From Victoria to King George VI, this page chronicles the events in the lives of previous monarchs and their reigns. It also features tributes to other larger than life royal personages.

Queen Victoria

Alexandrina Victoria, born in 1819, ascended the throne of England at eighteen years of age to become the iconic Queen Victoria. She inherited her sovereign status from her uncle, King William IV, who died just weeks after her eighteenth birthday. The old king had outlived his (legitimate)children, and his brothers were all childless or had died before they themselves had a chance at the throne. It was all down to young Victoria.

In the event of his death, William IV realized that Victoria would need a Regent to act in her stead until she came of age to rule alone. And he absolutely refused to allow her mother, Victoire, the Duchess of Kent, to act as regent. She would be entitled to the regency, but the Duchess' scheming ways, along with her dependency on Rasputin-esque advisor Sir John Conroy, did not endear her to William. He and the Duchess did all they could to keep Victoria away from King William, refusing to let the monarch influence her in any way. They wanted her sheltered, regardless of the king's wishes to see his neice, so that they would eventually be the power behing the throne.

The king solved the problem by staunchly refusing to die until Victoria came of age to take over. William was well aware of the sway Conroy held over the Duchess, and knew that if Victoire was named Regent, the sneaky Sir John would potentially have a hand in ruling England. The thought horrified him, and, though severely weakened by age and illness, William IV fulfilled his vow to remain alive until Victoria's milestone birthday. He finally succumbed to pneumonia barely a month later.

With his death, the joint rule of England and Hanover ended. Victoria ascended the throne of England, but was barred by Salic law from ruling in Hanover. The Hanoverian line instead passed into the hands of William's brother Ernst, Duke of Cumberland.

Victoria was one of the most noted and influential monarchs of England, thus creating a "Victorian Era". She established an era of moral value and Britain flourished as a nation; it was the most powerful empire and industrial country in the world. She had territorial gains in India, Egypt, Afghanistan, Zululand, the Sudan, South Africa, Burma, and the Pacific. Britain's empire doubled, and Victoria was made Empress of India. It was because of this, at age 81, she was extremely loved and revered by her people. She was not quite as loved in the beginning of her reign, however, being as young and inexperienced as she was. (Hey, it was hard to rule the most powerful nation on earth as a mere teenager!) Victoria did have help though, and it came in the form of the prime minister and leader of the Whigs, Lord Melbourne, who gave her solid political advice.

Melbourne was a favorite of Victoria's, and this annoyed some of the people in the political circuit. Sir Robert Peel, a Tory, wanted her to get rid of all her ladies-in-waiting when he became Prime Minister. He wanted the Queen to replace them with ladies who held more of a Tory viewpoint, for at that time all of the Queen's ladies were Whigs. That was the usual thing to do when a new administration came to power, but Victoria refused and even called for Melbourne's return. Peel was quite put out by her attitude, and thus came forth the taunts of "Mrs. Melbourne" from other agitated Tories.

In the meantime, "Mrs. Melbourne" became the actual wife of a certain Saxe-Coburg-Gotha prince: Albert, the man who gave his soon-to-be-controversial name to the British Monarchy. He was the great love of her life, and a marvelous father to their nine children. Vicky, Helena, Louise, Alice, and Beatrice are the five girls of Victoria's nine children, and each was married off to a Prince or nobleman in different countries. They are the main reason for Victoria's title of "Grandmother of Europe"; Vicky married Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia and had a son who would one day be Kaiser Wilhelm II; Louise was married to John, Marquess of Lorne (later 9th Duke of Argyle) in Scotland; Beatrice married Prince Henry of Battenberg in Germany; Alice wed Grand Duke Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Helena married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Their children and grandchildren went on to marry into the royal houses of Russia, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and other countries, making almost all royals in Europe cousins and giving the Queen the title "Grandmother of Europe".

He would tour the common work places of their subjects to see how people were treated. He was the founder of the Great Exhibition - the Exhibition of the Works of Industry. Albert was always keen to take part in the administration of the kingdom, even from day one of their marriage. Albert wanted to prove to the aristocratic British Court that he was more than a lowly "foreign prince".

