1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everyone. Since Valentine's Day is coming up soon, 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:08,399 Speaker 1: we thought we would take a moment to look back 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: at a historical love story, and that is Victoria and Albert. 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: Courtesy of previous hosts Sarah and Bablina. Victoria is definitely 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: one of our problematic favorites. I'm very open that she's 6 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: a problematic ruler and a fascinating woman, and I love 7 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: her despite her many flaws. But this episode is really 8 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: focused on the two of them and their relationship and 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: how they got together, rather than her time is Monarch 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 1: or the greater story of what was happening in the world. 11 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: There are some scandals mentioned, though, including the Lady Flora 12 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: Hasting scandal that we have done a whole episode on, 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: but otherwise, enjoy a royal love story. Welcome to Stuff 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: you missed in History Class from how Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm 16 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: Deblina Chalk Rebording. And to me, it really seems like 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria is our classic background podcast character. We've joked 18 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: before that she just pops up when you least expect her. 19 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: She really does. I think somebody even suggested once that 20 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: we have some stock music noise or whenever Queen Victoria appears, 21 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: but until recently, she hadn't gotten a podcast to herself. 22 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 1: Earlier this spring, we finally did an episode on Victoria 23 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: focusing on her last great friendship, which was a relationship 24 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: with her Indian teacher of Dual Kareem, and that was 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: sort of a strange, lesser known side of Victoria's life, 26 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: and it was also late in her life. By the 27 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: time Kareem knew Victoria, she was an elderly woman. In 28 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: the period we focused on was she was in her 29 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: seventies and her eighties. It was it was late in 30 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: Victoria's reign. Yeah, but listeners are usually more interested in 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: the queen's early years, probably largely because of the recent 32 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: film Young Victoria, which I'm sure a lot of listeners 33 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: have seen. It's all about romance, ribbons and no nine 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: kids in the picture yet for Victoria and Albert. So 35 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about that side of Victoria's life, 36 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: her romance with her husband specifically, but we'll also revisit 37 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: one of our common themes, which is that of the 38 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: sad Royal childhood and to understand that we have to 39 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: first look at why Victoria became a queen in the 40 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: first place. Yeah, so it's pretty remarkable that the throne 41 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: went to Victoria because her father was the fourth adult 42 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: son of George the Third. Usually, if you have that 43 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: many kids, the throne isn't going to go to the 44 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: daughter of the fourth son. However, George the third sons 45 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,839 Speaker 1: weren't that inclined to marry and produce legitimate offspring at least, 46 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: so consequently those crisis developed in eighteen seventeen. So George 47 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: the Third and his wife Charlotte had fifteen children, and 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: for many years their eldest son had acted as regent 49 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: for his insane father. He was known as the Prince 50 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: Regent and later George the Fourth. So the Prince Regent 51 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,399 Speaker 1: had a legit air of his own, a daughter named Charlotte, 52 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: and for a long time she was really the darling 53 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: of the country, and it really seemed like the succession 54 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: was guaranteed when she married the future King of the Belgians, Leopold. 55 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: But in eighteen seventeen and age twenty one, she died 56 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: in childbirth and her son was stillborn, So two generations 57 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: right there wiped out at one time and the country 58 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: went into a deep morning. Okay, so there's still airs, 59 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: though it wasn't like they're just are no children around. 60 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: But the Airs are mostly middle aged princes and they 61 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: don't have kids, so the race is off. The first 62 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: prince of the blood, the first son of George, the 63 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: third um to make an air, gets his debts canceled 64 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: by the Prince Regent. So a pretty good deal because 65 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: a lot of these guys are into gambling and fast 66 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: living anyways. Yeah, but it's not as easy as it seems, right, No, 67 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: it's not at all. So the Prince Regent will obviously 68 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: start with him. He's the eldest son. He was separated 69 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: from his wife, so there's no chance there of another air. 70 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: The same went for the next in line, the Duke 71 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: of York, and after him there's the Duke of Clarence, 72 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: the third son, so he took took the challenge up, 73 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: if you could call it that, and he married a 74 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: German princess, but unfortunately none of their children survived infancy. 75 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: So the next son in line, it all came down 76 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: to the Duke of Kent, and he dumped his longtime 77 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: mistress and married a woman who had already had children, 78 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: so he knew she was fertile. Victoria Mary Louisa, who 79 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: was the daughter of the Duke of Saxe Coburg Salfeld, 80 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: and she was also the widow of German Prince so Bingo, 81 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,280 Speaker 1: we have our winners in this couple. Finally. Yeah, it 82 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: sounds so unromantic when you say fertile when you put 83 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:40,799 Speaker 1: it that way, but that is what it was all about. 