She also shaped a new role for the Royal Family, reconnecting it with the public through civic duties. At just 4ft 11in tall, Victoria was a towering russian brides melbourne as a symbol of her Empire. She and her husband Albert and their nine children came to symbolise a new, confident age. A portrait of Princess Victoria and her mother Victoria, Duchess of Kent in 1824.

Alexandrina Victoria was born to the Duchess of Kent. Her father was the fourth son of George III and she was fifth in line to the throne. However, she had three elderly uncles ahead of her in the succession. So when her father died when she was eight months her prospects of becoming queen were good. The princess, known as Victoria, was raised at Kensington Palace.

She was educated by her governess Baroness Lehzen, who taught her languages, arithmetic, drawing and music. An engraved portrait showing Victoria in 1834. After the death of two uncles, the teenage Victoria became heir to her final surviving uncle King William IV. But Victoria’s youth was dominated by strict rules known as the ‘Kensington System’.

These rules included sharing a room with her mother and having no time alone. The system was designed by John Conroy, who hoped to manipulate her to gain further power and influence. When Victoria was 13 she was taken on a tour of the Midlands so that Conroy and her mother could show her off to the public. The princess found it exhausting and became increasingly stubborn. The men, women, children, country and houses are all black I just now see an extraordinary building flaming with fire.