開釋。最終比恩被判18個月的監禁。與此相似，1849年當女王途經憲法山時，名為威廉·漢密爾頓的失業愛爾蘭人用火槍襲擊女王的馬車。1850年患有精神疾病的前軍官羅伯特·佩特襲擊女王，而且女王因此受傷。當時女王坐在馬車中，佩特用手杖打破女王的帽子並擊傷女王的額頭。漢密爾頓和佩特二人都被判七年流放。

維多利亞在位早期下議院對墨爾本的支持越來越弱，在1841年的大選中輝格黨落敗，皮爾繼任首相，與白金漢宮女王閨密們關係密切的輝格黨人的地位被取代。

1845年，愛爾蘭遭遇馬鈴薯晚疫病， 其後四年逾百萬的愛爾蘭人死去，另有成百萬舉家逃亡，人們稱之為大饑荒。因此維多利亞女王在愛爾蘭被譏稱為「饑荒女王」。其實女王個人捐獻2000英鎊的賑災款，這個數字比其他任何個人捐贈都多。同時她不顧新教的反對，支持梅努斯·格蘭特在愛爾蘭建立羅馬天主教神學院。有故事說她僅捐了5英鎊賑災，又在同一天給巴特西·道格斯·霍莫給了同樣少的錢，不過這個故事只是19世紀末的一個傳言。

1846年，「穀物法」的廢除使皮爾政府遭受批評。很多保守黨人反對廢除該法，但是皮爾本人和一些保守黨人（支持皮爾的保守黨人）、輝格黨人和女王都支持廢除。在穀物法廢除案勉強通過之後，皮爾于1846年辭職，約翰·羅素勳爵代其出任首相。

在國際事務中維多利亞熱心于英法關係的改善。她主持很多英國皇室成員和奧爾良宮之間的互訪活動，而與奧爾良宮之間關係的建立是通過克伯格斯的婚姻實現的。在1843-1845年間，女王和阿爾伯特與路易斯·菲利普一世在諾曼底的中舉行會晤，這是自1520年英王亨利八世和法王弗朗西斯一世在金縷原會晤後，英國國王第一次會見法國君主。1844年路易斯·菲利普一世回訪英格蘭，從此成為第一個造訪英國國王的法國君主。 1848年革命爆發，路易斯遭黜，之後便流亡到英格蘭。因英國對1848年革命的極大恐懼，維多利亞舉家離開倫敦前往更安全的奧斯本宮。奧斯本宮是國王在懷特島上的一處私產，購于1845年並隨即擴建。愛爾蘭民族主義以及示威活動沒有獲得廣泛支持，革命活動未起波瀾便已偃旗息鼓。1849年維多利亞第一次前往愛爾蘭是一次成功的公關，但是對于日漸興起的愛爾蘭民族主義運動並沒有產生深遠的影響。

儘管羅素的政府由輝格黨人組成，但女王並不喜歡。特別是女王發現外交大臣帕默斯頓勳爵經常未經內閣、首相或女王的同意便擅自行動。維多利亞對羅素抱怨說帕默斯頓在她不知曉的情況下向外國領導人發送官方信函，不過雖有女王本人一再提議，帕默斯頓並未去職而且一如既往。直到1851年帕默斯頓被解職，原因是未經首相同意便宣布英國政府對路易斯-拿破崙·波拿巴發動政變就任法國總統的支持。翌年波拿巴總統成為拿破崙三世，這一時期羅素的政府被短命的德比勳爵少數政府取代。

1853年藉助于新的麻醉劑氯仿，維多利亞生下她的第8個孩子利奧波德。由于女王對生產之痛銘于肺腑，因此在她的第9個孩子碧翠絲出生的時候她又一次使用氯仿，雖然當時神職人員表示反對，認為這有違聖經的教導；而醫療團隊成員也表示反對，他們認為這太危險。女王可能在很多次生產之後患上產後抑鬱症。在阿爾伯特寫給維多利亞的信件中可以看到他不斷抱怨女王失去自制力，比如在利奧波德出生一個月之後，阿爾伯特在信中抱怨女王經常因一些「雞毛蒜皮的小事歇斯底里」。