84 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: Going and once the Duchess became pregnant, the Duke of 85 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: Kent started making plans for the child to be born 86 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: on English soil. They'd been living in Bavaria at the time, 87 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: and he wrote that they need to get back in 88 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: order to quote render the child my wife bears virtually 89 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: as well as legally English. But the Regent hadn't exactly 90 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,600 Speaker 1: followed through on that whole cancel your debt steal and 91 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: the Duke couldn't find the funds to move his entourage 92 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: until March of eighteen nineteen, and so by the time 93 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: the duchess actually got back on English soil, she was 94 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: already eight months along. Yeah, they had trouble getting lodgings too, 95 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: because these brothers, the Prince Regent and the Duke of 96 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: Kent really didn't get along very well, but the Prince 97 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: Regent does grant them apartments in Kensington Palace, and on 98 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: May eighteen nineteen, Alexandrina Victoria was born, and she was 99 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: this big, healthy baby and things looked promising. She got 100 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: her name though, the Alexandrina, apart from her godfather, who 101 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: was the Russians, are Alexander the first and the story 102 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,119 Speaker 1: behind that is is kind of strange and also further 103 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: speaks to this feud between the brothers. The Regent had 104 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: forbidden Victoria's parents to use any of the standard names 105 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: that royal baby girls were being called, Charlotte Elizabeth Georgina 106 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,799 Speaker 1: can kind of see his rationale behind Charlotte not having 107 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: the new air named the same thing as his these daughter, 108 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: but still a weird stipulation, and as a result, the 109 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: people of England still weren't entirely sure what her name 110 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: was even up to the morning of her accession at 111 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: age eighteen. Yeah, Alexandrina or Victoria, even though she had 112 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: actually always gone by Victoria as a girl in her home. 113 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: But the little princess was really born just in the 114 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: nick of time though for this family, because only eight 115 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: months after her birth, her father, the Duke of Kent, died, 116 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 1: and so six days after that, George the Third died, 117 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: and that made the Prince Regent finally George the fourth, 118 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: and that made Victoria third in line to the throne, 119 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: after her two uncles. But she gets even closer as 120 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: the years go by and these uncles start to to 121 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: die off. When the eldest of the two uncles died 122 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:50,799 Speaker 1: in she was obviously one step closer, and eventually, when 123 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: George the Fourth died and her uncle, the Duke of Clarence, 124 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: became William the Fourth, Victoria was next in line from 125 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: the throne. So from birth she was is to be 126 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: a likely queen, although not a guaranteed queen. It you 127 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: still didn't know if somebody might have a kid between 128 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: her birth and when she came to the throne. Yeah, 129 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: but it's interesting even though she was raised as a 130 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: queen the whole time, nobody really told her of her 131 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: position until she was about ten years old. Though. There's 132 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: that classic story where she had a family tree inserted 133 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: into a history book and studied it and suddenly pronounced, 134 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: I will be good, And so that's probably likely untrue. Yeah, 135 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: there are two competing versions if that story. It's a 136 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: pretty good story, but it's a little hard to back up. 137 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: And Victoria herself remember the realization as being a lot 138 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: more dramatic. And that makes sense to me for this 139 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: girl who was not raised to to know she was 140 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: going to be queen. She said, I cried much on 141 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: learning it and even deplored this contingency. Yeah, but it 142 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: seems like a really natural reaction, as you pointed out, 143 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: because her life turned out to be pretty rigid because 144 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: of this future of hers um. She had lots of lessons, 145 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: languages like Italian and writing, history, music, drawing, arithmetic, geography, religion, 146 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: she learned all kinds of things. Yeah, so maybe that 147 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: wasn't so bad, but it did make her life pretty busy. 148 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: But she also didn't get a lot to eat. She 149 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: had bread and milk served to her in a silver bowl, 150 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: and she had a really early bedtime, lots of exercise, 151 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: and most notably strict isolation. Yeah, so we could we 152 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: could add the lessons and the not much food in 153 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: the early bedtime and the exercise into the that's kind 154 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: of standard for the lives of many British aristocratic children 155 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: of this time. But this strict isolation was something unique, 156 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:42,239 Speaker 1: and it was the design of her mother's companion and adviser, 157 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: a guy named Sir John Conroy, and the Duchess herself, 158 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: and they called it the Kensington system, and it was 159 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: the way Victoria was brought up. It was a course 160 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: of rigorous private studies and isolation from her peers. And consequently, 161 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: Victoria's main companion during her early years was her elder 162 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: half sister, Fyodora, her her mother's daughter by her first marriage. 