Queen Victoria's Private Life Described In Her Own Words | A Monarch Unveiled | Real Royalty

[@arleneshanley9889]

Just because she had things doesn't mean she wasn't abused. This kind of thinking is why people who suffer emotional and psychological abuse aren't believed.

[@Grannievore]

Amen.

[@mangot589]

Oh god please just stop. She felt sorry for herself like any teenager. She DID go out. Abused? Good god. K let’s play a game. How was she abused? Your move

[@arleneshanley9889]

@Mango T If your dismissiveness were any more palpable, I would have actually heard your eyes rolling.

[@bonnylouwho76]

True that. Powerful and controlling families, can really be tough on children. This is why it upsets me that the RF is so mad at Harry and Meghan. A gilded cage is still a cage, being forced to be silent is damaging and always has been. In any family anywhere.

[@roycobb8268]

@@bonnylouwho76 , you told it like it is and I thank you! I didn't have such a happy childhood! I told my mother about how she abused me! After she said that she was abused! All she kept saying was " I took care of you didn't I". Someone once told me that she was supposed to do that! But nobody has the right to abuse a child! Children are a gift from God! I feel that anybody who abuses a kid! They might as well give them up for adoption! I chose not to have kids! A wife yes, but kids no! I don't think I would abuse a child of mine! But I feel I'm better off not having none for different reasons! God bless you 🙏,!

[@shortylucy]

By far, this is my favorite documentary of the Queen Victoria. She was so complicated, so uncensored, a revolutionary. I do wish they would have touched on how she changed animal welfare…. She was pioneer and advocate for animals and pets. Regardless, this was a very informative and beautiful documentary.

[@anastasiatep7935]

Yeah and hhow she advocated for heroin route in Asia to be used by English colonies that killed millions of people in India.yeah what a wonderful women

[@ebanydwayne1357]

Talk more about it! I'm obsessed with her, never knew about this

[@eunicestone6532]

If she would have just advocated as much for HUMAN WOMEN. She, being a woman, should have done more. Very disappointing that she thought more of dogs.

[@mrsmarple2655]

It was Prince Albert, not Victoria.

[@tordyclark]

@@eunicestone6532 I mean yeah. I don't see how VIctoria was revolutionary or in fact anything other than a stone on the throne. Inherited position. The Victorians did more to mess future women up than to help them. Men too TBH.

[@tiffanystidham5329]

This is one of the best British Royal documentaries I've watched on KZbin! I love the narrator -- he's a great story teller, & transports me back to QV's life/reign, like I'm watching her relive her life. I also love the woman who's reading the passages from QV's journals -- I could listen to her read/talk all day long. Lol 🖤👑

[@ronj5714]

I just love how the narrator flips from the British accent into the German accent when he refers to who was speaking. Such a delight. Well done.

[@jessicahampton5622]

and the scottish

[@davidpaterson1435]

@@jessicahampton5622 ???

[@lisawilliams2013]

@@jessicahampton5622, yes! He did a nice job doing his John Brown “impersonation”!

[@talitam.8414]

I don't think she was struggling to have motherly feelings because she was just obsessed with her husband. I think it goes deeper than that and it may have started during her childhood and her relationship with her own mother + unresolved trauma. How can you mother a child when you were not mothered properly yourself.

[@mangot589]

She wasn’t un mothered”. She was probably over mothered. Albert had much less mothering and he was an EXCELLENT father, or at least he tried. What’s a “proper mother” ANYWAY? Man, wait until you have kids. Good luck there. Did you even watch the video? She realized her mother did love her and was crushed after her mum died. She was just a snotty teenager that had no clue, like we all do. And she grew UP with her sister! And she had a brother, too.

[@loretta_3843]

@@mangot589 like I said in a comment, Victoria was so self indulgent. When her mother was alive, she was just awful, then dead, she was the abandoned little girl who couldn't get over her loss. She would have driven me insane 😕

[@tamaliaalisjahbana6849]

Exactly. To blame it all on Prince Albert is too simplistic.

[@talitam.8414]

@@mangot589 First of all why are you aggravated? This is not about you. And yes I did watch the entire documentary which I think was great. And by the way you can still very much love your child with all your heart and soul and mess them up or have a fraught relationship with them. The 2 concepts are not mutually exclusive, it is usually what happens. Also the fact that Albert had a more or less problematic relationship with his own mother does not negate what Victoria went through with her own. They were 2 different persons and 2 different kids with different needs, characters and level of resilience. Hell! siblings from the same family need different types of care and don't deal with problems the same way.

[@firstnamesecondname451]

There's also a theory that she suffered from post-partum depression, which is fairly common and, if untreated (which it would have been as it was not a known condition at the time) can lead to long-lasting difficulties in the mother/child relationship

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

One of the better docs on this queen. Brings HER to life way more than many other than focus boringly from the outside of her. Well done.

[@lindafields2326]

Torturer of India. Empress... Pah!

[@isabellind1292]

@@lindafields2326 Doom and gloom...no need to invite you to any parties!

[@garymeise673]

I have seen so many Victoria documentaries and I really love this one. I still learned some things new and I'm grateful that the focus was her diaries and letters. And thank God you guys got Anna Chancellor to read them she's brilliant. That really sealed the deal.

