Victoria became queen at the age of eighteen. She impressed the members of Parliament with her grace and self~assurance, but she could also be very stubborn. In 1840, she insisted on marrying a first cousin, a minor German princeling named Albert of Saxe~Coburg~Gotha. Many Britons disliked the marriage. They thought perhaps he would fill the queen's head with "European" notions of absolute rule. As it turned out, Albert understood the limited powers of British royalty. His wisdom and impartial advice did much to soften the personality of the queen. It was she who reigned; Albert was not king but prince consort~the monarch's husband.
Victoria and Albert produced a large family and restored to the monarchy a sense of decorom sadly lacking since the madness of George III and the scandalous behavior of his sons. The twentieth century would tend to look back on Victoria as prim to the point of prudishness. However, we must remember that her restrained behavior came in reaction to those earlier royal excesses.
When Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861, Victoria went into deep mourning. For a time she was almost a recluse, leaving day~to~day government in the hands of her prime ministers. Victoria's limited involvement in political affairs helped to turn Britain into the modern constitutional monarchy it is today, in which the duties of the sovereign are largely ceremonial. |