163 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: And after Fyodora left to Mary, since she was quite 164 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: a few years older than Victoria, Victoria was pretty distraught 165 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: and turned to her governess, a woman named Louise Lateson, 166 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: and she really became her main companion and just sort 167 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 1: of heard her defense against her, this conniving Conroy character, 168 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: who was such a strong influence in her household. Yeah, 169 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: and she really needed it, because Conroy even kept her 170 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: away from her own family. He encouraged the Duchess to 171 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:38,079 Speaker 1: keep Victoria away from her quote wicked uncles, and by 172 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: isolating Victoria from her paternal family, the royal family, right, 173 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: Conroy hoped to create a better position for himself should 174 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: William the Fourth die before Victoria's majority, and that was 175 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: really the plan because hopefully, if hopefully her Conroy, if 176 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: William the fourth died, then the Duchess of Kent would 177 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: become regent, and because Conroy controlled the Duchess of Kent, 178 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: he would essentially rule in Glenn. So it was all 179 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: a play for power, definitely, And at one point, when 180 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: Victoria was sick with a serious illness, Conroy and the 181 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: Duchess even tried to pressure the sixteen year old princess 182 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: into extending her minority from aged eighteen to age twenty one. 183 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: She refused, though, yeah, with the help of her governess. 184 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: Actually that was something that really endeared the woman to her. 185 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: But the Kensington system obviously couldn't maintain this strict privacy constantly. 186 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: I mean, she was a queen to be and so 187 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty, the Duchess of Kent decided that she 188 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: wanted to sort of validate her own education system but 189 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:46,439 Speaker 1: also show off her daughter to Victoria's future people. So 190 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: she set up this series of examinations by three clerics, 191 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: and Victoria performed really well. The Duchess was valid validated 192 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,599 Speaker 1: because I think the cleric said, yeah, we couldn't you 193 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: couldn't do anything better. She's being educated just as she 194 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: should be. Um. But the Duchess also arranged for Victoria 195 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: to travel some and see her country, and that was 196 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: pretty pretty major event in young Victoria's life. Yeah. And 197 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty two, before Victoria toward the Midlands and 198 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: North Wales, she was given a journal by her mother 199 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: and she kept a journal for the rest of her life. 200 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 1: I think we talked about that a lot in the 201 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: Victoria abdual Caream episode, so we know that she eventually 202 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: even starts die like journaling in Hindustani, which is pretty impressive. Yeah. 203 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 1: But what's interesting is when you look at these early journals, 204 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: sometimes the politely restrained entries in Victoria's journals of that 205 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: time period contrast with the quote behavior books that she 206 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: kept from eighteen thirty and on for her governess. And 207 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: these books, basically, I mean you told me a little 208 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: bit about them, Sarah. It's basically like her governess wanted 209 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: her to judge herself, so write down her her opinion 210 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: on her conduct, on her how she performed in her 211 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 1: studies for the day, and do that every single day, 212 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: so a real self judgment. So just to illustrate some 213 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,719 Speaker 1: of the differences you'd see between the two sometimes um 214 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: In one Behavior Book entry from September thirty two, she 215 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: wrote that she had been very very, very very horribly 216 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: naughty with many exclamation points, all caps, all caps. But 217 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,959 Speaker 1: on the same day as the horribly naughty entry, all 218 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 1: she wrote in her own journal is that the heat 219 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: was intolerable. Yeah, So, I mean, I think this gives 220 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: you sort of a sense of Victoria as a young girl. 221 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: She's she's sort of dramatic. She has this dramatic flare 222 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: to her, maybe melodramatics. And would say, but she's also 223 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: good at at either concealing things or or just sort 224 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: of sort of playing it cool, you know, not divulging 225 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: everything in her journals, maybe because I don't know, afraid 226 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: a parent might read it, or just practicing for the 227 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: restraint she would need as queen. So she had a 228 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: lonely childhood, but not a completely miserable one. She had 229 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: a ton of pets. She liked plain dress up, she 230 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: liked writing. She compositions inspired by popular novels, and she 231 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:06,959 Speaker 1: also watercolored and would paint costumes and poses after attending 232 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: the theater or concerts. And she was also strongly attached 233 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,680 Speaker 1: to her uncle Leopold, her mother's brother and the one 234 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: time husband of the Charlotte who had died in childbirth, 235 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: the one we mentioned earlier in this episode. He lived 236 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: in Surrey until becoming King of the Belgians in eighteen 237 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: thirty one, and it's through Leopold's work that she meets 238 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: her future match. Yeah, so, only three months after Victoria's birth, 239 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: her mother and Leopold's other brother, the Duke of Saxe 240 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: Coburg Saalfeld, also had a child named Albert, and it's 241 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: it's really kind of cute. Victoria is born at the 242 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: beginning of the summer and Albert's born at the end 243 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,719 Speaker 1: of the summer. But Albert was the second son with 244 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: no fortune coming his way, so all along from his birth, 245 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: his family kind of hoped for this match with cousin 246 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: Victoria since she clearly had some good things coming to her. 247 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: So for Victoria's seventeenth birthday, the plans there. The family 248 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: starts to try to put this and into action, and 249 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: Albert and his brother Ernest and his father all visited England. 250 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: But Albert was kind of an awkward teen at this point. 251 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: He sounds really awkward. Actually, he had fainting spells. Um, 252 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: he didn't really like dancing. And Victoria was was sort 253 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: of a vivacious young girl, even though she was raised 254 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: in such strict isolation, and she really had more of 255 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: a crush on these three visiting Persian princes anyway, so 256 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: we're gonna put Albert on the back burner. He didn't 257 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: make a great first impression, but apparently she put him 258 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: on the back burner as well. She did too, But um, 259 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: we need to move on anyways, because Victoria had some 260 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: pretty big changes coming her way. Yes Early on June 261 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: twentie thirty seven, King William the Fourth died. He had 262 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: managed to stay alive just long enough for his niece 263 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: to reach majority. She was barely eighteen when he passed away, 264 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 1: and after being told of her new position, Victoria met 265 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: with the Privy Council and they were really impressed with her. 266 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: She carried herself well, she spoke well. Plus it was 267 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: sort of romantic to have this teenage queen well. And 268 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: she's really an unknown quantity at this point because of 269 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: the Kensington system and the way she's been raised. But 270 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: for Victoria it was just a total relief. She was 271 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: free at last, and she moved to Buckingham Palace and 272 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: for the first time she had a room to herself. 273 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: And she's sort of on bad terms with her mother 274 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: because of the way she had brought John Conroy into 275 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 1: her life and all of that, and pushed her mother 276 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: away into far away apartments in Buckingham Palace and sent 277 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: Conroy off entirely and really enjoyed her independence and sort 278 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: of lived it up as you might expect a teenager too, 279 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: but later said it was the least sensible and satisfactory 280 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: time in her whole life. So she she clearly realized 281 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: that she overindulged a little bit in her newfound freedom, 282 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: didn't maybe take her role as seriously as as she 283 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: wish she had later, and there were some errors that 284 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: she made in that early period. She started a close 285 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: relationship up, for example, with Lord Melbourne, then Prime Minister. 286 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: He boosted herself confidence but also shaped her politics. She 287 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: became a Whig at this time and taught her to 288 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: partly ignore social problems or write them off as the 289 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: issues of agitators. Yeah, and that partisanship, which, of course 290 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: the Queen was not supposed to be avertly partisan like 291 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: that really led to trouble, and two crises broke out 292 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty nine, and the first was the Hastings affair. 293 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: And this is just sort of a scandalous would be 294 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: pregnancy story, but basically Victoria forced Lady Flora Hastings, who 295 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: was a maid of honor with Tory connection, so divergent 296 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: from Victoria's own politics, to undergo a pregnancy examination and 297 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: it turned out that Hastings was not pregnant. That was 298 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 1: sort of scandal number one. Then within a year, Hastings 299 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: died of a tumor that hadn't been diagnosed by Victoria's physician, 300 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: scandal number two. While that's going on, though, there's another 301 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: another issue brewing. Yeah, the bed Chamber crisis, which occurred 302 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: when Melbourne resigned in eighteen thirty nine and was replaced 303 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 1: by Conservative Sir Robert Peel. But Victoria wanted to keep 304 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: her old wig ladies of the bed chamber, so Peel 305 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: wouldn't take office, and this caused a huge scandal. Yeah, 306 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: so Victoria's desire to be independent, that's probably kind of 307 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: at root of the two scandals we just mentioned, but 308 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: independent as in single too, and that desire did not 309 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: go over well with Parliament with her people, she needed 310 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: an air so Victoria reluctantly started to interview eligible Protestant 311 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: princes and it was kind of slim pickings. So in 312 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty nine she invited cousin Albert back to England 313 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: from his studies at the University of Bonn. And he's 314 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: not an awkward teenagerney more. Victoria's smitten. She wrote in 315 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: her journal, Albert really is quite charming and so extremely handsome, 316 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: a beautiful figure, broad in the shoulders and a fine waste. 