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Tuesday, July 7, 2020

My New Friend, the Queen

I have a hobby that I can't decide what to call. You might say I have a bit of an obsessive personality, but I'm not sure if that's the most accurate way to describe it. I get really interested and curious about a topic and study it fanatically for a while. Then I move on. What would you call that?

For the sake of having a way to describe it, I'm going to refer to it as having a case of the "want-to-learn-abouts." It might qualify as obsession, but it's always temporary. I learn about something to the point of wanting to write an essay. Then I get curious about something new. 

Unfortunately, my retention isn't great, and that's one of the reasons I have to blog about my current "want-to-learn-about:"

Queen Victoria

(I feel like there should be royal fanfare here or an introductory chorus of "Gloriana, Alleluia").

I mentioned in my recent "currently" post (how's that for weird grammar?) that I have been watching Victoria. 


When Victoria started on Masterpiece Theater, I wanted to watch it but never did. Now it has three complete seasons available, and I'm glad I waited because the timing of this show has been perfect for me. I know I would have enjoyed it years ago, but watching it right now is a saving grace with everything going on in the world. Not only is the show an amiable escape, it also reminds that so much of what we are going through currently has happened before, and somehow that makes me feel like we'll pull through. 

Victoria reigned for 63 years - the longest ruling monarch of the United Kingdom until Queen Elizabeth passed her up in 2017 (high fives to the ladies), and in that time there were pandemics, political upheaval, protests, and riots. I had to laugh when, during a recently-viewed episode, there was a cholera outbreak, and three professionals stood before Queen Victoria butting heads over how cholera is spread and what should be done about it while Victoria tries to discern the truth and asks, "Do I need to quarantine in the palace?" History repeats itself. Cliche, but true. 

The show has so many great dramatic and human elements, and the writer, Daisy Goodwin, has done an excellent job being true to history (in my non-expert opinion). Of course, no television production is going to be 100% accurate, and this one has its creative liberties, but Victoria is full of great historical nuggets that fuel my "want-to-learn-abouts" in the finest way. I've been staying up extra late every night for the past three weeks reading articles about ALL THE THINGS - not just Queen Victoria herself, but everyone in her court and all of the historical figures and events that appear in the show. King Louis, Jenny Lind, Florence Nightingale, John Snow... Various works of art including the etchings completed by Victoria and Prince Albert as well as paintings of the royal family by commissioned artists, Victorian fashion and furniture... Cholera, hemophilia, miasma theory, venereal disease... It takes me days to finish an episode because I have to pause and google, and sometimes I can't make it back to the show until the following night. 

I've never really studied the royals, so it's been really fascinating for me. Here are some interesting things about Victoria (I don't have citations for these tidbits, so please forgive me. I've been all over the internets, and I am only sharing things that I have seen across multiple sources):

Victoria was not a known name at the time she became queen and was even thought of as silly and weak. She was advised not to go by Victoria (her name was Alexandrina Victoria). This seems so strange to me having grown up in the post-Victorian world where the name Victoria is well-known and associated with royalty..

Queen Victoria ascended to the throne just a few weeks after her 18th birthday. She succeeded her uncle William IV who was king for seven years. To me it's amazing that she would ever ascend to the throne, not only because she was female, but because she was the daughter of King George's fourth son, so a lot of men had to fail to produce heirs and then die for Victoria to become queen. For her predecessor to pass away just as she came of age to take the throne without a regency is nothing short of miraculous to me. I can't help but think that God had a hand in Victoria's path. 

Victoria was the first Queen to give birth while she reigned. She had nine children. NINE. You guys. The woman was practically pregnant for 17 years straight while she ruled an empire that consisted of nearly a quarter of the world's people. 

I can't even. 

And just for informational purposes, she married her first cousin, Albert. I know that was common throughout history, but it never ceases to weird me out. Apparently they had a very rich and passionate sex life. I'm not just saying that because they had nine kids. That's what's recorded historically. Rich, passionate, cousinly sex... which passed hemophilia down the royal line to the Romanovs.  

Although she had a lot of children, Victoria detested being pregnant and abhorred the idea of breastfeeding. She thought babies were ugly and looked like frogs (her character states this in the show, and the comment is based on a journal entry she wrote wherein she said babies were "frog-like"). Victoria wasn't a great nurturer, and some of the things she wrote about her kids in her journals were just downright awful. She may have suffered from post-partum depression after her pregnancies (ya think?) 

Victoria survived six assassination attempts. 

And finally, since Hamilton came to Disney+ over the weekend, I can't talk about Queen Victoria without giving a shout out to King George. The King George in Hamilton is King George III, Victoria's grandfather who supposedly went "mad" (possible explanations include a genetic disorder called porphyria, bipolar disorder, or arsenic poisoning from wearing too much make-up). Courtesy song lyrics from Hamilton: "When you're gone, I'll go mad, so don't throw away this thing we had!" 

In what I've read about Queen Victoria across various sources, she is depicted in every form - from revered mother and ruler to tantruming control freak. It's difficult to know what she was really like when we learn about her through the eyes of history. The only solution I can think of is to add her to the top of one of my dinner party guest lists

Victoria, you're in!

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