Not so very well known information about Queen Victoria demonstrates that she was very good to her household staff, yet on the other hand treated some members of her family and government Ministers dreadfully. Sometimes she had trouble remembering that she was a Constitutional Monarch as opposed to Absolutist, but on the other hand her life was full of comical episodes and humorous anecdotes.
Victoria, Babies and Children
The young Queen was disenchanted when she found out Albert wanted a large family, and while she was pregnant with their first child, Vicky - she found the experience uncomfortable and got in the way of carrying out her duties. She became pregnant again within three months of the birth - and she was furious.
There was scarcely an episode of longer than 18 months when she wasn't pregnant, and she bore pain very badly which led to her being administered with chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold in 1853 - this caused public and religious criticism, but she paved the way for women to have pain-free childbirths.
In later years, prior to the marriage of Vicky and Fritz - the German Emperor, Victoria warned her about having too many children too close together. She described it to her as similar to the behaviour of 'rabbits and guinea pigs', mentioning its negative effect on her appearance over time, it got in the way of carrying out her duties, and being pregnant had no aesthetic value in a role where public appearances were required.
Victoria was known to have remarked that 'An ugly baby is a very nasty object and the prettiest is frightful'. She did not approve of breast-feeding and once when she caught her daughter - the Princess Alice, suckling one of her offspring she had a cow installed in the royal dairies and named 'Princess Alice'.
Victoria, Gladstone and the Irish
She was often at odds with Gladstone - one of her Prime Ministers, and in the days when you could not sit down unless invited whilst in the presence of the Sovereign, she would deliberately remain standing so he had to, despite the fact that he was 20 years older than she - and in his eighties.
The Queen was a staunch Protestant, and found that the Greek Church was the only other desirable religion beyond her own because she found it more tolerant - she viewed Catholics as hypocritical and less accepting. With regards to the Irish she visited Ireland and liked the country - but she found the people were quite troublesome, on the other hand she adored Scotland and her estate at Balmoral.
'We are not Amused'
Victoria's most famous quote dates back to 28 June 1889 at the evening entertainments at Windsor. She was a huge entertainer and had all of the best musicals and performances acted for her at her estates, on this particular evening members of her family were acting out a show - under the supervision of Sir Alick Yorke, the Queen's minstrel.
During the evening Yorke told a rather risky joke to one of the female German courtiers who literally folded in fits of laughter and intrigued everyone - the Queen told Yorke to repeat the joke for her, but she did not find it humorous at all and declared 'We are not amused'.
However, Victoria was amused and it was general knowledge that she had an advanced sense of humour. When she was 70 she stayed at Windsor Castle one night and opened a window to admire the starry night. A nearby sentry mistook her for a young maid and began to flirt with her quite openly -she bolted but commented that she found it hilarious.
Further Information about Queen Victoria
She didn't like smoking and had NO SMOKING signs in every room, she would make guests go into the garden if they wanted to smoke, and when her daughter Lenchen became engaged to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein she allowed him to use a damp and white-washed room near the servant's accommodation.
Nor did she take to modern technology, Victoria rarely used the telephone - but she was forever sending and receiving telegrams, and she did not like the invention of the Daimler motor cars in the 1890's and found them smelly, noisy and a very uncomfortable methods of transport.
Sources:
Life at the Court of Queen Victoria by Barry St-John Nevill, Webb & Bower Publishing Ltd, 1984
The Life and Times of Queen Victoria by Dorothy Marshall, Weidensfeld and Nicolson, 1992
Queen Victoria: A Celebration by Deborah Jaffe, Carlton Books Ltd, 2000
See Also:
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Children
Queen Victoria's Language Skills
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