The African King at Edward VII’s Coronation
King Lewanika’s invitation to the coronation of Edward VII was intended to stabilise British relations with the Barotse nation. Instead, it exposed the cracks in the imperial veneer.
Victoria
How Does History Judge Prime Ministers?
Political reputations are forged by actions, but the long view of history can be hard to predict.
The Rebecca Riots: Why Did Wales Rise Up?
Rebecca’s radical rural protests consumed South Wales in the 19th century. Who – or what – was she?
Rum and Reform: The Party on Norfolk Island
As convicts celebrated Queen Victoria’s birthday on remote Norfolk Island, debates raged over the purpose of punishment and the merits of Alexander Maconochie’s project of moral reform.
The Rebirth of Chivalry is Rained Off
On 28 August 1839, the earl of Eglinton hosted a ‘medieval’ tournament to mark Queen Victoria’s coronation. It was a damp squib.
Queen Victoria’s Stalker
Was the army captain in love with Queen Victoria a dangerous obsessive or an innocent man? His NSFW letters shocked but so did his treatment.
Off with Their Heads!
Recent royal crises reveal echoes of discontent in 1870s Britain, when disquiet with monarchy manifested in calls for its abolition.
Queen Victoria’s Wedding
The young queen married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 1840.
The Prussian Marriage 1858
Joanna Richardson describes how Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Vicky, married an amiable future German Emperor.
Prince Albert’s Taste
Queen Victoria’s Consort was a man of exceptional intelligence; among his many interests, writes Winslow Ames, was the collection of early German and Italian paintings and the encouragement of contemporary artists.