Miriam Margolyes reads Queen Victoria's letter to her daughter

[@gottathinkupanewone]

After one of Vicki's children died, Mama comforted her by telling her that she needed to buck up and get over it, because losing a child is nothing compared to losing a husband. Because Victoria's suffering was always far more insufferable than anyone else's suffering.

[@freshname]

No. Because losing a child was a norm. The norm, actucally.

[@51Saffron]

@@freshname It might of been the norm, but families were devastated just as much as today.

[@florindalucero3236]

It is so bizarre how loving and kind she was to one child, while being an absolute ghoul to all the rest.

[@thisasiankidistrashfordram374]

While Prince Albert still lived, Queen Victoria was often at odds with Vicki, as she was jealous of her eldest child being the apple of Albert's eye. Mother and daughter only really grew closer after Vicki got older, got married off to the Kaiser's family & after Prince Albert died. So before her husband died, Queen Victoria kind of treated ALL her children ghoulishly. Maybe she didn't mistreat or ignore her kids all the time & she didn't treat them all equally so, but it took a while for Queen Victoria to really care about any of her children. To be fair, she was the reigning Monarch of Britain & its Colonies, so work took much of her time & when she wasn't working, her husband sometimes withheld much affection & understanding. Prince Albert spent more time trying to wrestle more power of the British throne and British Government for his agendas. Allegedly, he could be very manipulative of his family members in order to control them, especially his Queen wife. Princess Victoria/Vicki was a child prodigy in various subjects, like languages and maths. She could speak multiple languages fluently by age 3. So of course, her very scholarly, very German, serious father doted on her the most. Prince Albert wasn't too great at relating to his more emotional, more passionate, more romantic wife, so he spent more time with his intellectual eldest child Vicki. Vicki was Albert's favorite because she was so much like him & had more similar interests.

[@alisoncooper1421]

Post natal depression was not recognized until the mid 1980's and even now it is not fully understood. It is now considered that Victoria suffered from post natal depression along with many woman of that era, many having 7-15 children in as many years,enough to make any woman depressed before the post partum stage. I understand Prince Albert, kept her "in child" so he could increase his involvement with British politics. It was a politically arranged marriage and while there is no doubting Victoria loved Albert, I think Albert, while a very talented intelligent man was a manipulative husband with his own agenda and Victoria pandered to his every whim although she could not get the British Government to create him King Consort.

[@michaelplunkett8059]

​@@alisoncooper1421Kept her in child???? Or it reflected the intensity of their relationship. He was NOT debased as his father and brother were. Nor was she like her Hanoverian reprobates. Stop the rewriting of history.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Miriam Margolyes is an icon, a legend and she is the moment.

[@cxzact9204]

Woah, I was not expecting a Wendy/ Drag Race quote here. 😂 But I agree!

[@mooniejohnson]

I love Miriam so much... she's a treasure. Also, I can say with certainty that all babies come out looking like Winston Churchill; do with that what you will.

[@joshuagraham3854]

Prince Albert's list of accomplishments is not inconsiderable for a Prince-Consort, but perhaps the most overlooked one is that time when Queen Victoria asked him what his favorite catchphrase meant, and he was able to convince the most powerful person in the world that the word "pecker" meant "spirits". Also noteworthy is that he sired nine children with Victoria, strongly indicating that he was a man who knew well how to make use of his own advice.

[@GullibleTarget]

, the word pecker was used as a vulgar word for penis in Canada and what is now the U.S. In England the term was indicative of it's true meaning: to peck. I.e. to repeatedly hit a flat surface in order to break through. The birds known as woodpecker are admired for their tenacity when going through a hard surface. So if you are feeling down or something is bothering you: keep pecking, you'll get through this hard time if you just keep your pecker( a woodpeckers beak, a nail to a hammer, a pick-axe)up. So no: it had nothing to do with keeping your d**k up😂 Your version is a lot more entertaining than the truth, though! 'Keep your pecker up, mother' Victoria:'What did you say?!' Leopold:' Papa said it means keep one's spirits up. He says they say it in Germany all the time!' Victoria: "Bertie; what are you teaching our children?! You KNOW what it means!" Albert: 'lol'.

[@YakumoChidori]

Well, she is writing about the future Wilhelm II, I am sure he will be a very nice and peace-loving child...

[@magesalmanac6424]

I think there was another level somewhere where she describes him as a spoilt and obnoxious child.

[@wingzero595]

@@magesalmanac6424wasn’t he her favorite grandchild?

[@margaretdownie4407]

I really do love this woman, what I talent, what you see is what you get 💜💜

[@pistolannie6500]

I would LOVE to hear MORE of Queen Victoria's writings!! I DO wish they would be published.... release them in Volumes. 2-3 volumes a year... good for The Crown.... to bring revenue.. as they would sell like Crraazzy!

[@v2krpl37dh]

There are loads of editions. There's a book called Letters to Vicky that's just a collection of her correspondence with this daughter.

[@alisoncooper1421]

I recall Jenna Coleman, who portrayed Queen Victoria, in the TV show VICTORIA, saying that one could read all of Queen Victoria's letters on line. I couldn't access it from New Zealand but believe it was freely available in the UK.

[@lindaclark1406]

More, more, more of Miriam. ❤❤❤

[@CatsandJP]

Love Ms Margolyes. Well there is a saying “the only good kid is a sleeping one”. We can all take that advice and “keep our peckers up” in 2023 Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@karldelavigne8134]

I do wonder whether Queen Victoria was quite so strident in her speaking voice. We only have one dim recording of her in old age. But this was artistic licence, and good fun.