[@ashleelarsen5002]

Cool, thanks 👍🏻

[@jharder2094]

Wonderful documentary. Saw first on local PBS affiliate, which ran series twice! I always pick up more on who this remarkable person was.

[@beverlytaylor636]

@@ashleelarsen5002 ....................................................,,

[@beverlytaylor636]

" ccc. CFL

[@ashleelarsen5002]

@@beverlytaylor636 huh?

[@mw4724]

Wish there were more documentaries on Victoria. So hard to find good ones like this one

[@OkieJammer2736]

Love this. Very well done. Non-biased, very well researched. And INTERESTING. I learned so much.

[@shelikestuff]

Being a mother of 9 in those times is something.. childbirth could be deadly and she did it successfully so many times. Wow

[@NyraBrowniez]

Imagine what would have happened had she died bearing her first

[@eh-i1841]

She was only 4’10,so it can’t have been easy.She was given chloroform to ease the pain,though.

[@christinesentman5437]

Still happens today

[@christineduffy3113]

​@@eh-i1841She had the best care possible at that time the poor living in the slums of London most likely died

[@feyrol42]

⁠@@eh-i1841that was only for her two last pregnancies. So she had seven pregnancies with no drugs.

[@Carrie_13]

Queen Victoria fascinates me but the way this story was being told by the host in this video is brilliant! He's the best ever!

[@esenamyaayaaasamoah5616]

Thought same! The voice changes...

[@transatlanticize]

he showed how pathetic and mentaly unstable and sick she was

[@tonics7121]

This presentation is both honest and respectful, revealing and kind. Thank you for truth without ugliness. A plank well walked.

[@tiffanystidham5329]

_@tonics7121_ -- Very well said! 🙂

[@SelinaCat]

Wow, this guy's interpretation of her childhood is so obtuse. She had no socialization with kids, cut off from the outside world, then had a traumatic event when she was dismissed being close to death.

[@marthamccabe1477]

Much of comes from her own writing.

[@ExtraNope]

He also did a ridiculously simple minded impression of Victoria's mother, mocking her for missing her daughter... all while being the real life Sheldon Cooper in all the worst ways.

[@stephaniemurria5534]

She had a sister and brother that she had contact with regularly.

[@ajbotte1003]

As to brother and sister…they were not children she played with…one was 13 years older, one was 11 years older…

[@SelinaCat]

@@stephaniemurria5534 are you suggesting that a young child speaking to siblings counts as childhood play? My OP was saying she grew up to be a narcissistic adult because she was literally deprived of ever having a single friend who she had an emotional connection to. She was a psychologically abused child obviously. Wealth actually increases that risk. People with more to lose (like her mother) rationalize ignoring children's emotional distress "for their own good" to provide for them. But money is genuinely irrelevant to a child. All they know is no one cares about their distress.

[@Bun_Bun1984]

I love this guy! He’s so theatrical when reading quotes.

[@mommajan1]

yes, what is his name?

[@carolannemckenzie3849]

He name is A N Wilson. He is a marvellous writer, mainly of biographies, and a national treasure

[@lizzabug87]

21:42 I think it’s wrong for him to exclaim that the myth of her unhappy childhood began. She is the only one who lived her childhood, she knows what she felt, just because she played with dolls and dressed up her dog doesn’t mean she was not abused or unhappy, she probably would have been clinging to the little things that brought her joy. He shouldn’t speak on her experience as such. 😢

[@mariolanursecoachboardcert2460]

Childhood trauma is evaluated differently now . Especially ACE adverse childhood experiences . If she felt abonament, it is real to her. Or neglect ( emotional) , this was real to her.

[@DeborahMcgee-t8c]

Every little child needs someone to play with it doesn’t have to be a brother or sister, but at least you have friends. I was an only child, but I had lots of friends to play with. I didn’t know my father and it does affect you in years as it does growing up.

[@melissasaint3283]

1:02:25 "marriage does infantalize people" What a sweeping stereotype! Did it infantalize Albert? We can hardly take her experience of her marriage, at a very young age, to apparently an emotionally abusive, controlling person who wanted to be as much the King as possible, particularly after tween and teen years spent in extremely similar circumstances, as a typical example, can we? Getting up and not knowing what to wear unless our partner tells us, is absolutely not typical, and not a great sign of a person in a healthy situation.

[@ChristineMason-d7s]

I would think that her ladies would help her dress appropriately, If this was the case with her husband, he was definitely and abusive narcissist,

[@larashortneecorreia2418]

Since I moved here from SA, I am so glad to see all the history buildings and stories. Then I saw this Queen Victoria wow, it is revealing that she loves writing, so her life is pen and paper, love this history of Victoria.

[@reneemellott8612]

This is an excellent documentary that truly enjoyed ❤️ thank you for sharing with us!!

[@mevinscott948gmail]

hello how you?🥰😘😍

[@katherinebehan5664]

I enjoyed this,doimemtory

[@MichielBLKorte]

This documentary does glorify John Brown a bit. Victoria's children had reasons enough to dislike him. His younger brother was appointed as a servant to Prince Leopold and physically abused him for months. When the Queen was told this, John Brown assured her it was a lie, even though it wasn't. John Brown was also responsible for reporting all Bertie's actions to the Queen and exagerating his sins in Paris to distance mother and son. He had awful rows with Princess Louise because he thought her too loose and disapproved of her lover. Brown also allegedly (no proof) fondled Queen Victoria's underage daughters, he bullied Prince Arthur and maids later said they'd been scared to tell the Queen that Brown had touched them inappropriately.

