Queen Victoria - A Monarch Unveiled - Episode 2

Good morning, we will conclude our tour of Queen Victoria: A Monarch Unveiled with a look at the last years of her life.  History tells us that Queen Victoria withdrew from public life after the death of Prince Albert, however, her letters reveal her as an active political player behind the scenes.  At the end of her life, she was known as the “Widow of Windsor.”  A.N. Wilson reveals more about Queen Victoria in this final episode.  The run time for this documentary is 58:38.

Although a widow and in deep mourning, Queen Victoria was free.  She had been under the thumb of her mother and her husband.  After their deaths, she had the freedom to explore her interests.  After Albert’s death, she fled from London, thus beginning her life alone.  Prince Albert had a great deal of control over Victoria and often she resented him for it.  He told her how to act and how to get dressed.  After Prince Albert’s death, he became a demigod in her eyes, despite her resentment. 

Queen Victoria took her first steps to freedom on a trip to Coburg.  She stayed in the palace where Prince Albert was raised.  A.N. Wilson visits Coburg and meets with the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.  The prince talks about Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.  He talks about how Queen Victoria was still attached to her German roots.  In one of the few public appearances after Prince Albert’s death, she dedicated a monument to him in Germany.  She made frequent trips to Coburg.  It was the only place where she could be a wife and not the Queen.

During these trips, she was politically active.  The German states were a loose confederation.  The Prussian King wanted to bully those individual states into joining the larger Prussian Kingdom and becoming militarized.  Queen Victoria met with Emperor Franz Joseph, to negotiate for a peaceful Europe.  One historian points out that despite the widowhood front, Queen Victoria was active in the diplomatic back channels.  The British politicians complained about the weepy widow, not realizing how active she was behind the scene.

She was active because there was infighting with her family.  Prince Bertie had married a Danish princess, while his sisters married German princes.  This would have caused trouble at home, so Queen Victoria looked for a peaceful solution.  However, Queen Victoria was sad that Bertie had married a Dane and not a good German.

Back at home, Queen Victoria looked for another father figure in her life.  This led to an attachment to John Brown.  John Brown was Prince Albert’s Highland Servant.  She valued John Brown’s friendship and A.N. Wilson concludes that if she did not have that friendship she would have gone “stark raving mad.”  John Brown understood Queen Victoria well and saw her as a “wee bairn.”  He would devote his life to her and did not have an agenda for Queen Victoria.  He also had complete disregard for court etiquette.  Queen Victoria loved his disregard and his frankness.  They laughed together and he carried her around.  John Brown was a walking encyclopedia for Queen Victoria. 

Queen Victoria enjoyed Highlands.  She even wrote a book about her life in the Highlands.  It became an instant best seller.  The book chronicled her outdoor life and her love of frivolity.  She wrote about the Highland Games.  It was shocking that the Queen would write such a book.  Her children were not pleased with the book nor with her relationship with John Brown.  Queen Victoria wrote to Vicky complaining that she had not heard back from Vicky about her little book.  However, Queen Victoria’s relationship with John Brown was causing scandal.  The American press mocked the relationship.  Queen Victoria was going to write a second book about her life with John Brown.  One poor page had to tell the Queen that publishing the book was not a good idea.

What was the nature of her relationship with John Brown?  Were they married?  Did they have an affair?  What did Queen Victoria write about the other people in her life?  Why did she loathe her Prime Minister Gladstone?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more!

This would be another good documentary to put in your documentary arsenal for the school year and it would be a good source for a student writing a paper on Queen Victoria.