Eventually Albert was named "Prince Consort" in honor of his dedication to England and the monarchy. Rightfully so; by the time he and Victoria reached middle age, he had become the de facto head of state. It was he who met with government ministers and read state papers. Victoria was involved, but was less so than Albert. She had only just reconciled with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, when the elderly woman died. After her mother's death, the grief-stricken Victoria left the duties of state mainly to her husband and became more reclusive, an ominous sign of things to come.

After nearly two decades of being a mainstay in the monarchy, Albert had gained the repsect of not only his subjects but the government ministers and aristocracy. They knew that Queen Victoria was rather given to the dramatic, and were thoroughly appreciative of Albert's steadfast ways.

Albert, too, was to be taken from the Queen at the relatively young age of forty-two. He had contracted typhoid and died soon after. Queen Victoria was quite shaken by this, and fell into perpetual widowhood. She erected several memorial tributes to her husband all over England. It is safe to say that she was obsessed by Albert, whom she madly loved and respected with all of her heart and soul. For the rest of her life, the widowed queen dressed in black and became very reclusive. It was a tragic thing to happen, and it also served to dull the lustre of the monarchy. There were no parades down the Mall, no opening of Parliament. Victoria shied away from the public. She also issued an edict that no male successor ever be crowned King Albert. This is why her son, Albert Edward and her great-grandson, Albert Frederick Arthur George, were crowned as Edward VII and King George VI respectively. No one could ever (or should ever) top Prince Albert in Victoria's eyes.

The Great Queen lived on to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, but on January 22, 1901, a little over one year into the new century, Queen Victoria passed away. Taking over the reigns for his mother was the New King, Edward VII.

Edward VII

Full name: Albert Edward
Nicknames: Bertie; The Uncle of Europe
Titles: Prince of Wales; King Edward VII
Reign: 1901-1910

Edward, as Prince of Wales, was irresponsible and an irritation to his mother and father. He loved hunting, traveling all over the world, horse racing (a popular Windsor sport of today) and most of all, he loved women. He was quite the ladies' man, but Victoria got fed up with his promiscuous ways and chose to keep all affairs of state private from her son while she was alive.

Edward was 21 years old when he married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. She was the daughter of King Christian the IX of Denmark - an elegant, shy, and beautiful girl who was to become queen consort. As lovely as she was, and as seemingly tolerant, it did not keep Edward faithful. He had many mistresses, one of the most famous being Alice Keppel. She was the great-great-grandmother of Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince Charles's love. Alix, as Queen Alexandra was nicknamed, learned to live with his ways. His mother constantly fretted about his personal affairs affecting his public life, but Edward was merely bored, waiting to succeed his thriving mother.

Though he was considered by his mother to be embarassingly promiscuous, Edward VII proved to be a great King once crowned at age 59. He could speak fluent German, French, and a little Spanish and Italian. He was also a force in the creation of the Entente Cordiale and was soon known as the "Uncle of Europe".

The King took the monarchy to new heights of public esteem, and he also re-instituted the public exhibitions such as the opening of Parliament. His reign lasted for nine years, passsing away at the age of 68 on May 6, 1910. His heir was George V, who found himself in the center of WWI against his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

George V

Full name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
Titles: Duke of York; Prince of Wales; King George V
Reign: 1910-1936

The second son of Edward VII, George became heir to the throne after the death of his eldest brother, Prince Albert Edward. Prince Albert, known as "Eddy", had been engaged to the German Princess Mary of Teck, but upon his death, Queen Victoria steered the girl towards George's affections. They eventually became King George V and Queen Mary. She came to love him very much, and George loved her. They had a very good marriage together producing Edward, Albert, Henry, John, George, and Mary.

Though George was King and related to many other heads of state throughout Europe, he maintained a quiet life with Queen Mary. They lived in a small home on the Sandringham Estate called York Cottage. It was very tiny and cramped for all of their staff and family, but George loved it. It reminded him of his childhood. The King shot grouse on the moors and collected stamps, and his humble ways earned the adoration of his subjects. But for all of his dignity and honorable nature, they just could not get past the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha surname.