1855年初，取代德比政府的阿伯丁勳爵政府陷入一片指責聲中，原因是在克里米亞戰爭中政府對英軍管理不善。隨後維多利亞同時召見德比和羅素，要求他們組織政府，但是二者沒人能夠獲得足夠的支持，女王只好任命帕默斯頓為首相。

自克西米亞戰爭中英法密切合作之後，拿破崙三世于1855年4月訪問倫敦，而維多利亞和阿爾伯特在同年8月17-28日回訪。拿破崙三世親往敦刻爾克迎接女王夫婦並陪伴他們直到巴黎。女王夫婦參觀世界博覽會（該博覽會繼承1851年阿爾伯特關于萬國博覽會的設想）、巴黎榮軍院的拿破崙一世之墓（拿破崙一世的遺體遲至1840年才移葬此處），並作為貴客參加凡爾賽宮1200人的舞會。

1858年1月14日，有一個名為奧西尼的人企圖用英國製造的炸彈襲擊拿破崙三世，奧西尼是來自英國的意大利難民。 隨即而來的外交危機使政府陷入困境，帕默斯頓因此辭職，德比複任首相。1858年8月5日女王夫婦參加法國軍港瑟堡的新港啟動典禮，拿破崙三世的目的是以此消除英國的疑慮，讓他們認為法軍備戰別有目標。與法國海軍相比較之後，女王認識到皇家海軍建設的落後，為此在返程路上寫信責備德比。德比的政府未能持續太久，1859年維多利亞重新召回帕默斯頓。

奧西尼襲擊案發生七天後，維多利亞長女與普魯士王子弗里德里克·威廉在倫敦舉行婚禮，二人于1855年訂婚，當時維多利亞公主年值14。在阿爾伯特的主張之下，婚禮推遲到公主17歲之時。女王夫婦期望他們的女兒女婿能夠使英國免受日益壯大的普魯士的影響。看到女兒離開英國踏上德國之旅時女王傷心不已，此後女王與公主保持頻繁的通信。「這讓我渾身發抖」，在寫給維多利亞公主的信中女王說，「當我看到你那些生活甜蜜幸福但懵懂無知的妹妹們時，我立時想到我不得不將她們全部送走——一個接一個地送走。」將近整一年後，維多利亞公主生下女王的第一個外孫——威廉。

孀居

1861年3月，維多利亞女王的母親去世，是時女王親侍在側。透過閱讀母親的遺作女王發現母親其實深深地愛著自己，這使女王為之心碎，並由此責怪康羅伊和蘭辛居心叵測地離間她們母女關係。為了讓妻子從喪母巨痛中恢復，阿爾伯特承擔很多女王的事務。是年8月女王夫婦看望他們的兒子威爾士王子，並參觀兒子正在服役的沼澤軍營，之後女王夫婦在基拉尼住了一段時間。11月阿爾伯特聽到傳言，說王子與愛爾蘭的一名演員同居，震驚之餘阿爾伯特前往他兒子正在讀書的地方劍橋大學與其面談。12月初阿爾伯特感到非常不適，威廉·加納診斷他患了風寒，親王最終于1861年12月14日不治。女王認為丈夫的故去起因于威爾士王子的荒唐，「他死于可怕的事務」，此後維多利亞女王餘恨綿綿，並在餘生裡只穿黑袍。她避免與公眾見面，在接下來的好多年裡很少涉足倫敦，她的隱居為她贏得「溫莎遺孀」之名。

維多利亞的自我隱退消弱了公眾對君主制的嚮往，鼓勵了共和運動的興起。不過女王確實承擔了她應承擔的責任，但依然僅限于其王宮——溫莎城堡、奧斯本宮以及蘇格蘭的私有寓所中，其中蘇格蘭的寓所巴爾莫勒爾堡是女王和阿爾伯特在1847年購置的。1864年3月，反對者在白金漢宮的柵欄上貼上布告，認為「這些房子應該讓那些真正做事的人居住或購買」。由此女王的叔叔利奧波德向她寫信並建議作為女王應該出現在公眾面前。最後女王同意參觀肯辛頓皇家園藝協會的花園，並乘坐敞篷馬車橫穿倫敦。