[@feyrol42]

I've heard all of these things and believe them, but I never heard that he assaulted Victoria’s daughters. Where did you hear that?

[@kimma508]

This documentary on Queen Victoria is the best that I’ve ever seen. It’s so well done and detailed. Just incredible!

[@jillkursner6494]

A remarkable woman. Simply giving birth to nine children ,in those times, was an achievement in it's self.

[@MegCazalet]

I’ve seen Anna Chancellor read Queen Victoria, and her own ancestor, Jane Austen. She’s amazing. I wonder if she’s narrated any audiobooks. And she played the perfect Lucia in the Mapp & Lucia miniseries several years ago. She’s just such a delight.

[@mevinscott948gmail]

hello how you?

[@samanthasmith61]

where can i see her Jane Austen one. she was descendants of Murray, Finch Hatton, Edward Knight Austen. her great"" grandmother was Lady Elizabeth Murray who lived with the first black aristocat Dido belle, she then marry Finch Hatton and met jane austen several times Lady Elizabeth's son and heir George finch hatton 10th Earl of winchilsea married Fanny rice ( daughter of Jane Austen's niece Elizabeth Austen Knight) that's how they are connected to everyone

[@ellenamontana1352]

I thought Jane Austin had no children?

[@samanthasmith61]

@@ellenamontana1352 she descended from Edward Knight Austen, Jane's rich brother who got adopted by Knight family.

[@MegCazalet]

@@ellenamontana1352 “Ancestors” are not only direct line, though that’s considered most significant. Chancellor is the great-niece of Jane Austen eight generations removed, through Jane’s brother Edward Austen Knight, who was adopted by the wealthy Knight family to be their heir. Subsequently Edward was the most wealthy and powerful in Jane’s family during her lifetime, as well as among the closest, her favorite niece being Fanny Knight. That line of Austens did a lot to carry on Jane’s legacy and promote her in the mid-Victorian era, spring boarding her into a fashionable classic author of British Lit, as she of course deserves.

[@christoffellner84]

What an interesting documentation. The life of Victoria, as a Queen, woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, shows how much the women of the 19th century are still in the shadows of myths and prejudice. Time for them to come to stage. Btw. Would it be possible to have such a documentation on the Belgian Kings and Queens?

[@tarful58]

She was actually the only child, so she was never a sister.

[@christoffellner84]

@@tarful58 Not precisely. Victoria has had two older half siblings (a brother: Karl, Prince of Leiningen; and a sister: Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg) from an earlier marriage of her mother.

[@FigaroHey]

Do they actually ever PROVE that Albert 'punished' Victoria for resenting his domination? She is described as someone desperately seeking a father-figure, which means WANTING someone like a father to tell you what to do, guide you, protect you, relieve you of the need to figure out and control everything on your own. Then they say that having got a husband she never ceases to bless God for, her mainstay, they make him into a villain, even though of course he could not legally ever wield ANY political power. Like ANY happily married person, she thinks that her husband (or wife, as the case may be) is the one partner you rely on, turn to, and trust FIRST before anyone else. I help prepare young couples for marriage, and only rarely have I seen a couple in which one or both of the partners thinks the other person's advice or ideas or preferences or 'ways' are contemptable. I advised the couples strongly NOT to marry. When I see couples who feel that the other person is the first person they turn to, who always want to know what the other one thinks, who takes their partner's opinion and input as the most trustworthy and reliable, then I know they will make a good marriage partnership. I don't know why they are saying that a woman from that era, especially, who always wanted father-like approval from men, had to be controlled or manipulated by her husband to act as Victoria did. She was acting perfectly in character for a woman deeply in love with a husband she admires and respects. I think feminism has so twisted the views of some of the presenters in this programme that they are filtering Victoria through their own prejudices. If her husband was such a monster, she'd have breathed a sigh of relief after Albert died, not mourned him for decades. You don't mourn an abuser.

[@sophiachavez3377]

Ah, but some do. You are familiar with the Stockholm Syndrome, aren’t you?

[@blahblahblahblah729]

Exactly, and this was in the 1800s, of course the husband would lead and control. Victoria herself didn't even want woman to vote! Why are people surprised that her husband was in charge? She was a conservative woman.

[@dominaevillae28]

@sophiachavez3377 You’re aware, aren’t you that Stockholm Syndrome is is a term created to cover up complainant from hostages of police incompetence?

[@livingincaptivityIII]

Victoria abused (and neglected) Albert, far more than he did her. Her shock at his passing and her guilt caused the excessive mourning.

[@盧璘壽로인수]

1:05:18-1:05:20 understatement; *Vicky inherited her mother's lack of fashion sense* which was also reflected in their correspondences (Eugénie even had to send a carefully measured mannequin with the latest French fashions) 1:10:56-1:10:58 as explained in 1:11:03-1:11:16, initially Victoria & Vicky didn't like Alex, who along with her siblings the children of Christian IX *burned for revenge over Schleswig-Holstein* ; eventually both gave way because *there was no other potential candidates left* who could basically "tame" Bertie

[@brendadrew834]

Fascinating, love this! An "Anglophile" and proud of my British background on my American maternal side which goes all the way back to William the Conqueror and 1066! The Drew family is one of the oldest families in the UK and is mentioned in William's Doomsday book where he compiled all the landowners and original families in England. Cheers from Yankee New England were we still have some similar customs here like authentic English teas at historic inns , hotels and homes and many of the historic towns and cities here are named after the ones in the UK ever since the 1600s/1700s, like Plymouth and Boston, the cradle of our hard won democracy just 246 years ago. In the time frame of 1000 years, really not that long ago when you look at those numbers!♥♥

[@ccc4102]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@josephpacetexas]

You write very beautifully.

[@kincaidwolf5184]

Love everything that you said, but William the Conquer is now viewed as a villain. He genocided the English population. My family pre-dates the invasion.

[@lisagfrerer9429]

Excellent documentary, best one ive seen in a long while. Im going to watch it again now :)

[@tamaliaalisjahbana6849]

It did not go from estrangement to mourning her mother's loss when she died. In between Prince Albert intervened to heal the rift with her mother. Also, a lot of her anger probably came from her childhood. The models she had and the fear and frustration she felt. It is not really fair to blame all of it on Prince Albert. Also, his idea to move the monarchy towards a more constitutional monarchy in facing face republicanism was a very good move. It may well have saved her monarchy what with her tendency to go against the will of parliament. He also seems to have been very kind to their children. Had Vicky's husband survived longer, Germany's fate would have been very different carrying out Albert's liberal beliefs. Compared to a lot of men at that time he actually does not sound bad. She loved him very much and says that he made her happy. I would tend to take her word for it.

[@ChristineMason-d7s]

His original goal and deal with her mother was to take control of the monarchy. In order to do this he had to push Victoria down, make her feel inadequate. Typical narcissist.

[@vickimanzano2976]

I finally learned a few things I didn't know about Queen Victoria. Beautifully done❤

[@larkatmic]

She was humbled later in life, because she grew obese depressed and lonely. When she broke from her depression, she recognized life wasn’t all about appearances, but friendship and true companionship.

[@zzzbbbooo]

In fact, the older she got the more she grew OUT of the depression she fell into after the deaths of Albert and her mother close together.

[@ImAmerasian]

Entertaining and informative. Speaking in a German accents was awesome! Absolutely love it.

[@missfittrr]

Unfortunately one of her daughters chose to destroy much of her writing/letters after QV died which would have given even more insight to the inner Victoria which was allegedly what her daughter feared!

[@ChristineMason-d7s]

I guess her daughter was a control freak like her father.

[@lchan90a]

Thank you so much for sharing! 🙏🙏

[@Jpturlax01]

Wait wait wait... Albert: Why don't you adore the children more? Victoria: BECAUSE I WANT YOU ALL TO MYSELF! (absolutely no red flags here) Narrator: And so, despite Albert's conniving and selfish nature, Victoria nevertheless strove harder, working hard on herself... Yeah, I don't think it was herself she needed to work on.

[@LivingLegendMe]

She was pregnant most of the time. If only Albert had given it a rest.

[@dianakidd4219]

@@LivingLegendMe Sounds to me like Victoria loved sex. After Albert it was the Scot.

[@bonnylouwho76]

@@LivingLegendMe I always thought of that as well. He kept her pregnant in part because he wanted to BE the KING! Had to keep wielding his torch.

[@blahblahblahblah729]

​@@bonnylouwho76 She kept getting pregnant because they kept having sex, and she wanted it as much as he. When a doctor told her to stop having sex to not have more children as it could be riscky for her health, she was sadded and asked what were they supposed to do at night.

[@katd.2000]

Anyone have a giggle when he had the German accent when reading excerpts from Albert’s letters? 😂

[@marta9127]

This is an excellent lesson in secrets of a historian's work. So much depends on the interpretation of the sources. Which view is accurate? 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ Ultimately it depends on the scholar with his own framework 😅 And his/her viewpoint on life and values he/she professes. Watching documentaries, reading books we should always remember that this is not the objective truth that we see, but the interpretation through someone's (the authors') glasses, marked by their own assumtions. This film reveals more of the author's attitude towards marriage, social relations and his view on womanhood, feminism and royalty than of anything else, I guess. With some statements I can agree, some others seem to be just emotional interpretations having no foundation in the source texts... 😅 One has to watch this critically, though. Thank you for sharing 👍🏻

[@greggc.touftree5936]

Ahh yes, A.N. Wilson. He makes it so easy to enjoy English history. An Englishman that we think was like the past, but only the modern world could create.

[@davidpaterson1435]

English history?? There hasn't been an English Monarch since 1707.

[@newyardleysinclair9960]

I love how they cut to the cleaning guy vacuuming after the host walked by up the stairs as if to say "wtf man!?" It's like they knew what they audience would think

[@Davidfooterman]

Victoria, despite being thoroughly German, has a reputation that survives two world wars against her country of origin of being one of our most revered ‘English’ monarchs. That is an extraordinary achievement on her part.

[@ps603]

One has to wonder if powerful people long for someone to "Take Control" in private. It seems that more than one royal may have felt this way.

[@LivingLegendMe]

Harry for example?

[@YankeeinTexas812]

Queen Victoria was such a fascinating woman/ monarch . It’s amazing how she journaled everything. Too bad her children destroyed what she had written about her relationship with John Brown .

