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Title: Contrasting English Queens
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Date: 2021-12-31
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Tags: Monarch, Victoria, Elizabeth II
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Category: War, Culture, Personality, Politics
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Victoria and Elizabeth II are Queens of England, and are related by blood,
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but that is where the similarity ends.
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For instance, Queen Victoria was emotional, petty, politically relevant, culturally
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relevant, and a dynamic personality. But Elizabeth II was not.
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### Victoria's Contribution to the Historical Record
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#### Written Documentation
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Queen Victory wrote 60 million words in her lifetime.
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This includes her
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[journal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria%27s_journals){target="_blank"},
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which fill 122 volumes in the Royal Archive, even after heavy redaction.
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Her book
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[Our Life in the Highlands](https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/66173){target="_blank"},
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was a best-seller.
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Queen Victoria also constantly wrote letters.
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### Victoria's Political Relevance
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#### Grandmother of Europe
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Queen Victoria was known as the
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[Grandmother of Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_of_Europe){target="_blank"}.
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Having spread her seed amongst Nobility and Royalty all over Europe,
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and engaged in constant coorespondence,
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she had a profound effect upon International Politics. In theory
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this was a key reason why there were no World Wars between
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Napoleon and World War One.
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#### British Empire
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It should be noted however, that the British Empire was at war every
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single year of her 64-year reign,
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and it was during her reign that the British Empire
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reached its zenith.
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### Victoria's Cultural Relevance
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#### Arts and Culture
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Queen Victoria was a huge patron of the arts, and her legacy included
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[Royal Albert Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Albert_Hall){target="_blank"},
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and statues of Prince Albert were erected all over the British Empire.
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#### Customs and Morality
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The court of Victoria and Albert was outwardly morally uptight, and this
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percolated through society. The manner in which Christmas was (and still is)
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celebrated throughout the Western World, was derived from traditions
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begun during the Victorian Era.
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Perhaps reflecting their sheltered upbringing, they were quite naive
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and would laugh at any stupid little joke. How annoying!
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### Victoria's Dynamic Personality
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#### Melodrama
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In the [Bedchamber Crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedchamber_crisis){target="_blank"},
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of 1839, Government dissolved because Victoria refused to replace
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her ladies-in-waiting with the wives of the new ministers.
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In her photos she never smiled. But contemporary reports suggest that Victoria
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did frequently smile, and could really light up the room.
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#### Mental Depression
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Queen Victoria suffered from postpartum depression which poisoned her
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relationship with her children and husband.
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Upon Prince Albert's
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[untimely death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert,_Prince_Consort#Illness_and_death){target="_blank"},
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The Queen entered several years of seclusion and wore black for the rest of her life.
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#### Temper Tantrums
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Unfortunately, Albert and Victoria frequently squabbled, events which
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usually featured a "scene".
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#### Daddy Issues
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As a result of a troubled upbringing with a
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[controlling stepfather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conroy){target="_blank"},
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Victoria suffered from "Daddy Issues", and developed obsessive attachments to
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[Prime Minister Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lamb,_2nd_Viscount_Melbourne){target="_blank"},
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[her husband](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert,_Prince_Consort){target="_blank"},
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as well as house servants
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[John Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(servant)){target="_blank"}, and
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[Abdul Karim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Karim_(the_Munshi)){target="_blank"}.
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#### Brattiness
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Victoria's innappropriate favouritism towards Brown and Karim, both foreigners,
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caused resentment amongst her staff.
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#### Pettiness
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Queen Victoria made impolite remarks about other people.
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### Queen Elizabeth II
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In her youth Elizabeth once outrageously exclaimed, "My Goodness!"
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### Conclusion
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Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II were very different from each other.
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Thanks for reading!
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### Recommended
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I recommend [Rex Factor Podcast](https://rexfactor.wordpress.com/){target="_blank"}.
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