1. The Captive of Kensington Palace
Princess Victoria grows up inside the restrictive household system imposed at Kensington Palace by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and Sir John Conroy. Closely supervised and kept apart from much of the royal family, she gradually understands that her position in the succession makes her…
2. The Queen and Lord M
On the morning of 20th June 1837, an eighteen-year-old girl is called from her bed to be told that she is Queen of England. The Victorian age has begun. The young queen's first few years are beset with court scandal and malicious gossip: there is the…
3. The Queen’s Husband
Victoria and Prince Albert enter marriage with affection but very different expectations of authority. As reigning queen, Victoria is determined to protect her constitutional position and resists attempts by her husband to shape political business, while Albert struggles to find a useful role in a court…
4. The Widow of Windsor
After Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria withdraws into mourning and resists the public duties expected of the sovereign. Yet Britain continues to change around her as Palmerston, Gladstone and Disraeli dominate politics, the empire expands and the Prince of Wales develops a very different style of…