Scandalous Facts About The Victorian Royal Family

Scandalous Facts About The Victorian Royal Family
HOME
EDITORIAL
LISTS
PEOPLE
ADVENTURERS
ACTORS & ACTRESSES
ARTISTS & WRITERS
MUSICIANS
ROYALTY
SCANDAL-MAKERS
SCIENTISTS & SCHOLARS
PLACES
CASTLES
CITIES & COUNTRIES
HAUNTED PLACES
THE ANCIENT WORLD
NATURE
THINGS
ENTERTAINMENT
MYSTERIES
HIDDEN HISTORIES
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
QUIZ
NEWSLETTER
VIDEO
ABOUT
✕
ADVERTISE
PARTNER
FAQ
CAREERS
PRIVACY
TERMS OF USE
CONTRIBUTE
ABOUT
HOME
EDITORIAL
LISTS
PEOPLE
ADVENTURERS
ACTORS & ACTRESSES
ARTISTS & WRITERS
MUSICIANS
ROYALTY
SCANDAL-MAKERS
SCIENTISTS & SCHOLARS
PLACES
CASTLES
CITIES & COUNTRIES
HAUNTED PLACES
THE ANCIENT WORLD
NATURE
THINGS
ENTERTAINMENT
MYSTERIES
HIDDEN HISTORIES
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
LGBTQ
QUIZ
NEWSLETTER
VIDEO
ABOUT
Scandalous Facts About The Victorian Royal Family
Feb 23
PEOPLE
Miles Brucker
In public, the Victorians were some of the stuffiest, snobbiest, most repressed people in history. Behind closed doors, it was a different story. Just look no further than Queen Victoria's scandalous family. From shameful secrets and vicious feuds to debaucherous affairs and cutting remarks, no one lived the Victorian Era's contradictions like the royal family itself.
1. Queen Victoria Was the "Grandmother of Europe"
One of Queen Victoria’s nicknames was the “Grandmother of Europe” because so many of her big brood made advantageous marriages with monarchies all across the continent. If you were a royal in the 20th century, chances are you were related to Queen Victoria. But as we’ll see, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing…
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
2. Her Family Suffered Heartbreak After Heartbreak
When Victoria was a child, all the royal heirs croaked one by one, most of them from heartbreaking ends. In just four short years, three of Victoria’s cousins perished, then her father and her grandfather passed within a week of each other. By 1830, 11-year-old Victoria was next in line for the throne. And more misfortune was just around the corner.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
3. Her Childhood Was Creepy
Victoria called her childhood “melancholy”— but it was even darker than that . Her mother, Duchess Victoria of Kent, was notoriously controlling, and developed the “Kensington System” to raise her daughter. This system forced Victoria to isolate herself from playmates and family alike, rendering her dependent on mommy dearest. As we’ll see, this did not end well.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
4. Her Mother Controlled Her in Disturbing Ways
Many historians attribute the stereotypical morality of the Victorian era to Victoria’s mother, and the duchess was obsessed with keeping Victoria “pure.” Since King William had illegitimate children, the duchess thought he was “an oversexed oaf” and even denied the king of England the opportunity to see his niece. Is it any wonder Victoria became so maladjusted?
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
5. She Had an Arch-Nemesis
As twisted as her childhood was, there was a more sinister figure in the young Victoria’s life: Her mother’s confidante, Sir John Conroy. William IV nicknamed Conroy “King John” for his outsized influence, and he helped the duchess come up with Victoria’s punishing Kensington system. But that’s just the beginning of the nightmare .
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
6. Her Mother May Have Had a Big Secret
According to palace rumors from the time, Conroy wasn’t just the Duchess of Kent’s confidante; he was also her lover. Here Victoria’s mother was preaching chastity and Christian values, but in her off-hours, she might have been bonking the help. For her part, Victoria disliked both of them—but she would get her brutal revenge in the end.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
7. There Was a Competition for Her Heart
When she was 16 years old, Victoria’s family started making plans to marry her off. There were two rivals for her royal heart: Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, who King William IV backed, and Prince Albert , who her maternal uncle King Leopold I of Belgium supported. But when Victoria saw Albert, all bets were off.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
8. She Fell in Love at First Sight
It was clear to everyone that Victoria was immediately smitten with Albert, but her private diaries go into very personal detail. The future monarch was a lovestruck teenager, writing that Albert was “extremely handsome…his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth.” As for Prince Alexander? He was “very plain.” Better luck next time, bud.
Needpix
Advertisement
9. She Became Queen at a Very Awkward Moment
King William IV passed less than a month after Victoria turned 18, turning little Victoria into a Queen of the United Kingdom. According to Victoria herself, she found out the news while she was still in her dressing gown. England would never be the same again—but if William had been a scandalous ruler, just wait for what Victoria had in store...
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
History's most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily.
SUBSCRIBE
Thank you!
Error, please try again.
10. She Revealed Private Details About Her Wedding Night
Even after becoming queen, Victoria waited three years before tying the knot—but she was over the moon when she finally did. Her personal diary spared no detail when it came to her wedding night. As she writes about their union: “I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert…He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again.” The girl had it bad, and I think we can all imagine what came next.
Getty Images
Advertisement
11. Her Reaction to Pregnancy Was Disturbing
Well, actually, we don’t have to imagine: Victoria found out she was pregnant mere weeks after her wedding. Her reaction was not what you might expect. She was actually furious, writing to her grandmother, “It is spoiling my happiness; I have always hated the idea, and I prayed God night and day for me to be left free for at least six months.” But then it got even more chilling.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
12. She Threatened Her Daughter's Life
In the same letter to her grandmother, Victoria confesses that if she ended up having a “nasty girl,” she would drown the babe. Um, let’s just sit down and think this one through Vicky. But keep in mind, she was in her twenties at the time, and knew the fatal risks of childbirth. Sadly, this didn’t get any better…
Pxfuel
Advertisement
13. She Had an Incredible Number of Children
Astonishingly, Albert and Victoria had a whopping nine children together: Victoria, Albert, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice. All of these children survived into adulthood, a huge feat for the time. However, these princes and princesses didn't exactly lead a charmed life—they had their cold and overbearing mother to thank for that.
Just ask her eldest, Princess Victoria...
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
14. Princess Victoria Was A Disappointment
Princess Victoria came into the world on November 21, 1840. Only, this was bad news . Victoria wasn't the only one who was disappointed when she popped out a girl. Heck, even the attending doctor was bummed, saying sadly to the queen, “Oh Madame, it’s a girl!” Not a good start to what was supposed to be a charmed royal life, and as we’ll see, the bad times only continued.
Wikimedia Commons
Advertisement
15. She Caught The Eye Of A Much Older Man
In 1851, Victoria—who was, yep, still 11 years old—met the 19-year-old Prince Frederick William for the first time at The Great Exhibition in London. Grossly enough, the pre-teen and the grown man got along “very well,” with our quick, eager-to-please little Vicky showing off her fluent German, conversing with Frederick in his native tongue while he could only speak a few words of English.
This started one of the greatest predatory—uh, I mean stirring, romances of the Victorian era.
Wikipedia
Advertisement
16. She Had A Fairy Tale Wedding
On January 25, 1858, Frederick and Vicky finally got…

Text scraped from the landing page for research purposes. © respective owners. This text is sourced from the advertiser's public landing page; for removal, contact dmca@luba.media.