19世紀60年代維多利亞越來越依賴于蘇格蘭男僕約翰·布朗，一時間風言四起，甚至有二人秘密結婚的謠言見諸報端，在報道中女王被稱為「布朗夫人」。1997年的電影《布朗夫人》就是以他們的故事為題材，英國皇家藝術學會也展出埃德溫·蘭西爾爵士的一副以女王和布朗為主題的油畫。當時維多利亞出版《日記留影——我們的蘇格蘭高地生活》一書，書中女王特別描寫了布朗，而且高度讚揚了他。

帕默斯頓于1865年去世，在羅素執政一段時間以後，德比重新掌權。1866年，維多利亞女王在丈夫去世後首次參加國會開幕大典，接下來的幾年中她支持《1867改革法》通過，該法案以賦予城市工人選舉權的方式使選民擴大兩倍，儘管她也不贊同婦女參加選舉。德比于1868年辭職，為本傑明·迪斯累利取代——迪斯累利的阿諛功夫讓維多利亞女王著迷。「人人喜歡奉承，」迪斯累利說，「當你走入王室，就應該手拿泥刀不斷粉飾」。他經常恭維女王的話是：「陛下，我們的主宰。」不過迪斯累利的政府只存在數月，是年年末他的競爭對手威廉·艾華特·格萊斯頓被任命為帝國首相。維多利亞發現格萊斯頓很是無趣：他告訴女王可以向別人吐苦水，儘管她是「公眾人物而不僅僅是一個女人」。

1870年，女王的退隱生活滋長英國的共和氛圍，法蘭西第三共和國正是這種氛圍中建立的。在一次特拉法加廣場的共和黨人集會中，人們要求女王退位，而且激進分子公開反對女王。1871年8月和9月間，女王患上重病——胳膊上長了腫瘤，不過約瑟夫·李斯特用他的抗感染性石碳酸噴霧成功實施手術並治癒女王。1871年11月底共和運動高漲，與此同時威爾士王子患上傷寒，正是傷寒讓阿爾伯特親王薨逝，因此維多利亞女王非常擔心兒子再次不治。在阿爾伯特親王逝世十周年之際，威爾士王子病情未見好轉，女王依然憂心忡忡。令她欣喜的是威爾士王子最後挺了過來，隨後母子二人參加倫敦的一次公眾遊行，而且在1872年2月27日的感恩節上給聖保羅大教堂捐贈不菲，這讓共和氣氛逐漸消散。

1872年2月的最後一天，17歲的亞瑟·奧克勒向維多利亞女王的敞篷馬車揮舞無彈手槍，當時維多利亞剛到白金漢宮後不久，而且感恩節才過去兩天。侍奉女王的布朗抓住奧克勒，隨後奧克勒被判12個月監禁。該事件讓維多利亞女王的聲望再一次大大恢復。

印度女皇

1857年印度爆發了民族起義，之後管理印度大部分地區的東印度公司被解散，英國在印度次大陸的財產和保護權正式併入大英帝國。女王對衝突雙方持有相對平衡的態度，對雙方的暴徒都予以治罪。她曾寫到「對這次血腥內戰深感悲慘甚為遺憾。」而且在阿爾伯特親王的推動之下，她堅持官方要正式宣布將東印度公司的權力移交給國家，認為國家「應該呼吸慷慨、仁慈和宗教自由的空氣」。在她的提議下，一份有「破壞本土宗教和風俗」傾向的文件被廢除，並以保証宗教信仰自由的文件取代之。

1874年大選後迪斯累利重新掌權。他通過了1874年公眾信仰監管法案，該法案將天主教的儀式從國教儀式中全部剔除，維多利亞女王對此強烈支持。女王喜歡簡潔樸素的儀式，她個人認為相比英格蘭聖公會的教堂，自己更願意去蘇格蘭長老會教堂。同時迪斯累利又促使議院通過了1876年皇家頭銜法案，如此維多利亞從1876年5月1日起加上了「印度女皇」的頭銜。1877年1月1日「印度女皇」在新德里正式加冕。

