Queen Victoria

Hello! My name is Victoria, and I was a queen. I was born in a big palace in London called Kensington Palace on May 24th, 1819. My full name was Alexandrina Victoria, but everyone called me Victoria. When I was a little girl, I loved to play with my dolls and my sweet dog, Dash. I had a quiet childhood, but I was always busy learning new things, like different languages and how to be a proper princess.

One morning in 1837, something amazing happened. I was woken up and told that my uncle, the king, had passed away. That meant that I, at only eighteen years old, was now the Queen of the United Kingdom! It was a very big job for someone so young. A year later, I had my coronation, a special ceremony at a beautiful church called Westminster Abbey where I officially received my crown.

Being queen was a big responsibility, but luckily, I didn't have to do it alone. In 1840, I married my cousin, Prince Albert. He was my best friend and my greatest helper. We loved each other very much and had a big, happy family with nine children! We loved to spend time together at our homes, especially Osborne House by the sea and Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

I was queen for a very, very long time—over 63 years! That time is now called the Victorian Era, named right after me. So many exciting things were invented while I was queen, like speedy steam trains, telephones, and photographs. When my dear Albert passed away in 1861, I was so sad that I wore black clothes for the rest of my life to show how much I missed him.

I lived to be 81 years old. Because my children and grandchildren married princes and princesses all over Europe, I became known as the 'grandmother of Europe.' Today, people remember my long reign as a time of great change and amazing new ideas that helped shape the world we live in.