[@sophiachavez3377]

Yes, but maybe it was better she was allowed her privacy.

[@debraverzi9269]

Her instructions to her daughter was to alter/filter her writings.

[@mariolanursecoachboardcert2460]

Some aspects of life and love are sacred

[@giselematthews7949]

A N Wilson has been around FOREVER.. I like him. He is a good presenter

[@davidpaterson1435]

He talks utter nonsense. There hasn't been an English Monarch since 1707. Mouth full of marbles and doesn't know the basics of the topic he is talking about 🤣

[@byronworth244]

Sometimes there almost seems as if there is some outside guide influencing our lives. Earlier today my Grandson asked me a question from his Homework. The question being: Which 5 of our Country's Leaders of England and or Britain have had the biggest impact on our Nation since 1066. The topic of this presentation Queen Victoria has definitley made a impact. I would suggest 4 out of the 5 have been Women to make the biggest impact. I would add both Queen Elizabeths, and Margaret Thatcher to the list, and without Winston Churchill as our War Time Leader the Second World War might not have had the same outcome. I am saying this from a Man's view point, so any of you out there wondering if there is a gender bias with my picks, it would seem unlikely. Yours truly. Byron

[@jensmith4005]

1:35:45 I love that her chair was adjusted to her height. As I am the same height as her according to Google, I understand this wonderful consideration made to her. Wonderful documentary! Oh how I wish her diaries were not edited/destroyed.

[@sunnyadams5842]

I sooo wish her diaries hadn't been messed with, too. I am not convinced that QV asked Beatrice to clean them up, post mortem. The request might have been made in writing - I haven't researched that at all, yet. If not, I'm not at all willing to overlook her forthrightness and sense of her own appropriateness. She even published some of her works while she was alive and didn't edit them. Divine Right goes a long way to believing that one cannot misstep.

[@FigaroHey]

They way they make Albert into a manipulative control-freak seems to me over the top, and also makes Victoria seem like a complete ninny. She was controlled by a 'hormonal cloud'? Come right out and accuse her of 'hysteria' and 'feminine weakness' why don't you? She was passionately in love with Albert and he put up with a LOT of crap and public resentment and English xenophobia as well as being effectively cut off from any possibility to prove himself as a man on the world stage, so he must have been passionately in love with her. He's not a controller, she's not a hysterical female. They are complex people in an extraordinary situation and deeply in love. Of COURSE there were sparks. Doesn't make him a demon and her a fool or tool.

[@wishingwelladventures]

Your research and quality of story telling is excellent. Who keeps a journal these days. Imagine if they had Facebook and twitter.

[@lds22466]

1:18 “no monarch had ever published a book before” Not true! King Henry 8th’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr was a published author. She published her first book Psalms or Prayers on April 25th 1544 and a year later published the first book in England written in the English language, Prayers or Meditations. This book was published under her own name, a first for a woman in England.

[@CarolienV]

Catherine Parr wasn’t a monarch though.

[@carolynkennedy1083]

John Brown wasn't an Albert substitute- he was a father substitute.

[@piushalg8175]

To say that Queen Victoria Ruled (the world) is very exageratd if not untrue. As a constitunional monarch she had to be consulted and iinfomed by the prime minister and she could give advise to him. The real center of power was the parliament.

[@edwardslicker6126]

He doesn't give Albert his due...nor talks through the deal between them

[@dondavis5633]

A well-crafted, fascinating biography which I very much enjoyed. Thanks so much!

[@emilinebelle7811]

Her handwriting is so pretty! But I can’t read a word of it. Fascinating ! 18:21

[@cherylcallahan5402]

*Queen Victoria in her own word's appreciate your videos Listening 🌟 from Mass USA TYVM 💙 Queen Victoria 👸*

[@loretta_3843]

I can't help it, I find Victoria very self indulgent. I find myself very annoyed with her so often.

[@andycam4645]

Love AN Wilson! He is a brilliant biographer.

[@gayprepperz6862]

The more I learn about QV, the more I realize how dis-likable she was as a person. Not a friendly type at all, and she ignored her subjects for decades after Albert died. In fact there was more than a few times when the public began to wonder out loud what they needed her for. She wasn't a sweet and likable mother either. This is perhaps true of many monarchs in their private lives. I don't think of her as their greatest Queen, as she barely involved herself in anything, it's just the length of her rule. The best Queen was QE I, for her political savvy, and QE II for navigating some of the hardest times in UK, and for the duration of her reign. She also kept herself out there for the people almost to the very end.

[@ElizabethWarrenYeahYeah]

From minimalist to knick-knackery! Priceless 😂

[@kendralynn897]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a documentary put such a negative spin on Albert. Very interesting..

[@teresa9613]

I thought the same thing. I don't quite buy it.

[@sophiachavez3377]

Yes, but probably true. He was a man and a German one at that.

[@livingincaptivityIII]

​@@sophiachavez3377 What on earth are you implying?

[@Dark_forest835]

The queen's real name is Alexandrina Victoria. Victoria is her middle name. The first name was given to her in honor of the Russian Emperor Alexander I - her godfather.... If anyone didn’t know this.

[@lindapepper1067]

Surprising to see the diaries being handled without gloves to protect the paper from body oils.