1878年12月14日阿爾伯特親王忌日當天，女王的次女、黑森路易大公夫人愛麗絲公主在達姆斯塔特因病不治，維多利亞女王認為這個日期巧合「太難以置信了太不可思議了」。1879年5月女王做了曾祖母——薩克森-梅寧根的菲多雅公主誕生了，在這一月女王度過了她「又老又可憐」的60歲生日，愛女的去世讓她倍感蒼老。

1877年4月到1878年2月間，她五次以退位相脅，向迪斯累利施壓讓其在俄土戰爭中反對俄國，然而她的威脅沒有對事務產生多少影響，也沒有對討論該事務的柏林會議產生多少影響。維多利亞女王支持迪斯累利的領土擴張政策，這一政策導致了一些衝突如祖魯戰爭和第二次英阿戰爭。「如果我們想保持一流國家的地位」，她寫到，「我們必須、時刻、做好在任何地方出擊和應戰的準備。」維多利亞女王認為大英帝國的擴張是文明、善良的舉措，是保護那些土著居民免遭極權和惡法迫害的舉措：「這不符合我們對附屬國的一貫做法，除非我們有義務去做或者不得不做」。讓女王失望的是迪斯累利在1880年大選中敗北，格萊斯頓再度出任首相。次年迪斯累利去世，她被「瞬如泉湧的淚水」迷糊了雙眼，隨後為迪斯累利立碑並寫上「永懷感激的國王和真摯的朋友維多利亞·R.I.立」。

晚年

1882年3月2日，因維多利亞女王拒絕接受其詩篇，憤世詩人羅德里克·麥克萊恩倍感屈辱，于是在女王的馬車離開溫莎火車站時槍擊女王，事發後兩名伊頓公學的學生用雨傘阻止其逃逸，隨後被一名警察匆匆帶走。然而此人又以精神疾病為由無罪開釋，維多利亞對此憤怒異常，但是在王室成員的安慰之下又變得非常高興，她甚至說「遭受槍擊非常值得——這樣才能看到人們有多愛你」。

1883年3月13日，女王不慎從溫莎的樓梯上滾落，事發後直到7月她一直不能走路，也再沒能完全恢復健康，此外她還遭受風濕病的折磨。布朗在樓梯事件發生10天後去世，根據其私人秘書亨利·龐森比所言，維多利亞女王開始著手為布朗立傳。龐森比、蘭德爾·戴維森及溫莎城堡的管家都看到了早期的稿件，並勸阻女王不要將其發表，因為這會招致風言風語，最後稿件被毀。1884年初，維多利亞出版了《日記留影續集——蘇格蘭高地的生活》一書，在書中女王聲明「獻給她的侍從、忠誠的朋友約翰·布朗」。在布朗去世一周年的第二天，維多利亞從電報中得知小兒子利奧波德王子在戛納去世。這是「親愛的兒子們中最親的一個」，女王如此哀嘆。次月女王最小的孩子碧翠絲與巴騰堡的亨利王子陷入愛河，兩人在維多利亞女王的孫女黑森和萊茵維多利亞公主的婚禮上相識相愛，而黑森和萊茵公主正是與亨利王子的哥哥路易斯共結連理。碧翠絲和亨利本打算結婚，但是維多利亞女王首先反對，因為女王想讓碧翠絲留在身邊陪伴自己。一年後亨利和碧翠絲答應留在女王身邊，女王隨即同意了二人的婚事。

1885年格萊斯頓因預算失敗被迫辭職，維多利亞女王為此感到高興，她認為格萊斯頓的政府是「我在位時最糟糕的一屆政府」，而且將戈登將軍死于喀土穆的原因歸咎于格萊斯頓。索爾茲伯里取代格萊斯頓出任首相，但其政府只堅持了數月，之後維多利亞女王又不得不重新召回格萊斯頓，不過女王認為格萊斯頓一個「瘋瘋癲癲處事荒唐的老頭」。格萊斯頓力圖通過《愛爾蘭自治法案》，但讓女王高興的是該法案未獲通過。在接下來的大選中，格萊斯頓敗于索爾茲伯里，首相權杖再度易手。

