Imaginary interview with Victoria
by Charactorium · Victoria (1819 — 1901) · Politics · 5 min read
Two twelve-year-old students, on a school trip, pass through the gates of a great London palace. At the end of a long corridor, an old lady in a black dress is waiting for them. It is Queen Victoria, and she has agreed to answer all their questions.
—What was it like on your wedding day? Were you nervous?
Oh, my heart was beating very fast! It was in 1840, and I was marrying my cousin Albert. You know, at that time, brides wore colored dresses, often dark ones. I chose a dress of pure white silk. People found it daring, almost revolutionary! Imagine: no one dressed like that. And guess what? Long after me, many young girls wanted the same. I didn't know that that day. I just saw Albert smiling at me. I was a queen, yes, but that morning, I was above all a young woman in love.
I was a queen, but that morning, I was above all in love.
—Why do you always wear black? Are you sad?
You have a sharp eye, my child. Yes, I wear black, and it's not by chance. In 1861, my Albert died. I felt as if half of myself was torn away. So I decided to go into mourning, that is, these dark clothes you wear when you have lost someone. But I never took them off. For forty years! They even nicknamed me 'the Widow of Windsor'. I had a mausoleum built for him, a kind of little temple where he rests. I went there often. Loving someone so much doesn't stop the day they leave.
Loving someone so much doesn't stop the day they leave.
—How old were you when you became queen?
I was eighteen, barely older than your big sister perhaps! It was in 1837, my uncle William had just died. They woke me at dawn to tell me. Imagine the fear: a young girl suddenly told that a vast kingdom rests on her shoulders. I wrote in my journal that I wanted to be good, to do things right. You know, I kept a diary almost every day, and I did so for over seventy years! Those notebooks tell my whole life. That morning, I just understood that my childhood was over.
They woke me to tell me that a kingdom rested on my shoulders.
—A queen commands everything, right? Did you decide the laws?
Ah, that's a good question, and the answer will surprise you! No, I did not decide everything. In our country, it's called a constitutional monarchy: the queen reigns, but it is elected ministers who truly govern. I received their dispatches, signed documents, gave advice. Every afternoon, I received my ministers in audience. Sometimes I disagreed with them! My Prime Minister Gladstone, for instance, often annoyed me. But I could not make law alone. It's like a garden: I did not plant every flower, but my opinion was asked on the garden as a whole.
The queen reigns, but it is not her hands that make the laws.
—Didn't it annoy you not to be able to decide everything?
Sometimes, yes, I admit it! But you know, I saw my kingdom change for the better during my reign. At first, very few people had the right to vote. Gradually, laws were passed, and in 1884, many more men could vote. That's called expanding the suffrage, that is, the right to choose those who govern. I wasn't always happy with these changes, I'll tell you frankly. I loved order and stability. But I learned one thing: a wise queen listens to her people, even when they move faster than she would like.
A wise queen listens to her people, even when they move too fast.
—What was your morning like, in the palace?
I got up around eight o'clock, in my apartments at Buckingham Palace. They brought me a light breakfast: tea, porridge — that's cooked oatmeal — and a little toast. Meanwhile, my secretaries already brought me important papers to read! Then came dressing. And there, my child, it was not fast. My ladies-in-waiting helped me put on long dresses and a corset, a sort of rigid girdle that was tightened around the waist. We wore it even at home! Imagine feeling squeezed like that all day. That was what it meant to be a woman of my time.
They laced me into a corset from the morning, even at home.
—Is it true that you were queen of many countries at the same time?
It's true, and it was immense! They said that on my Empire, the sun never set, because it was always daytime somewhere. In 1876, they even gave me a new title: Empress of India. India is a very large country far from us, which Great Britain controlled. A colonial empire means all those distant territories a nation dominates. To link it all, we used the telegraph, a machine that sent messages through wires over huge distances. Imagine being able to speak to someone thousands of kilometers away! In my time, it was almost magical.
They said that on my empire, the sun never set.
—And the people in those distant countries, were they happy being dominated?
You ask the real question, my child, the one that must be dared. No, not always. In 1857, in India, soldiers rebelled against British domination. That's called the Sepoy Mutiny. It was a terrible, violent crisis. You see, dominating other peoples, taking their riches, imposing our laws, brought power to my kingdom, but much suffering to others. From my palace, I saw mainly the glory and the titles. It was later that the price paid by those peoples was better understood. One must always ask who pays the price of the greatness of some.
One must always ask who pays the price of the greatness of others.
—What was modern in your time? Trains?
Oh yes, trains! You've put your finger on something wonderful. My time was the Industrial Revolution: steam engines, factories, and above all, railways! I even traveled by steam train, and believe me, feeling that huge iron machine race through the countryside was breathtaking. Before, we only moved at the pace of horses. And in 1851, my Albert organized a Great Exhibition in London, where all these inventions were shown. People came from all over the world. I was also one of the first queens to be photographed: at last, my face could be captured in an image!
Before, we only moved at the pace of horses; suddenly, iron galloped.
—Is it true they called you the grandmother of all Europe?
Ha! That nickname makes me smile. I had many children, and they in turn gave me a host of grandchildren. And guess what? Those grandchildren married princes and princesses everywhere! Some became kings or queens in Russia, Germany, Norway. So they called me the 'grandmother of Europe'. Imagine family reunions: almost all the thrones of the continent around one table! I wrote them letters all the time. I thought this large family would keep the peace. Later, alas, some of my grandchildren made war on each other. But that I did not see.
Almost all the thrones of Europe were seated at my family table.
—Were you proud on the day of your great celebration for sixty years of reign?
Very proud, and very moved! It was in 1897, my Diamond Jubilee: we celebrated sixty years of reign. I was seventy-eight years old then. Delegations came from all over the Empire, from the four corners of the world, to parade through the streets of London. Imagine the crowd, the colors, the music, people from countries I had never seen with my own eyes. That evening, I wrote in my diary how touched I was. You know, I had ascended the throne as a frightened young girl, and here I was an old lady surrounded by a whole world. A whole life sometimes fits into a single day like that one.
Ascended a frightened young girl, here I am an old lady surrounded by a whole world.
This imaginary interview was generated by artificial intelligence from sources documented in Victoria's profile. It dramatises what the figure might have said based on what we know about them, but does not constitute attested historical testimony. For primary sources and factual documentation, refer to the full profile.