-
The young princess becomes a queen
On the morning of 20 June 1837, Victoria was woken at 6am. Still wearing her nightgown, she was informed that her uncle, King William IV, had died during the night. This meant that she was now queen of England. She took the news calmly and simply requested an hour alone. -
Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist' is published
Charles Dickens was one of the greatest Victorian novelists. 'Oliver Twist' was, like many of Dickens' other novels, originally published in serial form and brought to public attention contemporary social evils. Dickens' other works included 'The Pickwick Papers', 'A Christmas Carol', 'David Copperfield' and 'Great Expectations'. -
The Bedchamber crisis
Victoria took the throne at a time when the monarch’s role was intended to be largely apolitical. Yet early in her reign, the inexperienced queen got into hot water for meddling in political matters, in an event termed ‘The Bedchamber Crisis’. -
Regency Act
This act, which made Prince Albert regent if Victoria died before her heir was 18 years old, was passed by Parliament. -
Vaccination for the poor is introduced
Parliament enabled local poor law authorities to provide vaccination at the expense of ratepayers. Battles over the ethical and practical issues involved lasted for the remainder of Victoria's reign. Some authorities were reluctant to pay, even after infant vaccination was made compulsory in 1853. -
Period: to
children were born
princess victoria
prince albert
princess alice
prince alfred
princess helena
princess louise
prince author
prince leopold
princess beatrice -
Victoria marries Prince Albert
The meeting of Victoria and Albert, who were also first cousins, had been masterminded by Victoria’s uncle, Leopold I of Belgium, who believed he could benefit politically from the match. -
Assassination attempt failed
Edward Oxford fired two shots at the Queen and Prince Albert as they were travelling in their carriage along Constitution Hill. He was overpowered by spectators and handed to the police. He was tried with High Treason and found guilty but escaped execution on the grounds of insanity. -
Victoria and Albert start a royal family
Just over nine months after their wedding, Victoria and Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria, was born at Buckingham Palace. The queen soon after recorded how “after a good many hours suffering, a perfect little child was born… but alas! A girl & not a boy, as we both had so hoped & wished for”. The royal couple’s wishes were granted less than a year later, however, victoria gave birth to a male heir: Edward -
Sir Robert Peel forms a Conservative government
The Whig government under Viscount Melbourne faced increasing financial and public order difficulties, and Sir Robert Peel forced a general election after defeating the Whigs on a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. The Conservatives won a Commons majority of more than 70. This was the first election in modern times when one political party with a parliamentary majority was defeated by another which gained a workable majority of its own. -
the great famine
The Great Famine, or the Great Hunger, was a period in Ireland between 1845 and 1849 of mass starvation, disease, and emigration. -
COMMUNIST MANIFESTO PUBLISHED
Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who were living in England at the time, and published in 1848, the Communist Manifesto is possibly one of the most influential political works of all time, and especially for the Victorian era. Marx and Engels capitalized on this to draft their work proclaiming that the workers should be the ones in charge. -
Irish nationalist John Mitchel is arrested for treason
John Mitchel came to prominence during the Irish potato famine. In March 1848 he founded a journal, 'United Irishman', which called for Irish independence and gave practical tips on how to attack British troops. Charged under the Treason Felony Act, he was sentenced to 14 years transportation. This episode helped set Irish resistance to British occupation on a more violent path. -
Period: to
crimean war
DescriptionThe Crimean War was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to February 1856 in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire. -
BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY TRANSFERS CONTROL OF INDIA TO CROWN
Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British East India Company dissolved and handed over control of the nation to the British Crown, beginning a period of imperial rule that lasted until 1947. Britain’s rule became increasingly restrictive until Gandhi helped lead the Indian people in his non-violent resistance movement, ultimately leading to the nation’s independence from the British Empire. -
Period: to
Mutiny
rebellion by the people of India against the rule of British east India Company. The rebellion was crushed by British troops and marked the transition to direct rule over India by the British government. -
FIRST TRANSATLANTIC CABLE
Like the internet of today, telegraph cables were the communication tool that made the Victorian world a little smaller. It was laid along the Atlantic Ocean floor in 1858, running from Venetia Island in western Ireland to Nova Scotia in Canada, it provided near-instant communication between two halves of the globe. Proving the power of this technology, when Dr. Hawley Crippen attempted to escape the law following the murder of his wife. -
her husband dies
When she was 42, Victoria suffered a shocking blow. Albert, her beloved husband, friend and advisor, unexpectedly died. After visiting Bertie in an attempt to persuade him against a scandalous affair, Albert had caught a chill, which then developed into typhoid fever. -
Second Reform Bill
introduced by Benjamin Disraeli that expanded the electorate by reducing property requirements for voting. Better-to-do artisand and middle- class people were primarily affected, though the bill was originally intended to affect the greater population of working class people. -
Victoria becomes Empress of India
Over the course of her reign, Victoria witnessed a mammoth expansion of the British empire. During her first 20 years on the throne, Britain’s imperial conquests had increased almost fivefold. By the time she died, it was the largest empire the world had ever known and included a quarter of the world’s population -
Golden Jubilee
celebration marking the fiftieth anniversary of Victoria's succession as Queen. -
Period: to
The nation celebrates Victoria’s golden and diamond jubilees
Years after her damaging retreat from public life following Albert’s death, Victoria was eventually coaxed back into the limelight. Her golden and diamond jubilees of 1887 and 1897 were crucial to restoring her reputation. Designed to be show-stopping crowd-pleasers, these national festivities reinvented the ‘widow of Windsor’ as a source of national (and imperial) pride and celebration. -
diamond jubilee
celebration marking the sixtieth anniversary of Victoria's succession as Queen. -
Period: to
Boer War
British forces and descendents of Dutch settlers in the country later known as South Africa. The war was brutal, drawn- out, and opposed by many quarters in Britain and abroad, casting the one great, dark shadow over the otherwise happy end of Victoria's long reign as the British Queen and Empress. -
Victoria’s reign comes to a close
As she entered her eighties, Victoria was still actively taking on her royal duties. Yet, after six decades on the throne, her health finally began to decline. After being diagnosed with ‘cerebral exhaustion’, she died aged 81 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Despite their previous fights, her eldest son and successor, Bertie, was at her deathbed, alongside her grandson, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm.