Concetti Chiave
- Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, during a succession crisis due to the aging heirs of George III.
- The "race of the royal dukes" was an effort by George III's sons to marry and produce heirs, influencing Victoria's christening.
- Victoria's christening was marred by the Prince Regent's restrictions, allowing only a few guests and avoiding traditional queenly names.
- In 1840, Edward Oxford attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria but missed; he was later deemed mentally unstable.
- Queen Victoria survived multiple assassination attempts in 1842, leading to legal reforms imposing prison and flogging for such acts.
When was Queen Victoria born?
Victoria was born on the 24 May 1819 in the middle of the succession crisis. By this time George III’s six daughters and seven sons were moving into their fifties.By 1817, they had only managed to produce one legitimate heir, Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Prince Reagent. When she became pregnant by her popular husband, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the English people were delighted. But her baby boy was born dead and within hours, she had fallen into a fatal fever and she too died. The country mourned her, and the politicians began panicking over the lack of an heir.
The race of the royal dukes
In the hope that Parliament would pay off their huge debts, the royal dukes embarked on a race to marry and produce children.
The Duke of Kent began courting Prince Leopold’s sister Victoire, Dowager Princess of Leininghen.
Victoire was initially reluctant to marry Kent, who was an indebted duke twenty years older, but finally accepted and soon fell pregnant.
The Prince Regnant was infuriated by his brother’s success in producing a child and took his revenge by spoiling the christening. He allowed only a few guests to attend and refused to let the child bear the names associated with queens, such as Charlotte, Augusta or Elizabeth.
On the actual day, the Archbishop of Canterbury stood with the child over the font, waiting for the Prince Regent to inform him of her name. Finally, the Regent said, “Give her the mother’s name”. Her first name was Alexandrina, but she quickly became known by her middle name: Victoria.
Queen Victoria’s attempt murders
On the 10th June 1840, the Queen, who was pregnant with her first baby (Albert Edward) from her husband (Prince Albert), was having a carriage ride in London when an 18 years old boy, Edward Oxford, tried to shot her two times. Fortunately, he missed his target but he was accused of lese-majesty. He was saved only because he was called mentally unstable.The motive of this act remains nowadays uncertain: someone believe that Oxford wanted just to show himself; others call into question the Chartism that demanded better social reforms; also Victoria’s uncle and heir, the king of Hannover, was contemplated to be one of the instigators.
On the 29th and 30th of May 1842, Queen Victoria risked to die two times because of John Francis, who maybe remembered how Oxford was freed. Firstly he pointed his gun to the Queen’s head but it did not work, then he tried to shot her but his aim was wrong. At the end, Francis was exiled forever in the colonies.
On the 3rd of July of the same year, John William Bean decided to shot Victoria with a gun full of paper and tobacco. He should have been punished with the capital punishment but prince Albert let the Parliament approve a measure in which it was said that whoever tried to attempt the life of the Queen should have received seven years in prison and the flogging.
Queen Victoria will die on the 22nd of January 1901 after 63 years of reign because of her old age. She was buried at Frogmore House.
On the 9th of August 1902, Edward VII was crowned king of England and the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty (during WWI the name was changed in Windsor) had begun.
Domande da interrogazione
- When was Queen Victoria born and what was the context of her birth?
- What was the "race of the royal dukes" and how did it affect Queen Victoria's christening?
- What happened during the first assassination attempt on Queen Victoria in 1840?
- How did Queen Victoria survive multiple assassination attempts in 1842?
Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, during a succession crisis as George III's children were aging and had produced only one legitimate heir, Princess Charlotte, who had died in 1817.
The "race of the royal dukes" refers to the rush among George III's sons to marry and produce heirs to secure the succession. This led to tensions at Victoria's christening, where the Prince Regent limited the guest list and dictated her name, avoiding traditional queenly names.
On June 10, 1840, Edward Oxford attempted to shoot Queen Victoria during a carriage ride in London. He missed, was accused of lese-majesty, and was spared due to being deemed mentally unstable.
In May 1842, John Francis attempted to shoot Queen Victoria twice but failed both times. Later, in July, John William Bean attempted to shoot her with a gun loaded with paper and tobacco. These attempts led to legislative changes, imposing prison sentences and flogging for such crimes.
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