Queen Victoria - Ottawa, Ontario - Monarchs of the World on Waymarking.com

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.

Her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors, and is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, initiated the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father.
Victoria's father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of the reigning King of the United Kingdom, George III. Until 1817, Edward's niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a succession crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent and his unmarried brothers to marry and have children. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl (1804–1856) and Feodora (1807–1872)—by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen. Her brother Leopold was Princess Charlotte's widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kent's only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a.m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Duke's eldest brother, George, the Prince Regent.

At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, the Duke of York; William, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria's father, Edward, the Duke of Kent. The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further children. The Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarence's daughters (born in 1819 and 1820) died as infants. Victoria's father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old. A week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827. When George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive. The Regency Act 1830 made special provision for the Duchess of Kent (Victoria's mother) to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor. King William distrusted the Duchess's capacity to be regent, and in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria's 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided.

Free tickets must be obtained to visit the bust of Queen Victoria

All visits to Parliament are offered free of charge. Tickets for guided tours and the Peace Tower and Memorial Chamber are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Individuals and groups with fewer than 10 people can get same-day tickets as of 9 a.m. daily. Tickets are distributed at 90 Wellington Street, across from Parliament Hill.

Visiting Hours:

Sept 6 - May 13

WEEKDAYS
When Parliament is sitting:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
9:00 am to 12:50 pm
3:20 pm

Wednesday
12:30 pm to 3:20 pm

Friday
9:00 am to 9:50 am
12:50 pm to 3:20 pm

When Parliament is not sitting:
Monday to Friday
9:00 am to 3:20 pm

WEEKENDS
Saturday and Sunday
9:00 am to 4:20 pm

May 14 - June 30

WEEKDAYS
When Parliament is sitting:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
9:00 am to 12:50 pm
3:20 pm to 7:20 pm

Wednesday
12:30 pm to 7:20 pm

Friday
9:00 am to 9:50 am
12:50 pm to 7:20 pm

When Parliament is not sitting:
Monday to Friday
9:00 am to 7:20 pm

WEEKENDS
Saturday and Sunday
9:00 am to 4:20 pm

Monarch Ranking: King / Queen Proper Title and Name of Monarch: Alexandrina Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well as the Empress of India. Country or Empire of Influence: United Kingdom and many of the countries that today are members of the Commonwealth of Nations Website for additonal information: [Web Link]

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/15/2019 elyob visited it