登基50周年大典

1887年，大英帝國舉國慶祝維多利亞女王登基50周年，6月20日女王出席了50名國王和王子參加的慶祝宴會。次日女王又參加了威斯敏斯特修道院的感恩節祈禱活動，經此之後維多利亞女王又一次受到公眾的熱烈歡迎。6月23日之後2天，女王僱傭了兩名穆斯林男僕，其中一位是阿卜杜爾·卡里姆。卡里姆很快升為「Munshi」：教女王學習烏爾都語並擔任書記。女王的家人和僕人為之震驚，並以「穆斯林愛國聯盟」間諜的罪名控告卡里姆，並且讓女王遠離印度教徒。侍從武官弗里德里克·龐森比（亨利爵士的兒子）發現「Munshi」編造了他的家庭狀況，並向時任印度總督的額爾金伯爵報告並評論：「Munshi如今的地位與當年的約翰·布朗相當。」維多利亞視他們的牢騷為種族偏見並不予理睬，卡里姆依然留在女王身邊，直到女王去世後拿著一筆養老金返回印度。

1888年維多利亞女王的長女成為德意志帝國腓特烈三世的皇后，但腓特烈三世在位不滿百日而崩，女王的外孫威廉即位，是為威廉二世。在威廉二世的統治下，維多利亞女王和阿爾伯特的願望落空——威廉二世熱衷獨裁，而女王夫婦的本意是讓德意志成為一個自由國度。維多利亞女王認為她的外孫「沒心沒肺，缺乏智慧……而且其良心和大腦都已完全扭曲。」

1892年大選之後。格萊斯頓以82歲高齡再度拜相。當格萊斯頓提議讓激進的議員亨利·拉布謝爾進入英國內閣時，女王表示堅決反對，如此格萊斯頓只好同意不召拉布謝爾入閣。1894年格萊斯頓退休，在沒有詢問下任首相歸誰的情況下女王指派羅斯伯里伯爵出任首相。羅斯伯里的政府很軟弱，次年即被索爾茲伯里取代。此後直至女王去世，索爾茲伯里一直擔任首相。

登基60周年大典

1896年9月23日，維多利亞女王打破了她祖父喬治三世在位六十年的紀錄，成為英格蘭、蘇格蘭和大英帝國曆史上在位時間最長的國王，此紀錄直到2015年9月9日才被伊莉莎白二世打破。女王要求將慶祝活動延遲，與60周年登基大典同慶。在殖民大臣約瑟夫·張伯倫的建議之下大英帝國又一次舉國同慶，恭賀維多利亞女王登基60周年。

所有英聯邦國家的首相都接到邀請，而且女王的登基60周年大典有來自全國各地的軍隊參加遊行。在聖保羅大教堂之外舉行的公開感恩祈禱中，遊行隊伍停了下來，自始自終女王都坐在敞篷馬車中。慶祝活動最引人矚目的是表達了人們對女王70周年大典的熱切期待。

維多利亞女王定期到歐洲大陸去度假。1889年在法國比亞雷茨停留一段時間後，維多利亞女王穿過邊境來到西班牙做了一個簡單的遊覽，此舉讓她成為第一個踏上西班牙領土的英國國王。1900年4月時，第二次布爾戰爭在歐洲大陸非常不受歡迎，在這樣的時刻到法國做年度旅行顯得極不明智的，因此女王自1861年之後再次來到愛爾蘭，部分是為了表彰愛爾蘭政府在南非戰爭中的貢獻。7月，女王的次子阿爾弗雷德去世，「上帝！我親愛的可憐的阿斐也走了」，在日記中女王寫到，「這是非常難捱的一年，令人傷心難過的事情一個接著一個，除此無他。」

