Your Majesty, Queen Victoria

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Queen Victoria's Engagement Ring The fashion conscious and fresh-faced monarch, Queen Victoria, was crowned at the tender age of eighteen. Her engagement with Prince Albert was unique seeing as due to her position, it was dictated that she should be the one to propose. The ring Prince Albert provided was also very distinctive, setting this royal proposal apart from others and making it even more legendary. The snake ring, that was gifted to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1839 has become an iconic piece of jewellery in British history, known for both its beauty and it's symbolism. It is reminiscent of not only their great romance, but also the deep influence it imposed upon fashion and jewellery design at the time because of Queen Victoria's reputation for setting trends. The ring's motif, a coiled snake, is set with an emerald, ruby and diamond accents detailing the snakes head, eyes and crown. The serpent’s tail was in its mouth to complete a circle that was unbroken, much like their love. It was common practice for Victorian rings to be set with one's birthstone, however the thoughtfully placed emerald could also be representative of wisdom, while the diamond encrusted crown may represent royalty and power.  The time of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's love is referred to as the Romantic period. Pieces from this period are easily identified and often contain flowers, birds, hearts, bows or other natural creatures. Men and women of this time became avid collectors of sentimental jewellery, laden with symbols. The romantic period, reflective of the happy relationship came to an end upon both the Queen's mother and Prince Albert's death. Queen Victoria was sent into an extended period of mourning. Overcome with sadness, she opted to wear black for the rest of her life, to commemorate her lost love. This was the beginning of the more macabre Victorian aesthetic, that included mourning jewelery and marked the beginning of the Grand or mid-Victorian period where darker gemstones such as garnet, amethyst, jet and onyx were used in accompaniment with more grisly motifs such as a skeleton, beetle or cross bone. Industrialisation and imperialism also created huge shifts and encouraged more culturally diverse themes and materials to be featured in mid-Victorian jewelery. 

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Writing in her journal about the proposal, Victoria recalled: “I said to him that I thought he must be aware why I wished him to come here, and that it would make me too happy if he would consent to what I wished (to marry me); we embraced each other over and over again, and he was so kind, so affectionate; oh! To feel I was, and am, loved by such an angel as Albert.”

And so began a love affair as passionate as the one portrayed by Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes in Victoria. While it would be easy to presume the programme makers had ramped things up to increase ratings, we know from Victoria’s journal and correspondence between the couple that their desire for each other was very real. And this is despite their daughter Beatrice doctoring her mother’s diaries to remove all mention of bedroom talk. In a letter written shortly after their engagement, when Albert had returned to Germany briefly, he wrote: “I need not tell you that since we left, all my thoughts have been with you at Windsor, and that your image fills my whole soul. Even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on earth.”

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“I know that I’m young. And some would say my sex puts me at a disadvantage. But I know my duty, and I assure you I am ready for the great responsibility that lies before me”

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Princess Victoria was born on 21 November 1840 at Buckingham Palace, London. She was the first child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. When she was born, the doctor exclaimed sadly: "Oh Madame, it's a girl!" The Queen replied: "Never mind, next time it will be a prince!" Although her parents were initially disappointed, Prince Albert would grow to adore his firstborn for her keen intellect, while the Queen would have a more distant, but still loving relationship with her. As a daughter of the sovereign, Victoria was born a British princess. On 19 January 1841, she was made Princess Royal, a title sometimes conferred on the eldest daughter of the sovereign. In addition, she was heir presumptive to the throne of the United Kingdom, before the birth of her younger brother Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) on 9 November 1841. To her family, she was known simply as "Vicky".

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The coronation of Queen Victoria took place on Thursday, 28 June 1838, just over a year after she succeeded to the throne of the United Kingdom at the age of 18. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey after a public procession through the streets from Buckingham Palace, to which the Queen returned later as part of a second procession.

Planning for the coronation, led by the prime minister, Lord Melbourne, began at Cabinet level in March 1838. In the face of various objections from numerous parties, the Cabinet announced on Saturday, 7 April, that the coronation would be at the end of the parliamentary session in June. It was budgeted at £70,000, which was more than double the cost of the "cut-price" 1831 coronation, but considerably less than the £240,000 spent when George IV was crowned in July 1821. A key element of the plan was presentation of the event to a wider public.

By 1838, the newly built railways were able to deliver huge numbers of people into London and it has been estimated that some 400,000 visitors arrived to swell the crowds who thronged the streets while the two processions took place and filled the parks where catering and entertainment were provided. Hyde Park was the scene of a huge fair, including a balloon ascent. The fair was scheduled to take place over two days, but was in the end extended by popular demand to four days. Green Park featured a firework display the night after the ceremony. The coronation coincided with a period of fine weather and the whole event was generally considered a great success by both the press and the wider public, although those inside the Abbey witnessed a good deal of mishap and confusion, largely due to lack of rehearsal time. In the country at large, there was considerable opposition to the coronation by Radicals, especially in the North of England.