When you think of Queen Victoria, the image that springs to mind is often that of a stern monarch who set the moral compass for an entire era. The Victorian age, named after her, demanded chastity, strict public conduct, and a low tolerance for crime. Yet beneath that austere exterior, Britain surged forward with unprecedented industrial growth and economic vigor. To many outsiders, Victoria seemed a grim, imposing figure, but behind the crown she harbored a surprisingly playful and human side. Below are the 10 lesser known facts that paint a richer portrait of the queen. Have a look!
10 Lesser Known Facts About Queen Victoria
10 Her Proposal To Prince Albert
On the crisp autumn day of 15 October 1839, the future monarch took the bold step of proposing to her first cousin, Prince Albert. In a later diary entry she confessed, “we embraced each other over and over again, and he was so kind, so affectionate… I really felt it was the happiest, brightest moment in my life.” Their marriage in 1840 marked the beginning of a partnership that would be both personally joyous and politically influential. When Albert died in 1861, Victoria slipped into a profound, years‑long mourning that eclipsed even her public duties.
9 Block Of Cheese As A Wedding Gift
Among the more curious tokens presented to the royal couple was a massive wheel of cheddar, weighing in at over 500 kilograms and crafted from the milk of roughly 750 cows. The generous farmers behind this gargantuan cheese hoped it would be displayed for public admiration. Victoria, ever the gracious hostess, allowed the exhibition but, true to her eccentric side, never reclaimed the dairy leviathan after the show ended.
8 Her Fear Of Bishops
Legend has it that a youthful Victoria harboured an irrational dread of bishops, specifically their towering wigs. The sight of those towering headpieces apparently triggered a deep‑seated fright of the men beneath them. The fear began to wane when the Bishop of Salisbury kindly let the young princess play with his ornate badge of the Order of the Garter, offering a comforting bridge between her anxiety and the ecclesiastical world.
7 Seven Survived Assassinations
Throughout her reign, the queen faced at least seven assassination attempts. The inaugural plot unfolded in 1837, a mere months after she ascended the throne, orchestrated by a self‑styled heir claiming descent from George IV. Subsequent schemes varied in motive: in 1840 a gunman objected to a woman ruling England, while an Irish nationalist in 1872 attempted to force her signature on a document promising Irish emancipation (source: express.co.uk). The final recorded attempt arrived in 1882, perpetrated by a man who harboured an irrational hatred for both the queen and the number four, and who bizarrely believed that “blue things” concealed supernatural forces.
6 Her Strained Relationship With Her Children
Victoria’s nine offspring experienced a childhood under the shadow of a monarch who loathed pregnancy, viewing it as a theft of her sovereign authority, and even described breastfeeding as “disgusting.” Her disciplinary style was severe, leaving little room for affection. The most turbulent bond was with her eldest son, Bertie (later Edward VII). Educated at home, Bertie was deemed a “half‑wit” by his parents. At 19, he was caught in an Irish army barracks sharing a bed with a prostitute, prompting a stern reprimand from Albert. The king even visited Bertie in Cambridge, walked with him in the rain, and fell ill shortly after—an illness that preceded Albert’s death. Victoria blamed Bertie for Albert’s demise for the remainder of her life.
5 Spying On Her Children
Victoria’s insatiable desire for control manifested in a covert network of spies and informants tasked with monitoring her own brood. When her eldest daughter wed and relocated to Germany, Victoria flooded her with daily letters, effectively micromanaging every aspect of her life. Similarly, after Bertie’s marriage to Danish Princess Alexandra, a doctor—acting on Victoria’s orders—sent meticulous reports on Alexandra’s health, down to the minutiae of her menstrual cycle. Victoria even attempted to keep her youngest daughter, Beatrice, single; when Beatrice defied her wishes and became engaged to a German prince, the queen cut off communication for six months, eventually relenting only on the condition that the couple reside under her roof (source: BBC).
4 ‘The Grandmother Of Europe’
In the twilight of her reign, Victoria earned the affectionate moniker “the Grandmother of Europe.” This nickname reflected the strategic marriages of her nine children into the royal houses of Denmark, Prussia, Russia, Schleswig‑Holstein, Battenberg, and Waldeck. Her grandchildren further cemented this dynastic web, producing figures such as Queen Sofie of Greece, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and Russia’s Czarina Alix. Through these alliances, Victoria’s lineage wove itself into the fabric of European royalty.
3 The Carrier Of The ‘Royal Disease’
Medical historians attribute to Victoria the unwitting role of carrier for hemophilia B, ominously dubbed the “royal disease.” She passed the clotting‑factor deficiency to three of her nine children. Her son Leopold, a frail boy, suffered a fatal hemorrhage after a modest fall. Victoria’s daughters, Beatrice and Alice, subsequently transmitted the condition to several of their offspring, spreading it across England, Germany, Russia, and Spain for three generations before the gene finally vanished from the royal bloodlines.
2 Prolific Writer
Victoria’s pen was never idle. Beginning at age thirteen in 1832, she launched a diary that would become a lifelong companion. Her mother inspected each entry until Victoria’s coronation, after which the queen continued unabated, amassing 121 journals and averaging roughly 2,000 words daily. Her final entry, penned merely ten days before her death, capped a literary legacy of over 40,000 pages. Before passing, she instructed a child to censor any “improper” passages; her daughter Beatrice dutifully complied, resulting in the destruction of many original pages.
1 First Sovereign To Rule From Buckingham Palace
Victoria broke tradition by becoming the inaugural monarch to reside in Buckingham Palace, moving in upon her accession in 1837. The palace transformed into a bustling nexus of royal family life, state affairs, and grand entertainment under Albert’s influence. Yet after Albert’s untimely death, Victoria’s affection for the grand edifice waned, and she favored residences such as Windsor Castle, Scotland’s Balmoral, and the seaside Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.