Which monarch succeeded queen victoria

Educated at the Royal Palace by a governess, she had a gift for drawing and painting and developed a passion for journal writing. Despite a feisty temperament, Victoria was famously tiny in stature, measuring just 4 feet 11 inches tall. Later in life, her weight ballooned, with her waist reportedly measuring 50 inches.

When Princess Feodora was 6 years old, her father died. At birth, Victoria was fifth in line to the throne. When she first took the crown at the young age of 18 in , Melbourne helped teach Victoria the intricacies of being a constitutional monarch. In , when Great Britain was fighting wars with Afghanistan and China and facing a working-class movement, Melbourne helped the queen work with an uncooperative Conservative government and suggested she let her husband, Albert, take the reigns of state responsibilities.

Victoria ascended to the throne at age 18 on June 20, , and she served until her death at the age of 81 on January 22, Under Victoria's reign, Great Britain experienced unprecedented expansion in industry, building railways, bridges, underground sewers and power distribution networks throughout much of the empire. Seven assassination attempts were made on Victoria's life between and There were advances in science Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution and technology the telegraph and popular press , with vast numbers of inventions; tremendous wealth and poverty; growth of great cities like Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham; increased literacy; and great civic works, often funded by industrial philanthropists.

At various points in her reign, Victoria exercised some influence over foreign affairs, expressing her preference, but not pressing beyond the bounds of constitutional propriety.

During this time, the British Empire experienced only a few small wars, exerting its authority over foreign possessions. One of the major factors that helped Britain avoid European entanglements was the marriage of Victoria's children: either directly or by marriage, she was related to the royal houses of nearly every major European power. Though the English constitutional arrangement denied her powers in foreign affairs, she ruled her family with an iron hand that helped keep Great Britain away from the intrigues of European politics.

The Tory Party split, forming the Liberal and Conservative parties, and started a succession of opposing administrations. Victoria played a crucial role as a mediator between arriving and departing prime ministers. Though she detested Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone, she found ways to work with him, even during her mourning period.

Victoria continued in her duties up to her death. In keeping with tradition, she spent the Christmas of at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, where her health quickly declined to the point that she was unable to return to London.

Despite her doubts and his debts, the two were happy, and Victoire soon fell pregnant. Instead, on the actual day, the Archbishop of Canterbury stood with the child over the font, waiting for the Prince Regent to inform him of her name. Her first name was Alexandrina, after the Tsar even the Regent dared not anger the Russian ruler by refusing it , but she quickly became known by her middle name — Victoria.

By December, Kent had accepted his debts were insurmountable and moved his family to a cheaper house in Sidmouth, on the Devon coast. It was a bitter winter, and in early January, after returning from one of his outdoor walks soaked to the bone, the Duke took to his bed with a chill.

Victoria was just eight months old. The year-old Duchess was impoverished and desperate. Her brother Leopold persuaded the begrudging Prince Regent to allow her rooms in Kensington Palace and she took with her John Conroy, a handsome Irishman who had been equerry to the Duke. On 29 January , the day that the Duchess arrived at the palace, the poor mad King George finally died. After the Dukes of York and Clarence, baby Victoria was next in line to the throne. Kensington Palace was then cold, gloomy and shabby — and the life Victoria led there was little better.

The Duchess and John Conroy were absolutely united in a quest to make Victoria their slave. Both were convinced that Victoria would become queen and their dearest hope was that she would ascend as a minor, so the Duchess could be Regent and gather power and riches for herself and her dear friend.

If, however, she succeeded after the age of 18, they wished to ensure that she would give up all power to them. The Kensington System was a cruel regime of bullying and, most of all, surveillance. Victoria was not allowed to be alone for a second.

Her every cough, every word and even choice of dress was faithfully reported to John Conroy. The Duchess was also terrified of reports that the Duke of Cumberland, who would have been the next brother in line to the throne, wished to kill the little girl.

Certainly, Cumberland spread rumours that Victoria was too sickly to rule and tried to find ways of pushing her out of the succession — and it is not impossible that he might have wanted her dead. Victoria felt her confined situation keenly. As Victoria grew up, the Duchess redoubled her attempts to control her, and to show herself off as the power behind the throne. The Duke of Clarence and his much younger wife had a girl, Charlotte, in , but she lived only a few hours.

In late December , they had another girl, Elizabeth, to the despair of the Duchess of Kent. But by the following March, Elizabeth had died. On 1 August , she, the year-old Victoria, and the Conroys set off on the first of their journeys: a three-month tour to Wales, via the Midlands and Cheshire. Victoria hated the tour. She detested being surrounded by Conroys, the early starts, and the endless dinners and receptions with dull adults.

Meanwhile, the politicians voiced their opinion that Victoria was just too ridiculous a name for a ruler. Indeed, the King tried to force the Duchess to agree to change it to Elizabeth or Charlotte. Initially, she agreed. Finally, however, she refused, wishing that her daughter would bear her name. Though the rigid British class system held firm, rapid industrialization increased economic opportunity, creating conditions that allowed for more social mobility, and with it, more social change.

There was a rise in socialism and attention to the plight of the poor as well as a push for women's voting rights. Domestically, Edward did not support women's suffrage nor attempts to redistribute wealth through taxes. Despite this, he was very popular with most of the British people. In , a constitutional crisis erupted over the "People's Budget," legislation that called for unprecedented taxes on the wealthy and radical social welfare programs. Privately, the king pleaded with Conservative lords to pass the budget and avoid political division.

To break the deadlock, Lloyd George proposed the king create a large number of Liberal positions in the House of Lords to offset the "no" votes. However, the king refused, insisting that the issue be decided by the people in a general election. The issue remained unresolved until Edward's son George ascended the throne and became King George V. By , Edward VII's years of smoking 12 cigars and more than 20 cigarettes a day brought on a severe case of bronchitis.

During an official event in France, he momentarily lost consciousness, and on April 27, , he returned to London. His wife, Alexandra returned from Greece on May 5 and the next day called her children telling them their father was gravely ill. On May 6, Edward suffered a series of heart attacks and died.

His legacy is marked by criticism for his pursuit of self-indulgent pleasures but also praise for his affable personality and diplomatic skill. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.