The documentary is narrated by Kate Williams, author of Becoming Queen, and she retells Victoria’s story beginning with her grandfather George III’s reign until her marriage to Prince Albert.
Young Victoria includes interviews with Lucy Worsley, Historic Royal Palaces’ Chief Curator; Simon Skinner, University of Oxford; Hannah Greig, University of York; Clarissa Campbell Orr, Anglia Ruskin University; and historians Juliet Gardiner and Sir Roy Strong.
The documentary is interspersed with excerpts from Victoria’s diaries (both as Princess and Queen). Diarist Charles Greville describes Victoria’s Coronation in detail.
Family Feuds
Most remember Queen Victoria as a sour, ageing monarch whose empire included one-quarter of the world’s population. She was a passionate and excitable young girl who clashed with her ambitious domineering mother and Sir John Conroy, her father’s former equerry. They saw the Princess as their meal ticket to riches. It was also one of the fiercest mother-daughter battles in history.
Hope of a Nation
It is an extraordinary family saga beginning with George III. He produced a large family of nine sons and six daughters. However, the King’s profligate sons produced several, but mostly, illegitimate children. They gambled and created huge debts.
His eldest son, the Prince Regent, produced an illegitimate heir, Princess Charlotte, who married and happily set up home. The monarchy was thrown into chaos when Princess Charlotte tragically died in childbirth after giving birth to a stillborn son.
Victoria’s life was shaped by her forgotten cousin’s life. Wives were quickly found for George III’s unmarried sons and the baby race began in earnest.
The Duke of Kent—considered to be the best of a bad bunch—married a widowed German princess, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg.
Heiress-Presumptive
They produced a daughter, Victoria, who became the fourth in line to the British throne at six months, when her father died from a serious illness after walking in cold, wet weather. The nation was plunged into mourning days later when George III passed away. Victoria now became third in line.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent chose regal-sounding names for their daughter’s Christening, but the Prince Regent insisted the baby was named Victoria after her mother. Victoria became heiress-presumptive after George IV’s death in 1830.
His successor, William IV, the former Duke of Clarence, clashed with Victoria’s mother on several occasions. The Duchess took Victoria on grand tours to boost her popularity. Victoria often described these trips in her diary.
William was determined to survive until Victoria came of age on her eighteenth birthday, rather than see the Duchess of Kent become Regent. Victoria’s struggle for independence continued after she became Queen, but it was the beginning of the modern era.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