During the first World War, the Royal Family was becoming worried about their German heritage. People everywhere came to despise anything that was even remotely Germanic. It was during this time that the family name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha changed to Windsor, after the castle. King George V figured the name change would be further proof of loyalty to his country full of German hating subjects. He was solidly committed to Britain and her people, and was not at all Germanic in nature. He still felt that something needed to be done, however, so he made a highly publicized move in making their family name distinctly British.

The King wanted to be seen as a British king, not as a German king who resided in Britain. He was absolutely furious when he heard someone say that he had an "alien and uninspiring court."

"I may be uninspiring," George V thundered, "but I'm damned if I'm an alien!"

He even ordered some of his German relatives living in England to be renamed. This was mainly to protect them, because the king's subjects were getting more and more hostile. Teutonic princes, Lords, and princesses bearing the names of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Battenberg, Saxony, or Hesse were immediately changed to English marquises, dukes, duchesses, and so on. A cousin, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had to Anglicize his name to Mountbatten ('berg' is German for 'mountain'). He was the father of Lord Louis "Dickie" Mountbatten, beloved great-uncle of Charles, Prince of Wales.

The Royal Family was against their cousin the Kaiser, Wilhelm II, whom they blamed for WWI. To prove that the newly minted Windsors were English from "top to toe", as Queen Mary described them, the king decided not to give asylum to his other cousin, Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Nicholas had a German wife as well, so George reasoned that it would look best to his subjects if he left the Imperial Family to sort things out on their own. Because Nicholas and his family were not given asylum in England, the Tsar, wife Alexandra, and their son and daughters were killed by Bolshevik revolutionaries.

George felt he had no other choice but to become the House of Windsor, and therefore distance himself from foreign relations. But even he could not have imagined that such horror would take place. The Russian murders forever haunted him. King George decided that would never happen again, so when Greece was invaded by Turkey in the 1920's, he rescued Prince Andrew, the husband of his cousin Alice of Battenberg, and their family. (Andrew's son Philip would one day become the consort of George's granddaughter, Elizabeth II.)

As his reign progressed, his health worsened, but he carried on with his duties. George's illness caused the need for various operations and time to convalesce. His family worried; not just about him, but about his heir, Edward. The Prince of Wales was a cause for concern. He was bored with his duties, and hated royal life. King George V predicted that "After I am gone, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months". He had secretly hoped that Edward would somehow remove himself from the picture so that the king's second son, Albert, would ascend the throne and keep some dignity for the House of Windsor. The old king knew his eldest son was not fit to reign, though he knew the succession must pass to him. In the end, Edward would in fact remove himself from the position of king to become the skeleton in the family cupboard - The Duke of Windsor.

Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor

Full name: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David
Nickname: David
Titles: Prince of Wales; King Edward VIII; Duke of Windsor
Reign: January 1936 to December 1936

Edward, known as David, was the eldest son of George V. Destined to be King Edward VIII, he had followed in much the same footsteps as his grandfather Edward VII; a jetset darling of the public, making popular official tours. When he became King, however, he did not go on to become an exceptional ruler as his grandfather had. In fact, his reign lasted for about a year, and he renounced the throne to marry a twice divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson. He began to court her and consider her seriously as a bride while Prince of Wales, and was determined to make her queen when he ascended.

After being ill for some time, King George V's condition worsened. In order for news of his death to be announced in the more prestigious morning papers, he was given a lethal dose of cocaine and morphine by his doctor. The king died January 1936, and David was officially proclaimed King Edward VIII of England. But the wheels were turning on how to escape. He started to bring his brother Albert with him to meetings with the Prime Minister and show him official papers every now and then. Everyone realized what was in store; he was preparing Albert for kingship so he could go and marry Wallis. Edward knew that the government was already unhappy with his marrying a divorced American, but he realized that the government was also not going to stand for the fact that both he and Wallis were Nazi sympathizers.

