A new TV series is set to explore the life of Queen Victoria, shedding light on her private world on the Isle of Wight. Born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace, she was the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, and was fifth in line to the throne at birth. Her father died when she was eight months old, and she was raised under a strict regime by her German mother, later describing her childhood as 'melancholy'.
Victoria ascended the throne at age 18 in 1837, after the death of her uncle King William IV. Standing just 4ft 11in, she immediately asserted her independence by demanding her own room and shunning her mother's adviser. Her coronation in 1838 was a somewhat chaotic affair, with the Archbishop of Canterbury placing the ring on the wrong finger.
She married her first cousin Prince Albert in 1840, proposing to him herself. The couple had nine children, and Victoria was known to be passionate, giving Albert nude paintings as gifts. Despite her reputation for prudishness, she reportedly complained when told to have no more children: 'No more fun in bed?'
Victoria was a talented artist and pianist, keeping a diary from age 13 and writing an estimated 60 million words in her lifetime. She was also a carrier of haemophilia, which she passed to many descendants. The series promises to reveal more about her life on the Isle of Wight, where she spent much of her later years.
