queen victoria

i've been fascinated by queen victoria since i visited england as a tween. now, as i watch "the young victoria", i find myself even more intrigued by her.

my fascination began when i learned that her husband was called "prince albert" rather than "king albert". i begged my parents for an explanation, and eventually received one. however, in contrast to the typical cessation of interest upon the receipt of a suitable answer, my interest was aroused.

one day we passed prince albert hall at hyde park. the image of that beautiful building will forever be in my mind.

i became enamored with the concept of monarchies (and no doubt, this spurred my interest in history in general). my father told me about victoria's many

children and that most of europe was related to her. in fact, most royal families stem from queen victoria (the realist in me forces me to add that monarchies are to blame for the continued cases of hemophilia...)

another day we toured a collection of queen victoria's gowns, her carriage, her children's clothes. (i had never realized how beautiful clothes could be.) i was also stunned to discover that after prince albert died, she only wore black. she remained in mourning garb till her own death. when he died at 42, victoria had his clothes layed out every day until her death...40 years later.

victoria & albert inspired me not only because theirs was a beautiful story of love and dedication, but also because together they caused many good things to happen in england. they worked together--unlike many consorts and royalty--to promote positive changes in their beloved country.

victoria inspired me because she was the youngest to become a monarch and maintains the record as the longest reign of any british monarch, but she also had the longest reign of any female in history.

she began as a monarch who seemed doomed to fail, but obviously...she surprised everyone.