Queen Victoria

Victoria
Victoria wearing a lace cap and diamond jewellery
Portrait by Alexander Bassano, 1882
Queen of the United Kingdom
Reign20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901
Coronation28 June 1838
PredecessorWilliam IV
SuccessorEdward VII
Empress of India
Reign1 May 1876 – 22 January 1901
Imperial Durbar1 January 1877
PredecessorPosition established
SuccessorEdward VII
BornPrincess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent
(1819-05-24)24 May 1819
Kensington Palace, London, England
Died22 January 1901(1901-01-22) (aged 81)
Osborne House, Isle of Wight, England
Burial4 February 1901
Spouse
(m. 1840; died 1861)
Issue
HouseHanover
FatherPrince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
MotherPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
ReligionProtestant[a]
SignatureCursive signature of Queen Victoria

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of any of her predecessors, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British Parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was raised under close supervision by her mother and her comptroller, John Conroy. She inherited the throne aged 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. Victoria, a constitutional monarch, attempted privately to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, earning Victoria the sobriquet "grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, British republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond jubilees were times of public celebration. Victoria died in 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. The last British monarch of the House of Hanover, she was succeeded by her son Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).