[@vijayaprabu6669]

These are copies... I belive and not original

[@harridan.]

@@vijayaprabu6669 excellent point.

[@dusanputnik]

If any original ever existed :)

[@Vintage_Chronicles]

I work with old books professionally. It depends where you are working, but gloves aren’t needed. Washing and drying your hands is preferable. We have noticed gloves make people a little clumsier with pages and can cause more harm than good. We don’t recommend them and neither do many other institutions. But as stated above, these seem to be copies.

[@盧璘壽로인수]

again with the whinging about handling old papers *MANY TIMES PROVEN WEARING GLOVES INCREASES PAPER DAMAGE*

[@kathrynjordan8782]

The best documentary on Queen Victoria I have seen. It brings her to life using her own words. Thank goodness for her papers and diaries.

[@FigaroHey]

Her stern advice to her daughter trying to warn her off marriage... partly sounds like her own revulsion at her bodily functions on the one hand, and a case of 'turning into her mother' on the other: trying to 'spare' or 'protect' a child by going way too far in warning the child off taking adult steps in life. She's doing to her own daughter what her mother tried to do to her: control her future in the name of 'protecting' the child.

[@virginiasoskin9082]

I think the term is infantilizing. Her Mother even made her take someone's hand to go down stairs even as a teen -- so she wouldn't fall. Geez. And then somehow Conroy wormed his way into the relationship between Victoria and her mother; he hectored, bossed, and insinuated himself, to the point that when Victoria lay ill, he tried to get her to sign over her royal rights so he could be her regent. Luckily she refused. Victoria was disgusted when Vicky her daughter was breastfeeding Wilhelm. HORRORS! This is what the lowest classes do; yet it is the healthiest way to bring up a baby without allergies. It cements a mother's closeness to a baby. Victoria missed all that bonding; she thought babies were like frogs, laboring and nursing women like cows. She missed so much by being made queen so young. She enjoyed her kids more once they were older, but really Albert was in charge of playing with them and educating them. I always feel that if these royal kids were able to go to school with other everyday children, develop their own friendships, act like normal kids without special treatment, they would learn some confidence, independence, and experience the lives their subjects do. However, at Gordonstoun School, Prince Charles was terribly bullied. If he would have been able to go to local London elementary through HS education, he might have turned out more normal. Royal life is NO way near normal. I don't know how they exist inside their bubbles even though terribly wealthy. It is kind of sickening really.

[@Davidfooterman]

However, regarding the content, I have nothing but respect for this great chronicler of English history.

[@ebanydwayne1357]

Victoria will always live, overlooking the streets and parks in all the continents with statues of her, through the memories and legacies and stories of families, her letters, biographies and movies made about her. She is the greatest Briton and ever will be.

[@virginiasoskin9082]

IMHO, Churchill tops her in saving the UK during their worst crisis in history.

[@ebanydwayne1357]

@@virginiasoskin9082 Let me rephrase then, shes the greates female breton in history (which may be debatable because of Boudica and Elizabeth I, but imo still Queen Vicky)

[@annevonaichinger2075]

I adored this fabulous documentary on Queen Victoria. Perhaps what helped to keep her going and gave her solace and insights, was the power of her journalling. More than her huband and her subsequent friendships, her pen was quite likely her most faithful companion. ❤❤❤

[@shelbyiscool9420]

17:50 makes me feel like I sat next to a person on the train that's telling me something and I'm just sitting there like 🤓 great documentary though!

[@Blessings.429]

I own a seal that is Empress of India Seal Ring. Gold seal in either silver or white gold. I know nothing about the ring or how I come to have it….I wore that and a necklace with bust of Queen Elisabeth on the day of Elizabeth’s funeral and for the next 10days, it was my pleasure to remember the 2 greatest Queens in my opinion.💖💖💖

[@ukphone4183]

She was a good looker when she was young just like her mum ❤❤

[@name1of3]

I adore that the letters were bound into books. How glorious.

[@sedonarose7563]

I feel so much for Victoria and the toll of bearing and raising children and the demand and yet I also feel for her children who felt unloved. I feel like I am her. We women are “supposed” to just “loooove” having babies and being mothers and nurturers but the truth is that it is very hard and grueling work. Work. It is work. I think more women struggle with this expectation placed on us than is given credit. I’m so grateful that in today’s culture I am able to do work and labor outside of childcare and support my family. I am so much happier working out in the public in the medical field than working as a caregiver for raising children. It’s so nice to come home at the end of the day and enjoy my kids as their mother and not be utterly exhausted from having worked all day being a child caregiver. And for those men and women who feel fulfillment in child caring and child educating, you have my gratitude for your help in bringing up and loving children

[@dianakidd4219]

Victoria had nanny’s. I doubt she ever changed a diaper.

[@juliethompson340]

Victoria gave birth to 9 children. She hated pregnancy and the agony of labor and the birthing process. Her babies had a wet nurse and nannies. She kept getting pregnant because she loved having sex..a lot of sex. Lucky, Albert, had to keep up with her. They might have tried some form of birth control at some point (after they figured out how she got pregnant) otherwise, she could have had a lot more kids. I wonder how she satisfied her sexual appetite after poor Albert died.

