Although Queen Elizabeth II is now known as the longest-reigning British monarch in history,
before she came along there was Queen Victoria, who served as the Queen of
Britain and Ireland for a whopping 63 years and seven months. Although Queen Victoria is a name
known around the world, and the monarch inspired countless trends and policies,
did you know Victoria wasn’t even her real name? Hello, and welcome back to Nutty History. Today
we’re going to be talking about all the weird facts you did not know about Queen Victoria. Her
Royal Highness was born Alexandrina Victoria, which was in homage to her godfather,
Tsar Alexander I, but it seems that the young heir to the throne was never particularly fond of the
name. Since she was little, the royal always went by her second name, Victoria, or “Drina”,
a shortened version of her first name. Since a nickname wouldn’t have been suitable for a queen,
it seems she decided to permanently go with her middle name once she ascended to the throne at
the age of 18. Many might think being a queen is glamorous and comfortable, and while monarchs
certainly enjoy their fair share of luxuries, it’s not all fun and games, because being a leader, can
be deadly! That’s right, during Queen Victoria’s reign attempts were made on her life not once,
not twice, but an incredible eight times! The majority of the assassination attempts were made
by men shooting at the queen while she rode in an open carriage, although one man, Robert Pate,
tried to do her in by hitting her on the head with an iron-tipped cane! The queen also had a
stalker named Thomas Jones. Thomas Jones became known as “The boy Jones” and he broke into the
palace several times, even once being found with Queen Victoria’s underwear stuffed down his pants!
You can say many things about the queen, but her job certainly was not boring!
While Queen Victoria’s legacy is enormous, the woman herself was not! The monarch stood at a
not so terrifying 4’11 tall, making her towering presence only possible through her attitude and
choice of costumes. Speaking of costumes, did you know that Queen Victoria’s wedding gown changed
weddings forever? But before we get to that let’s talk a little bit about what got her to the alter.
Shortly before Queen Victoria became the queen she was introduced to her cousin,
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. While these days the idea of crushing on a cousin
is pretty gross, at the time it was quite common for people to marry their cousins,
especially when it came to royalty, because it was important to keep wealth and titles
in the family. And so, because of this, Queen Victoria became quite infatuated with Albert,
and four years later they were engaged. The rules at the time dictated that no one was allowed to
propose to someone who was currently serving as the monarch, so Albert couldn’t propose to
Victoria, and so she proposed to him! The two were said to have loved each other fiercely and ended
up in a blissful 21-year-marriage until Albert’s death, but let’s get back to that wedding dress!
At the time of Victoria and Albert’s wedding, it wasn’t the tradition for brides to wear white on
their special day. Most brides wore playful and colorful dresses that could be reused for other
events, but all of that changed with a few simple choices made by the queen. Victoria was having a
wedding gown designed with beautiful and intricate lace and she felt that the best way to showcase
the painstaking work of her seamstresses was to have the gown made in a simple but stunning white.
While the choice of white was more about featuring the lace than the color itself, historically the
only brides who had worn white to their weddings had been because their families could afford to
have their dresses cleaned. However, after Victoria’s wedding, the landscape of wedding
gowns was changed forever, and everyone wanted a white gown, whether they could afford it or not.
In fact, Queen Victoria was such a trendsetter that many brides today have absolutely no idea
they want a white gown because a British Queen made a choice to wear one back in 1840. Not only
did Queen Victoria set the trend of white wedding dresses, but she also cemented brides as the stars
of the show. Because of the unique color of her gown, she demanded no one else at her wedding be
allowed to wear white, except for her bridesmaids. She also is purported to have ordered her wedding
dress design to be destroyed, so that no one could replicate her dress for their own wedding.
After marrying, the queen lost no time in getting down to business and having children,
and, in fact, she spent a great deal of time in the following years pregnant. Victoria and Albert
had nine children, all of whom managed to live to adulthood, which was fairly uncommon at the time.
Although the queen had many children, it does not appear she was a great fan of
everything that went along with motherhood. The queen hated being pregnant and claimed
that she felt like a dog or a cow. While she disliked the feeling of being pregnant,
she also loathed the fact that the condition took her away from her royal duties.
The queen was very politically active and enjoyed her role as monarch but was forced to hand some
royal duties over to Albert during some stages of her pregnancy. Given that she was pregnant
nine times during her marriage, you can bet that this happened fairly frequently. Victoria
also refused to breastfeed any of her children, believing it to be too vulgar and animal-like.
While the queen did not enjoy pregnancy and likely suffered from post-partum depression,
she still loved her children and wished the best for them. That’s why it seems all the crueler
that she was unknowingly passing on a deadly disease to them and her other descendants!
Queen Victoria was a carrier of Hemophilia B, a blood clotting disorder that means blood doesn’t
clot as it normally should, causing those with the condition to bleed excessively from even
tiny cuts. Although many thought the queen was the first in her bloodline to carry the disease,
it’s likely she inherited it from another family member. However, given the multitude of children
she had, she certainly was responsible for its long persistence in the royal family. The queen
passed on the disease to three of her children, and one of them, Leopold, succumbed to the disease
at the age of 30 after hemorrhaging badly after a fall. The condition caused quite a stir within the
public and was concealed for many years. Because Queen Victoria was the most prominent person to be
affiliated with the disease at the time, and many members of the German, Russian and Spanish ruling
families were also cursed with the condition, Hemophilia became known as “the royal disease”.
Of course, this was because so many royals were marrying their cousins from other royal lines!
Passing on diseases is pretty gloomy stuff, so let’s move on to the impact Queen Victoria
had on Christmas. That’s right, Vicky, as she was affectionately known, was also a Christmas
trendsetter! Although decorating trees during the Christian holiday wasn’t a new idea, the tradition
wasn’t widespread in Britain just yet. However, Victoria and Albert were big fans of the holiday,
and given that Queen Victoria had German roots, a culture that was already known for Christmas
trees, the royal couple were eager to share their love of Christmas trees with the country and the
world. Victoria and Albert filled Windsor Castle with an enormous Christmas tree,
sent trees to schools and barracks, and even released an engraving that featured
the royal family decorating a tree. Before long, Christmas trees became a staple in homes across
Europe and America, and it is likely we should thank Queen Victoria for setting the trend.
While Victoria and Albert seemingly had a gentle and loving relationship,
it wasn’t to last. Albert had never had a particularly robust immune system, and his health
steadily deteriorated throughout his relationship with Victoria. In 1861 he developed typhoid fever,
and he eventually died from the illness shortly before Christmas of that year.
Albert’s death hit Victoria hard, and in many people’s eyes, she never fully recovered. The
queen immediately went into mourning, donning the traditional black gown and veil that most widows
wore for a period of around two years. Victoria was never one to follow tradition, however,
and instead of mourning Albert for two years, Victoria mourned Albert for the rest of her life.
After Albert’s death, the queen was never seen in regular clothes again. The queen continued to wear
mourning clothes until her death 40 years later in 1901, and she was rarely seen in public after
Albert passed. While reactions to Victoria’s behavior was mixed, one thing can never be
doubted: Victoria loved her husband with all her heart. Although Queen Victoria died more than 100
years ago, her legacy lives on. Her descendants are members of today’s royal family, and she has
buildings, monuments, streets, and even cities named in her honor. She has also been featured
in countless books, TV shows, and films, and is still taught in history classes around the world.
Canada even has a holiday named after her that is celebrated every spring. Hopefully, you’ve learned
a few things you didn’t know about before today, and as always thanks for watching Nutty History.