Queen
Victoria
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
Alexandrina Victoria,
born May 24, 1819, is the 8th
cousin -5x removed of Edward Carlton (born about 1610, died
November 29, 1678), the husband of Ellen Newton Carleton, stepdaughter of
Danette Abney (born about 1712), my 6th great granduncle.
Victoria (Alexandrina
Victoria) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from
20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from May 1, 1876, until her death
on 22 January 1901. Her reign
lasted sixty-three years and seven months, longer than that of any other
British monarch up to contemporary times.
The closest challenge to the lengthily reign was Queen Elizabeth II, who
surpassed that milestone on September 9, 2015. As of 2007, Queen Elizabeth II became
Britain's oldest-ever monarch, surpassing that record set by Queen Victoria. On
August 22, 2015, Queen Elizabeth surpassed VictoriaÕs longest reigning
record.
The Victorian era was at
the height of the Industrial
Revolution, a period of significant social, economic, and
technological change in the United Kingdom. Victoria's reign was marked by a great
expansion of the British Empire and during the period it reached its zenith,
becoming the formidable Global Power of the time.
Victoria, who was almost
entirely of German descent, was the last British monarch of the German House of Hanover;
her son King Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
A more thorough report on
Queen Victoria's life can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria
A sidelight of interest
in a personal friend of Queen Victoria and her Consort, Prince Albert, was Mr. Henry Cole,
a wealthy civil servant of great inventiveness. He is sometimes credited with the design
of the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Blank. He also created the world's first
commercial Christmas cards, printed in 1843. This was a time saver for him to be able
to reply to the many Christmas letters she received, which turned out to be a
commercial success for him. He had
artist John Callcott Horsley to do the painting from which the card was printed
in one of the early uses of four-color printing process. Mr. Cole was the first director of the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London.
Queen Victoria died,
following a lingering illness, on January 22, 1901. Her funeral was conducted, under her
written instructions, in St.
GeorgeÕs Chapel in Windsor Castle.
After two days at lying in state, she was interred beside Prince Albert
in Frogmore
Mausoleum at Windsor
Great Park.
Composed by:
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Mr. Sharpe shown here with
his wife,
Suzanne Margaret Boggess
Sharpe.