Queen Victoria

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May 25, 1999

Happy Victoria Day! Lets take a pause from politics and look at the life of Victoria Alexandrina, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Empress of India (she was also the first Monarch of Canada). Many people don't know much about Victoria herself and only think of Victoria Day as a day off from either school or work and one out of two days where it is legal to use fireworks (the other day is Canada Day).

Victoria was the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent (son of George III) and of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. She was born on the 24th of May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. She was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Ireland in 1937, at the age of 18. She soon learned how to take the matter of state in hand and in 1840, she married her cousin, Albert (1819-61) who was son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha her uncle. (NOTE: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is the real family name of the Queen Elizabeth the Second. The Windsor family changed their German name at the time of the Great War). With Albert, she raised nine children and led a happy marriage. Albert helped her make many important decisions until he died in 1861.

In 1867, she allowed the Dominion of Canada to be created and became the first ruler of the new-formed country. In 1876 conservative Benjamin Disraeli named her the Empress of India because she had supported his imperialist policies. She died January 22, 1901, at 82 years of age. Her first son, Edward VII who ruled nine years from 1901 to 1910, succeeded her at 61 years of age. Victoria had been the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (and second after Louis XIV in European History), ruling for 64 years from 1837 to 1901. Elizabeth the Second has ruled for about 47 years.

Next week we get back to Ontario Politics and look at Ontario's New Democats and NDP leader Howard Hampton.