[@karenburrows9184]

As much as I admire Ms. Margolyes, I agree with you up to a point. Her voice has been trained mainly for stage drama, therefore is more forceful, but I have heard her normal speaking voice and believe it would have served her better in this portrayal. I do not believe in using artistic license in portraying actual historical characters on stage or film, but that is my opinion. Her delivery is that of someone desperately trying to communicate with a hard-of-hearing audience.

[@frglee]

This was written in May 1859 when Queen Victoria had just turned 40. Artistic licence for sure, and she's very funny, but it seemed to me as if Miriam did make her sound rather older.

[@michellebyrom6551]

This brought my Grandad to my side (1901 - 1982) he often said Keep your pecker up. Nice thoughts to everyone.

[@JenMaxon]

Oh she's marvellous

[@michaelmontagu3979]

Queen Victoria often referred to children as ugly. When her granddaughter Marie Louise was staying with her, she telegraphed the parents saying, 'Children all well but poor Louise very ugly. ' When the princess was older she asked her grandmother had said that, the Queen replied, 'My dear, it was the truth.'

[@butchbinion1560]

Thanks, great job. ✌🏻👊🏼

[@dbyers3897]

Queen Victoria & her oldest daughter, as Crown Princess of Prussia & later Empress Frederick, were daily correspondents. Mama was famously direct in her descriptions & appraisals of people including her own family. Many view this as rudeness but she was simply being honest. What a joy to hear from someone who actually said what she thought.

[@karenburrows9184]

Having read "Letters to Vicky" among other studies of Victoria, I am sure a common impression would be that she bore a bad temper and was brutal in her assessments of both people and things. This made her responsible for the misery of her staff (and the humiliation and rapid decline of one of her ladies-in-waiting who was actually terminally ill). A thoroughly self-absorbed woman who, I think, secretly believed in the divine right of kings. However, I do think that much of this can be laid at the feet of her mother and her councillor, a thoroughly unscrupulous pair.

[@firesushu]

Definitely being incredibly rude while still being honest. There are better ways to communicate without being rude.

[@graceygrumble]

@@firesushu Exactly! There is a difference between being honest and being socially inept. I become so annoyed when ghastly people get away with being ghastly people because others make the excuse of "That's just their way," and are afraid to confront them. It bloody well shouldn't be 'their way'!

[@katehardwick4283]

And when I do that I’m a bitch!!!!!!

[@beakeeper5243]

@@firesushu agreed! reminds me of the Richard J. Needham quote, "The person who is brutally honest enjoys the brutality quite as much as the honesty. Possibly more."

[@nvzmv]

is it just me or does the clapping at the beginning of this video sound like soothing rainfall

[@LuinTathren]

“Keep up your pecker!” I need to remember that one. Keep up your pecker, everyone, as we enter a new year!

[@Canalcoholic]

The saying is usually “keep your pecker up”, and is only addressed towards men.

[@suzymatwetwe]

Aaahhh, Miriam ❤️.

[@jen43072]

Oh I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Miriam got that letter as a proposal to do this. I can imagine the exact moment she said yes to the project. 😉

[@chetanmanjesh5887]

Has anyone noticed that Miriam uses a slight German accent?

[@kevinlance1813]

It struck me while hearing this that perhaps the greatest benefit of being a Monarch is the concept of being considered earnest even when the rest of us are considered vile in the same context. Not that the Queen was in any way vile or that she didn't love here children (which I'm certain she did), but in contemporary times most of us have to filter our thoughts when expressing them openly.

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

LOL! Awesomely read!

[@--Valek--]

I like this queen now

[@SafetySpooon]

"QUEEN PIGLET FEATURES????"

[@VanessaPeacock-bb5ei]

We've never been so insulted in our entire lives! Then all I can say is, you've been damned lucky!

[@Dr.TobiasFunke]

1:59 what's that French phrase?

[@ellen3931]

Avoir tant d'entraide = have so much support (for it)

[@jonmarck]

Why do you mix these so quietly? This is nearly inaudible.

[@hannahk1306]

Queen Victoria's story is actually rather sad - she reportedly never liked nor wanted children, but due to the lack of effective contraceptive options available and expectations of an heir (and apparent love of sex) she ended up being an unwilling mother. I believe that had she had proper contraception she may have chosen to have 2 or 3 children later in life to fulfil the "need" for an heir, but certainly not as many as she did. I imagine that previous royals had fewer children because they were political marriages where they didn't enjoy each other's company and only really had sex when they were trying to conceive, which is sad in its own way. There's also evidence of fertility issues that can be identified in certain parts of royal history.

[@CaliforniaFarmGirl]

Let’s be honest. We all believe the same thing about newborns. We just don’t say it out loud.

[@lakeireland]

Some of us do. “Why is his face like that? Did you drop him already?” was the 2nd thing I said to my brother about his newbie.

[@ashTame]

First to view! Love Miriam and love Letters Live!

[@rossrennie182]

Andy I was there it was amazing it will get bigger . Andy the Police were very nice . The Anti mob were disgrace

[@Trucmuch]

1:28 you can tell she's not amused

[@Catseye189]

Queen Victoria was a cruel and odd parent

[@briandelaney9710]

She’s reading as if Queen Victoria was an old lady when this was written but she was only 40

[@sukanya3231]

All those centuries of in breeding really shows .