317 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: My heart is quite going. Yeah, he was the one 318 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: and she liked what she saw, and since he was 319 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: not allowed to Victoria proposed marriage just a few days later, 320 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: and the couple were married that February February eighteen forty 321 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: and it wasn't the most popular marriage match that could 322 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: have been, at least at first. Parliament wasn't pleased that 323 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: the crown was about to get even more German. That's 324 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 1: how they saw. The couple even spoke German at home, 325 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: so that was a big deal. And also the British 326 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 1: aristocracy found Albert to be overly moral, to academic and 327 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: to artistic. But the marriage also ironed out some of 328 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: Victoria's controversy before. We're happy at least that she was 329 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,360 Speaker 1: married and there would be an heir in the future. Yeah, 330 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 1: and it's certainly changed the way Victoria planned to rule, 331 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,879 Speaker 1: which we're going to look at as well. Yeah, and 332 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: this is about where the movie Young Victoria leaves off. 333 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,679 Speaker 1: I think they have the conjoined desks, and it's super cute, 334 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: but that's not exactly how things were going. So the 335 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 1: desks did exist, though, I was pleased to warn that. 336 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: So for the first few Victoria was really determined to 337 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: stay independent. She she liked ruling on her own, and 338 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: so they did work at those conjoined tandem desks, but 339 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,199 Speaker 1: Albert only got to block her signature, which for a 340 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: very ambitious and talented and educated man, this was pretty frustrating. 341 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: Of course, we all know Victoria starts to have lots 342 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,680 Speaker 1: of kids, and biology really changed the course of things 343 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 1: for her. She got pregnant within weeks of the wedding, 344 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: and bit by bit, Albert started to take on more 345 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 1: important tasks. He would send dispatches, he'd attend meetings with ministers. 346 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,119 Speaker 1: He even got the key to the secret boxes, and 347 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:53,160 Speaker 1: over time he also started to change the way Victoria 348 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 1: thought about things and affect her politics. Even her governess 349 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 1: was dismissed, who had been the former main influence in 350 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: her life. And in eighteen forty two there was an 351 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: attempt on her life, and and the kids just kept 352 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: on coming to right, well, there were so many of them, 353 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:11,400 Speaker 1: were just going to list off their names really quickly. 354 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: Princess Royal Victoria also known as Vicky, Prince of Wales, 355 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: um the later Edward the seventh, Princess Alice, Prince Alfred, 356 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice, 357 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: and the grandchildren started arriving only two years after her 358 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,199 Speaker 1: last child was born, so she did not have a 359 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: gap in mothering so to speak. No, she really didn't. 360 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 1: And because she was out of commission so much of 361 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: every year, every single year, Albert really took on an 362 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: almost regent like role, and he did in fact get 363 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: a regency bill that allowed him to act in the 364 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: event of Victoria's death or in capacity. But by ET five, 365 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: an observer named Charles Greville wrote, quote, it is obvious 366 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: that while she has the title, he is really discharging 367 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: the functions of the sovereign. He is the king to 368 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: all intents and purposes, and Albert saw his role though 369 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 1: as adviser to the Queen. As he later told the 370 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: Duke of Wellington, his goal was to quote to be 371 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: the natural head of the family, superintendent of her household, 372 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: manager of her private affairs, her sole confidential advisor in politics, 373 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: and only assist in her communications with the officers of 374 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: the government, her private secretary and permanent minister. But he 375 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: do all that at the expense of his own identity 376 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 1: and pretty much working himself to death in the process. 377 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: So he wasn't going after titles or were public recognition. 