12. This British monarch, who ascended to the throne aged only 18, was famous for her sense of duty, her devotion to her husband and many children, and an ever conscious sense of her public image and responsibilities. Can you name her?
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Answer:
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria lived from 1819 until 1901, with her reign spanning two centuries. She ascended to the throne in 1837, one month after her 18th birthday, a young inexperienced girl who had come from a very oppressive and controlled childhood. Her mother and her mother's very ambitious comptroller monitored every move the child made, trying to force her into their mould so that they could act in Regency should she inherit the throne before legal age - and then to control Victoria even after she did. The old king before her, William IV, knew this was happening and grimly hung onto life until Victoria was of a legal age. After taking the throne, Victoria promptly got rid of the comptroller, placed her mother as far away from herself as possible, and began to learn as much as she possibly could of the work her role would entail from her own trusted adviser, Lord Melbourne. How he ever managed to control and contain Victoria, while at the same time retaining her admiration, should have earned him the highest honour England could offer.
Victoria was strong-willed, determined, impulsive, sometimes short-tempered, warm-hearted, loving, intelligent, passionate, determined to do her duty, fun loving, and, contrary to how history chooses to portray her, possessed a wonderful sense of humour. She was a real handful in other words. How, with that nature, she didn't cause international incidents is astonishing, and, following the guidance and advice of Lord Melbourne, the thanks to that should go to her beloved husband Albert, a man who was conscientious to the extreme, serious, dutiful, firm, a loving father, permanently worried about everything, and the only person who could ever totally control the little wilful Victoria.
Why do I admire her then? Because she was unique, fascinating, complex, one of a kind, and she grasped life with both hands and eagerly partook of its every experience. She loved dancing the night away when she was a young queen, for example, and remarked once to Lord Melbourne that all "this dissipation does me a great deal of good". She was incredibly kind-hearted to the poor whenever she had a chance to be exposed to them (the government always tried to steer her away from poverty on her visits); and she was a comical and doting mother to her many children. She thought they looked like frogs when they were born, but passionately cared about their interests all her life, even going to the extent of writing to the future Edward VII when he was a grown man urging him make sure his bowels worked regularly. She adored her grandchildren, and constantly laughed at their exploits; clucked over her servants and was interested in all aspects of their lives; was fascinated by gossip; kept a VERY revealing diary which is an historian's delight; always tried to do her duty as the monarch of her empire, and had a wonderful, hearty sense of humour. I'll finish with an example of that:
Once while dutifully attending an orchestral concert on a European visit, she heard the French horn play for the first time. Try as she may, she could not control her amusement, and eventually lost her composure in public completely. The audience itself kept bursting out into laughter as well, as the sonorous, rumbling burps erupted from the musical instrument. The queen, always conscious of her public image, remained serious for as long as she could, but finally could do so no longer. She laughed so hard the tears streamed down her face, and wrote in her diary that night that "I was very sorry for the poor man and kept grave very long indeed, but my lips shook and finally some very deep notes vanquished me at last." I'd loved to have known this fascinating woman who summed up completely the saying "To thine own self be true".
(Question and Interesting Information contributed by Creedy.)
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