去世、繼承

依照習俗維多利亞女王一直孀居。1900年女王在懷特島上的奧斯本宮里度過聖誕節，次年1月初，女王感到「虛弱不適」。 1月中旬她感到「嗜睡、頭昏、思維混亂」。1901年1月22日星期二，傍晚六點三十分維多利亞女王駕崩，享年81歲，結束了近64年的統治，是近代歷史上在位時間最長的君主之一，也曾經是英國在位時間最長的君主（此記錄已被後代伊麗莎白二世打破）。她的長子即位是為愛德華七世。彌留之際她的長外孫德皇威廉二世侍奉在床前，遵其遺願，她最喜歡的寵物波美拉尼亞狗圖瑞躺在身旁。

1897年維多利亞女王為自己的葬禮做了安排，這種葬禮安排是軍人之女及軍隊首腦所享有的規格， 應該穿白而不是戴黑。1月25日愛德華七世和康諾特公爵阿瑟王子將女王入殮，女王身著白色禮服和她的婚禮頭紗。根據女王的遺囑，女王的醫生和化妝師將家人、朋友和僕人的紀念物堆放在棺材周圍，另有一隻阿爾伯特親王之手的石膏模型、一件親王的便袍放在女王右側，一縷約翰·布朗的頭髮及其畫像放在女王左手中，女王家人將布朗之物用一束精心擺放的鮮花掩蓋。此外還放置了很多珠寶，其中包括約翰·布朗母親的婚戒，這枚婚戒是布朗在1883年送給女王的。2月2日（星期六）女王的葬禮在溫莎城堡中的聖喬治教堂中舉行，停放兩天以後安葬在溫莎大公園阿爾伯特親王之側的浮若閣摩爾皇家陵墓中。當女王下葬之後，天空飄起了大雪。

維多利亞女王是英國曆史上在位時間第二長的君主，也是世界歷史上在位時間第二長的女王——在位時間為63年7個月零2天，她也是漢諾威王朝的最後一位君主，她的兒子和繼承人愛德華七世屬于跟隨其父屬于薩克森-科堡-哥達王朝。

影響

根據女王傳記作家之一賈爾斯·聖·奧賓的描寫，維多利亞女王在成年之後平均每天寫作2500字。從1832年7月起直至駕崩，女王保持了寫日記的習慣，所有日記總計122卷。女王去世後其幼女碧翠絲公主成為其遺囑執行人，碧翠絲整理和編輯了女王的所有日記，隨後燒毀原稿。雖然有這個焚毀，絕大部分的日記依然留存。除碧翠絲的版本之外，艾瑟勳爵在公主焚毀之前整理了女王1832年至1862年的日記，維多利亞的信件有一部分由A.C.班森、赫克托·保利特、喬治·艾爾·巴克、艾瑟勳爵、羅格·福爾福特及理查德·霍夫等人編輯出版。

維多利亞女王的外表並無魅力——女王既矮且胖還不愛裝扮，身高尚不足5英尺，但是她贏得了世人的尊敬。在孀居初期人們並不喜歡她，但是在1880-90年代她又受到了公眾愛戴，是時她以慈母的形象出現在眾人面前。直到日記解密公眾才知道女王對政治所產生的影響。維多利亞的傳記有很多是在日記解密之前寫的，如林頓·斯特萊徹在1921年出版的《維多利亞女王》現在被認為已經過時，伊麗莎白·朗福德和塞西爾·伍德漢姆-史密斯各自撰寫的傳記今天依然收到廣泛好評。除了他們二位，還有一些傳記作家認為維多利亞女王是一個感性、倔強、誠實、說話直來直去的人。

維多利亞在位期間，英國現代憲政君主制度（Constitutional monarchy）逐步完善。選舉制度的改革增加了下議院的權力，而國王和上議院的權力有所削弱。沃爾特·白芝霍特在1867年寫道，國王只保持了「諮詢權、鼓動權和警示權」，維多利亞時期國王的象徵性大于政治性，與各種醜聞纏身的漢諾威王朝其他君王相比，這種象徵性非常強調道德和家庭價值，之前漢諾威王朝的醜聞敗壞了君王的名譽。維多利亞「母儀天下」的形象在不斷壯大的中產階級中間逐步加強。

