Queen Victoria and Her Nine Children

Victoria and Albert were passionately in love, rare for royal marriages at the time. But when Albert died she was suddenly left in charge of nine children. Victoria's approach to single motherhood was to control every aspect of her children's lives: how they dressed, what they ate, and who they married. And when the craggy bullying Scot John Brown entered her life, family relationships unraveled.

After her husband Albert’s death Victoria struggled to perform her responsibilities as a monarch. She hid away and complained about her eldest son’s unsuitability to be King. With his frivolous lifestyle (he was known as ‘Dirty Bertie’) she didn't realize his glamorous public appearances were distracting people from her own disappearance. The rift between Victoria and her children soon grew wider.

Victoria’s dominance of her children’s lives was to have a devastating effect on the great royal houses of Europe. Overseen by the Queen, her offspring would go onto marry into the Russian, German and Spanish royal families. But this also introduced a deadly hereditary disease into those bloodlines. At home, Victoria’s eldest son lay dying, which would have a surprising effect on her own image.