[@mariaconnolly6672]

❤❤❤ Absolutely brilliant 👍 so informative, makes her feel more real ❤❤🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@Colls515]

Queen Victoria would have been all over social media and instagram. Reposting the latest drama, #blessed pictures of Albert helping out with the cute kids 😂

[@factcheckersbranch]

There is nothing was nothing cute about her and her kids. The royal family are nothing but a, out of date draconian black mark upon this once great nation of Grea Britain.

[@emilyaustralis]

I am one of the descendants of King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan née Bland an Anglo-Irish actress and courtesan . He was still the Duke of Clarence . All of their 10 illegitimate children whom survived took the surname FitzClarence.

[@stephanieredden8861]

Nice video and worth the two hour watch. The narrator was wonderful and I loved his salmon suit, worn with his green Converse sneakers. He was a sharp dressed man throughout.

[@deborahleone4351]

All the history books and channels will have to be updated now, since Queen Victoria no longer holds the “longest reigning monarch” title. That title now belongs to dear Queen Elizabeth II, when upon her death in 2022, she had reigned 70 years and 214 days. Queen Victoria has reigned for 63 years, 7 months and 2 days. Queen Elizabeth II’s reign is also the longest ruling female monarch in history! God bless you, Your Majesty......May you enjoy Peace and rest with the Greatest King of all......Jesus Christ. ♥️🙏🕊✝️🙋‍♀️💕💜🕎🌺

[@Davidfooterman]

She was well schooled: Conroy and her mother taught her how and what not to be; then, Melbourne and Albert took a blank slate and did pretty well with it. If those two had been of both less and lesser moral stature, we might not be as fortunate in the legacy she left us. Conroy was the ‘not amused’ Victorian; Melbourne and Albert were amusable and amusing; and Victoria could be amused!

[@Davidfooterman]

Albert ‘did pretty well’? No, I think I might have misspoken on that one!

[@CarolinaFrasineanu-rp3xw]

Very interesting documentary,i really liked it, thank you

[@nativetexan53]

Why do people not believe a person when they say they were unhappy and abused as a child??? WTF?

[@dominaevillae28]

@nativetexan53 Why don’t people believe when they subsequently say that their mother is beloved and the best mother ever, wtf!?

[@aubreyl5531]

If Victoria had been "Victor" I wonder what the tone of this biography would be

[@kenyonbissett3512]

I believe they loved each other without intercourse. A prolapse uterus does not preclude an orgasm. He gave her what Albert could not due to his ambition and coldness. John Brown gave her devotion and his absolute attention. He encouraged her to be a better person, something she had wanted as a teen and young woman before the fog of desire and pregnancy robbed her the ability. No competition with a child’s love or a political career drawing John Brown from her. John Brown had no interest in politics or power, just her, her as a person and woman. What a lucky woman she was.

[@melinda6024]

Poor Victoria..if only she had known that wedding your 1st cousin was actually incest and arecipe for disaster. She and her cousin both had the genes for the disease Hemophilia, which affected her grandchildren. so much inbreeding occured in the royal families. Darwin also wed his 1st cousin, and they both had the gene for Chrom's disease. He and his whole familie suffered and died from this terrible illness.

[@Flamsterette]

*A RECIPE *CROHN'S *FAMILY

[@Davidfooterman]

Mozart piano sonatas, like the well-chosen fragment of one of the C-majors heard here, with their elegant, light 18th century structure, match the straightforward emotional expression of Victoria herself, but not the self-aggrandizing Victorian’ style of her 19th century Britain. She was a fish out of water, a simple German countrywoman surrounded by an urban, palatial complex at the heart of the colonial British empire, which must have intensified her sense of loss after Albert was gone. The iconic statue outside the Buckingham Palace grounds sums it up - the imposing body image with the tiny crown on her head, being as much of a burden as she was able and willing to carry.

[@carolannemckenzie3849]

That's a very insightful summary of QV.

[@latetotheparty4785]

I was raised in a small Cornish community in Northern California. After all the placer gold (nuggets loose in rivers) was gone, gold veins were found in the local granite. The Cornish came with their mining expertise and my hometown of Grass Valley sits on top of miles of shafts. We referred to the them as Cousin Jacks and Cousin Jennies, these terms never used pejoratively. There was record album of the carols in the 70s, and Grass Valley still celebrates Cornish Christmas carols yearly. One thing that has not gone over so well are traditional Cornish pasties. Imagine a small calzone or chicken pot pie, filled with tasteless potato, boiled chicken in plain white sauce, the pastry pale and tough. These meat pies were for miners to take into the mines, so they were functional, not gourmand. It could take hours to get to the level of your mine, and the pasties had to survive until warmed and eaten. Two pastie shops opened at the same time in Grass Valley around 1970 and those of us who ventured to make a purchase made that mistake only once. There is still a pastie shop open, I’m sure the chef has greatly improved both flavor and texture, but I’m not taking any chances.

[@bewilderedbrit8928]

Fascinating, even if you are a hypocritical American. I'd eat a Cornish Pasty over "meat loaf" any day of the week.

[@Flamsterette]

This is irrelevant.

[@juliethompson340]

So, what are you trying to say? How does your comment fit into what is being discussed here.

[@joyshillaker840]

That's not a Cornish pasty. Flakey golden pastry filled with diced beef, potatoes and swede heavy on the black pepper . Savory and tasty.

[@stevenbrown6277]

Great documentary. Thank you.

