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Seven things you probably didn’t know about Queen Victoria
Do you know what links an assassination attempt by walking cane, white wedding dresses, and Buckingham Palace?
It’s a tricky one, but I bet you wouldn’t have guessed that the answer is actually Queen Victoria. As Britain’s second longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria holds an important place in our history books. Therefore, as we celebrate the bicentenary of her birth this year, it seems only fitting that I shared the seven things I bet you didn’t know about her…
Victoria was the first monarch to live at Buckingham Palace
After becoming Queen at the age of just 18, Victoria moved out of her childhood home in Kensington and into Buckingham Palace. Victoria’s mother had enforced a very strict regime during Victoria’s childhood and this move, was in part, to escape her mother’s control. The palace remains the official residence of her Great-Great-Granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II.
Victoria survived EIGHT assassination attempts
There were eight attempts on Victoria’s life throughout her reign, including shots fired at her whilst she was travelling in her royal carriage, an intrusion into Buckingham palace grounds by a man with a pistol, and even a blow to the head with a walking cane!
Victoria broke tradition and proposed to her husband
Royal protocol dictated that only monarchs could propose to their spouse. Therefore, Prince Albert could not propose to Victoria and instead she asked him to marry her within a year of becoming Queen. Although Victoria hated pregnancy and childbirth, she and Albert had 9 children and 42 grandchildren together.
She’s responsible for white wedding dresses
Victoria is said to have started the trend of white wedding dresses. During the 1800s wedding dresses were not always white but Victoria chose this colour to show off the lace on her dress. She also specified that no one else was to wear white at her wedding– a tradition that remains firm today.
And royal brides carrying myrtle in their bouquets
It’s said that Prince Albert’s grandmother gifted Victoria with a sprig of myrtle, which she then planted at her estate, Osbourne House. Victoria’s daughter and Queen Elizabeth II have both carried myrtle in their bouquets from the myrtle bush planted by Queen Victoria.
Victoria spoke a lot of languages
Victoria had strong German roots and was a native speaker of the language – it’s even been reported that she had to be taught to speak English without a German accent! Victoria also spoke French, Italian, and Latin.
In her later years, as Empress of India, she grew close with an Indian servant in her household called Abdul Karim. He taught her Hindustani and Urdu so that she could communicate with other Indian servants in her household.
Her portrait remains to this day the longest that has adorned our circulating coinage
The first coin portrait of Victoria’s reign depicted a young queen at the start of her royal journey. It was called the ‘Young Head portrait’ and was issued on the first coins of her reign. This portrait was issued on coins from 1838-1895 and is the longest that a portrait has circulated on British coins for.
Queen Victoria ruled over the world’s largest empire and millions of people around the world were connected by the coins that were issued throughout her sovereignty.
These coins with Victoria’s image, and the stories behind the portraits, provide us with a vital link to discover this incredible era of history.
On the 24th May we celebrate 200 years since Queen Victoria was born. This blog marks the first in a series commemorating the bicentenary and I look forward to sharing more of the captivating stories behind Victoria’s rule.
If you’re interested…
Exclusive to the Westminster Collection: You can now explore the captivating tale of Victoria’s life through the coins and portraits issued during her reign with the Queen of Coins book. Click here to secure yours today>>>
Relive the adventures of the Famous Five…
I can still remember crawling under my bed sheets as a child at night armed with a torch, and reading, fascinated, about the adventures of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy – the Famous Five – as they set off in their rowing boat to explore Kirrin Island and uncover shipwrecked gold, stumbling into all sorts of hijinks and thwarting crime in the process.
I still have that copy of the Famous Five’s first adventure, Five on a Treasure Island – now passed on to my children and, I hope, one day to my grandchildren.
But for me – and I’m sure for the many Famous Five lovers across the world – the joy of the “Five” novels is more than just the story.
Part of it is, of course, the beauty of the illustrations bringing the words to life. But it’s also the classic design of the books’ front covers, instantly recognisable and perfectly sized for a child’s hands. Books that are cherished as collectable in their own right.
And that’s why I have been so excited over the last few months to be able to work personally on an exclusive and highly collectable representation of Five on a Treasure Island. Something I’m confident will be passed from children to grandchildren in years to come, just like my battered family copy of the Famous Five.
Authenticity, heritage and limited edition
That’s because, for the very first time, the actual book fronts of the Famous Five novels are being faithfully reproduced on a series of Limited Edition Silver-Plated Ingots.
As you can see from the enclosed photos above and below, the first Ingot is a perfect limited edition recreation of the Five on a Treasure Island book cover, including the original coloured illustration that you, I, and many generations of children have grown up to love.
Throughout the process, authenticity and heritage have been paramount. And that’s still the case when you turn your Five on a Treasure Island Ingot over. As you do so, you reveal the words: “There was something else out on the sea by the rocks – something dark that seemed to lurch out of the waves… What could it be?” – the very text from one of the book’s most dramatic scenes.
Importantly, each Ingot has been struck to the very highest standards. The ingots themselves have been specially created to match the exact proportions of the original book and are finished with fine silver-plate.
Your invitation to SAVE £10.00 when you order today
Today, I would like to personally invite you to own the Five on a Treasure Island Silver-Plated Ingot for JUST £9.99 – an exclusive SAVING for you of £10.00.
Since it was first published in 1942, over 100 million copies of the Famous Five series have been sold. Today, two million copies of the books are still sold each year! And that’s when you realise where the collectible significance of this newly released Silver-Plated Ingot lies.
Only 9,995 ingots have been authorised.
Almost certainly,that’s far from enough for all the Famous Five lovers in Britain, let alone the rest of the world.
The Easter coins that trace their history back to the time of Jesus…
It’s a tradition that dates back to the time of the Bible. During the Last Supper, Jesus famously washed the feet of his disciples as a sign of his humility, and it was this religious event that inspired an Easter tradition which takes place to this day.
Since the thirteenth century, members of the Royal Family have followed Jesus’ example, giving gifts to the poor and washing their feet on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. By the eighteenth century, the act of washing feet was discontinued and the accompanying gifts were replaced by a money allowance, known as Maundy money.
And it was this change that created one of the most interesting of all the historic Royal Mint releases.
The first Maundy money ceremony took place in the reign of Charles II, when the King gave people undated hammered coins in 1662. The tradition has continued for over 350 years and today’s recipients of Royal Maundy are elderly men and women, chosen because of the Christian service they have given to the Church and the community.
At the ceremony, the monarch hands each recipient two small leather string purses. A red purse contains ordinary coins, while a white one contains the extremely special silver Maundy coins, amounting to the same number of pence as the years of the sovereign’s age.
Its deeply historical roots are what makes Maundy Money a rare highlight in any classic coin collection. But because of their extremely limited mintage and the fact they have never been issued into general circulation, they now stand as a one of the most highly sought after Easter gifts in the world!