378 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: He just wanted to play this role and do it 379 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: for Victoria and to to hopefully do good at least 380 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: that's has that That's how he saw it. So their marriage, though, 381 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: was generally considered to be a happy one and something 382 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: that really set a model for people in the Victorian era. 383 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: They focused heavily on educating their children. They had these 384 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: sort of middle class tastes, especially Victor Coria, because Albert did, 385 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: after all, really like science and technology and art and 386 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. But Victoria liked reading Dickens novels 387 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 1: and going to circuses and seeing wax works that sort 388 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: of thing. And the couple also liked their privacy, and 389 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,440 Speaker 1: they're really famous for that. Albert built residences at Osborne 390 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: and Balmoral Castle for them to escape too, and and 391 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: as we I think we mentioned in the Cream Abduel episode, 392 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: those retreats really become even more important maybe to Victoria 393 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: in her in her later life right. But Victoria also 394 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: shouldn't be thought of as a model Victorian wife and 395 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 1: mother figure. She had serious postpartum depression at times, and 396 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,160 Speaker 1: she did not like being pregnant, and she really didn't 397 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,400 Speaker 1: like babies that much in general, she didn't even really 398 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: like kids. She called pregnancy the quote shadow side of 399 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: marriage and compared herself to a cow or dog while 400 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 1: she was pregnant. So that's kind of shocking, i'd say, 401 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: coming from someone who her identity is all to hide. 402 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: With these family portraits of her and Albert and all 403 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: of their little tiny kids sitting around the Christmas tree 404 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,719 Speaker 1: or sitting around at home relaxing, it does seem different. 405 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: But I mean it's just to show that this couple 406 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: had an effect on on their country, for sure, But 407 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: they also led a private personal life too. Yeah, but 408 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: part of her dislike of childbirth was that she wished 409 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: she had gotten more time with Albert alone. In late 410 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty one, Albert, who was forty two years old 411 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: at the time but much older looking, raced off to 412 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: Cambridge to chastise his eldest son over an affair he'd 413 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 1: had with a prostitute. And after that, Albert pneumonia and 414 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: took to bed. Doctors diagnosed what he had as typhoid fever. 415 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 1: But that was probably a mistake, um modern analysis shows, 416 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: and there hadn't been typhoid fever in the area at all, right, 417 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,120 Speaker 1: and so but at the time that's what they thought 418 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: it was. And they dosed him with brandy until he died. 419 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: And though Victoria always blamed the death on their son, 420 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: Albert had known for some time that he wasn't feeling 421 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: very well. So it was probably stomach cancer, I think, 422 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: is what we now think he had. He had definitely 423 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: been sick with something. But Victoria, as as we talked 424 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 1: about in the last episode, and as most people know, 425 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 1: went into deep mourning after Albert's death, and she she 426 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: said of him. Without Albert, everything loses its interest. But 427 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: we need to talk about their legacy too, because the 428 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,360 Speaker 1: idea of the the happy couple of Victoria and Albert 429 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: almost emerges more after the fact, because while alive, Albert 430 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,679 Speaker 1: had been often unpopular and sometimes even used as a 431 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,440 Speaker 1: scapegoat because he was foreign. Victoria's decision to name him 432 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: as Prince Consort, for instance, in eighteen fifty seven, had 433 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: been terribly mocked. She tried to justify it by saying, well, 434 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: our adult children are going to start to outrank him 435 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:51,239 Speaker 1: because he's a foreign prince. But people just thought it 436 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: was a ridiculous decision. But over time it became clear 437 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: that he had greatly assisted Victoria and helped shape her monarchy, 438 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 1: and that they're happy and wrong marriage had influenced the 439 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: country's tastes and morals, so people started to think on 440 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,879 Speaker 1: the couple fondly, especially by the queen's old age and 441 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: by the height of her popularity. So the perception of 442 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: them together definitely changed over the years, and and looking 443 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: back to they left quite a legacy. Albert's grand achievement was, 444 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: of course, the eighteen fifty one Great Exhibition at the 445 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace, and even over the years that people looking 446 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,640 Speaker 1: back on that, realized what a high point it had 447 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,719 Speaker 1: been for England. And another great legacy of theirs is 448 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: the Victoria and Albert Museum, which sort of originally came 449 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: out of the Great Exhibition, but was was named the 450 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: Victoria and Albert Museum really really late in Victoria's life, 451 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: clearly a sort of touching tribute for her. I'm sure 452 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us on this Saturday. 453 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: If you have heard an email address or a Facebook 454 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: you are l or something similar over the course of 455 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,400 Speaker 1: today's episode, since it is from the archive that might 456 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: be out of date now, you can email us at 457 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: history podcast at how stuff Works dot com, and you 458 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: can find us all over social media at missed in History. 459 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 460 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else 461 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. 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