Many have considered his giving up the throne for love as the greatest romantic gesture of all time, but it was not just the love affair. To have a pro-Nazi king was unimaginable and was denounced by the government. He was told he would have to give up the throne, but there was not a lot of argument; David did not want to be King Edward VIII in any case, and decided to pack up and leave Britain with his American love.

He ascended on January 20, 1936 and abdicated December 11 of the same year, leaving the heavy burden of sovereignty on his brother, Prince Albert, and his wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. When Albert became King George VI, he gave Edward the title 'Duke of Windsor'. It was as if George V's prayers had been answered - that Albert succeed him, along with his dutiful and loyal daughter, Princess Elizabeth.

As his father predicted, Edward had "ruined himself" within the year.

George VI

Full name: Albert Frederick Arthur George
Nickname: Bertie
Titles: Duke of York; King George VI
Reign: 1936-1952

Albert became known as King George VI in honor of his father's reign. His wife became Queen Elizabeth, and their eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was now directly in line for the throne as the future queen. The new Sovereign, with his wife at his side, bravely helped Britain stagger through the terrible Second World War and establish a 'family values' type of monarchy.

Once king, he made Edward Duke of Windsor, and when he married Wallis, she became the duchess. However, as with all marriages to a prince, she was supposed to also recieve the title of Princess. The king and queen whipped up a few documents, Letters Patent, declaring that while Edward was to "enjoy the style, title, and attributes of His Royal Highness," the duchess was barred from these priviliges and only referred to as "Your Grace". This very public snub perturbed the duke, but there was nothing he could do now. He complained to Winston Churchill about his brother's so-called unfairness.

"I am up against the famous Court ruling...whereby the King(or shall we say the Queen?) decreed that the Duchess shall not hold royal rank...I am quite sure that had your wife been the target of the vindictive jealousy...you would have the same repugnance to service under the Crown that I have..."

His reference to jealousy was towards Queen Elizabeth, for when asked why she might have such hatred for the Duchess, he declared, "Jealousy. To put it politely, she wanted to marry me." Obviously the Duke still did not understand that a brash, Nazi sympathizing American was not tolerated within the British monarchy, less so a Sovereign!

It was noted that Wallis repeated sensitive cabinet information to Nazi leaders. Edward, who would discuss information with Stanley Baldwin, would then turn around and relay it all to Wallis, who would then go to the German embassy.

Edward was made the Govenor of the Bahamas along with his dukedom, and King George VI left it at that. He was, in effect, banished. The brothers, who were once so close, were no longer speaking. Out of anger at his brother's snubbing, Edward called him "the stammering idiot".

George VI had been afraid of his father, as were all of his brothers, and he had developed a crippling stammer out of the fear. Elizabeth considered their Royal Family 'Firm' to be priceless, so she helped her husband obtain the services of a speech therapist to help coach him. In this way, she aided in making her husband seem less shy and more kingly.

Through breathing techniques and practice, George sounded more and more publicly adept. His popularity rose, and Edward was silenced.

The king and queen toured the United States, which was quite successful for them as monarchs in the eyes of the public and for Britain herself, who was lobbying for support from the U.S. during WWII. The Queen declared, "That trip made us!" When asked if it might be better for daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to be abroad during the war in order to avoid danger, the Queen replied,"The children won't leave without me, I won't leave without the king and the king will never leave".

When George became weak and ill from the beginning stages of cancer, she rouged his sunken cheeks to disguise any signs and tried to keep him as cheerful as she possibly could, but after a while arteriosclerosis and lung cancer had taken him over. Princess Elizabeth, newly married, had to make some of his offical engagements and tours with Prince Philip.

On one particular trip to Africa, the king could not go so he sent his daughter and son-in-law. He went to Heathrow airport to see them off, standing hatless in the cold biting wind. He gave the royal wave to his beloved Lilibet, and watched as the plane became nothing more than a speck in the sky. He and the queen, along with their younger daughter, Princess Margaret, headed home to Buckingham Palace. It would be the last time Princess Elizabeth saw her father again.