維多利亞女王與歐洲王室成員之間親屬關係為她贏得「歐洲祖母」之名。維多利亞女王和阿爾伯特親王夫婦共有42名孫子女，其中34位成年。他們的後代包括伊莉莎白二世、菲利普親王（愛丁堡公爵）、挪威國王哈拉爾五世、瑞典國王卡爾十六世·古斯塔夫、丹麥女王瑪格麗特二世、西班牙國王胡安·卡洛斯一世和索菲亞王后等。

維多利亞女王的幼子利奧波德患有血友病，其5個女兒中愛麗絲公主和碧翠絲公主是攜帶者。王室的血友病從維多利亞女王遺傳至她的後代，包括俄羅斯王儲阿列克謝、阿斯圖里亞斯王子阿方索和西班牙親王岡薩諾等。由于維多利亞女王的祖輩中沒有血友病患者，而其後代有很多人患有此病，以致有人懷疑她的父親並非肯特公爵，而是一名血友病患者， 不過目前沒有書面証據証明維多利亞的母親與血友病患者有染。此外男性血友病攜帶者一般會發病，因此即使存在這樣一個人他也會病的很厲害。更可能的是因女王父親在女王出生之時年事太高而造成的自發突變所致——父親年老生子其子女患血友病的幾率會增高，自發突變的病例占到30%。

對維多利亞女王的紀念遍布世界各地，特別是英聯邦國家。以她名字命名的地方包括塞舌爾群島的首都、非洲最大的湖、維多利亞瀑布、加拿大不列顛哥倫比亞的首府、薩斯卡切溫（女王）、澳大利亞的兩個州（維多利亞州和昆士蘭州）、香港維多利亞港等。

1856年克西米亞戰爭中首次採用維多利亞十字勳章獎勵勇猛之士，其後在英國、加拿大、澳大利亞和新西蘭依然將維多利亞十字勳章作為最高榮譽。維多利亞生日是加拿大的法定假日，部分蘇格蘭地區將5月的最後一個星期一或5月24日（維多利亞女王的生日）定為公共假日。

1888年，維多利亞女王授予聖約翰救護機構皇家特許權，並成為聖約翰騎士團的統領，從此代表英國皇室的獅子（Lion）以及獨角獸（Unicorn）加入八角形聖約翰隊徽里，形成今時今日的聖約翰隊徽。自此，英國的每一任君主都會兼任聖約翰騎士團的統領。zh-hans:圣约翰救护机构;zh-hant:聖約翰救護機構;的全名添加「in the British Realm」等的榮譽並形成了今時今日的全名：「The Grand Prior in the British Realm of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem」。

頭銜及紋章

頭銜

• 1819年5月24日–1837年6月20日: 肯特的亞歷山德拉·維多利亞公主殿下

• 1837年6月20日–1901年1月22日: 女王陛下

• 1876年5月1日–1901年1月22日: 女皇陛下、女皇陛下(印度)

維多利亞在位末期，完整稱謂及頭銜是：「維多利亞陛下，蒙上帝恩典，大不列顛及愛爾蘭聯合王國女王，信仰的守衛者，印度女皇。」

英國曆史上只有維多利亞因兼任印度女皇而擁有「女皇」（Empress）頭銜。

紋章

維多利亞在繼位之前，沒有紋章。繼位後，她的紋章中，沒有漢諾威王國的標誌，因為她不是漢諾威王國君主。她的繼位者，包括現任女王，紋章也沒有漢諾威王國的標誌。

在蘇格蘭以外的地方，維多利亞的盾形紋章（也繡在王旗上）盾面由四部分組成：第一和第四部分是紅底三頭金獅（象徵英格蘭），第二部分是一頭紅獅四周飾以鳶尾花紋（象徵蘇格蘭），第三部分是藍底金色豎琴飾以銀色琴弦（象徵愛爾蘭）。在蘇格蘭使用的紋章是：第一和第四部分由象徵蘇格蘭的紅獅組成，第二部分是象徵英格蘭的三獅，兩塊紋章其他部位的獅子和獨角獸也有所不同。

家庭

祖先

子嗣

注釋