[@railireid1757]

Very Captivating with so notable care for photography. Full of details and well acted!La personalità che sembra realizzare pienamente e quasi incarnare un'epoca storica

[@IamMichelle88]

What's interesting is when I was pregnant someone at my job, some guy said I walk like a penguin. When I watched the beginning of this,I could've sworn someone referred to queen Victoria or she wrote down something in her diary regarding this. Regarding being referred to as a penguin or some similarity with 1.

[@MamieLouiseAnderson]

Beautifully read… marvelously told, this is the perfect compliment to the PBS series, “Victoria” Thank you.

[@Davidfooterman]

The censorship by Beatrice, and the stuffy 19th century British society were so powerful that, even as we now know the details of Victoria’s private life, we still imagine her as ‘not amused’.

[@TheKts525]

Well done! Thank you I thoroughly enjoyed this!

[@hippiechick2112]

I love this documentary. But as a narcissist abuse survivor, I can reassure you that you can have it good, but still be abused. It's all a show.

[@joannem6878]

I was shocked at how much Beatrice looks just like Victoria when she was young.

[@FigaroHey]

So much of this seems rubbish: ask ANY woman who has lost a husband after some 20 years, and if he was a good husband whom she deeply loved, respected and revered, she will not necessarily dissolve into a puddle of self-pity, she will very likely pull up her socks and get busy and do what needs to be done (like be monarch), constantly remembering 'what my husband would advise.' NATURALLY she will become much stronger and more free, not because her husband was a brute or because marriage 'infantilized her,' but because marriage to her true other half completed her, helped her find who she could be, helped her take all the baby steps her mother didn't allow her to take, or society didn't allow her to take. OF COURSE she became much stronger and more self-assured. She HAD to do that, and she had had so much support from Albert over the years that she developed self-confidence without knowing it or needing to exercise it strongly. But without Albert, she HAD to mature, fast, and become a single monarch. It all makes perfect sense without saying that Albert was a bastard the way they make him out here. He was her training wheels. When he died, the wheels came off and she had to ride alone, and she rose to the occasion because she HAD to - like so many widows or indeed, divorced women and single mothers. Not because she necessarily wanted to do everything totally on her own (talk to single mothers, divorced women and widows getting on with life without a partner's support), but because she HAD to. Good on her. Proves she wasn't the tool they make her out to be here, just a woman in a learning process.

[@blahblahblahblah729]

And also, if it was up to her, she would have continued to be the widow of windsor. But the people were angry, asking why they were paying for a queen that didn't work for them. She HAD to get to work or there would be a constitutional crisis.

[@barbaraclark8693]

Fantastic maybe the new monarchy should review there history well done

[@racheldoesacrylic4089]

great to find out so much history thankyou x

[@Lemieux_7]

Greg, I feel ya. I refuse to watch the Netflix show. Thanks for taking 1 for the team 😂

[@hayleyj9656]

I don't love how they ignore her own words and say she just didn't know she had a good childhood. Also suggesting that she had no agency in her marriage because she was "hormonal" This discrediting of Victoria's own will comes across as a bit infantalising and dismissive.

[@sunnyadams5842]

Has anyone analysed Victoria's story through the lens of Narcissism? So many elements are blatantly driven by Narcissism It's so glaringly obvious, I'm stunned that hasn't been the primary perspective to explain so many things you guys just leave unanswered as to why. I'll take time to write more if anyone is interested.

[@salyluz6535]

If so, considering her childhood it is certainly not unexpected. So if you want to claim narcissism, you will need to focus on the reason why. Also, considering that her very life was due to the need of a monarch for England, and she was the Queen and Empress for most of her life, I don’t think most people would be surprised about some narcissism! I think the more interesting thing is considering her formative years, what caused her outlook on life and her own mindset? What elements impacted her mental health? As a child she was taught to perform and focus on externals, was treated coldly, with such disrespect and even hate by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, completely objectified and commodified, constantly manipulated, criticized and unloved, that for self preservation she had to begin thinking highly of herself and her future. It was a survival mechanism to make it through childhood. She was denied the right to have friends. She did not have loving, trusting relationships with anyone at all. She was emotionally stunted and immature because of this love deficit in her heart. She desperately desired a large happy family with two loving parents, so that’s what she worked to create later. But she had never really learned how to have healthy relationships in her youth. What would you expect when your mommy constantly chooses men over you, and sometimes wishes you dead?

[@marthamccabe1477]

The same could be said of her son Bertie and future king. I'm no convinced it was pathological. More of a twisted sense of entitlement given to personalities of greatly diminished self esteem.

[@redds7209]

I don’t understand how one could navigate divine sovereignty any other way- living for the the country.

[@bunnymad5049]

Fabulous. Thank you!

[@manuellubian5709]

52:22 - We know that the Diary of Queen Victoria was heavily censored and mostly redacted by her grown daughter Princess Beatrice. It's hard to know just how many of rhe 130 volumes or so, were NOT actually re-written by Beatrice. However, I am curious to know whether or not the book, shown here, "Letters between Queen Victoria and the Princess Royale" was produced in England or, was it something compiled and produced once 'little' Victoria had already married and moved to Germany as the wife of Fritz?

[@rhondaflowers3824]

Omg! Keep it coming 🎉

[@amandamariechristinadavis110]

I really liked this documentary on her.