Queen Victoria

In 1836, her maternal uncle Leopold brought forth a matrimonial prospect for her - his nephew Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Simultaneously, King William too brought the proposal of Prince Alexander of the Netherlands.

She was smitten by Prince Albert in the very first meeting and was interested in him. However, she wasn’t prepared for marriage; thus a formal engagement could not be announced but was expected.

Both Albert and she shared a warm and affectionate relationship that only grew stronger with time. As such, upon his second visit in October 1839, she proposed to him. The two walked the aisle on February 10, 1840 in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London.

A succession crisis after the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate heir of King George III of United Kingdom, caused a state of panic among the sons of the king.

The Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who bore him their rightful heir, Victoria in 1819 at Kensington Palace in London.

She was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. Baptised Alexandrina Victoria, she was fifth in line of succession, after her father and uncles.

Upon the death of her grandfather and father in 1820, she was next probable heiress to Duke of Clarence, popularly called William IV. Since she was a minor, King William assumed the responsibility until she turned 18.

As a child, she was raised protectively under elaborate rules and protocols. Her mother forbade her to meet new people. Due to this, she remained sad and melancholic.

Upon the death of her uncle, King William IV, she became the rightful and legal heir to the throne. She was chosen the Queen of the United Kingdom. Her first name was dropped and she thence became known as Queen Victoria in 1837.

As per the Salic law which was under existence, she was banned from Hanoverian succession, who shared a monarch with Britain. As such, she inherited everything but Hanover which was passed to the Duke of Cumberland, who was next in line to the throne until she married and had a family of her own.

The formal coronation was held on June 28, 1838 after which she became the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham Palace. Since she was novice and too young to take important decisions, she relied on Whig Prime Minister Lord Melbourne for everything. The two shared a father-daughter relationship.

At the beginning of her reign, she was popular but her allegations and derogatory remarks against Lady Flora (one of her mother's ladies-in-waiting) and Sir John Conroy in 1839 caused her reputation to suffer. The abomination led to resignation of Lord Melbourne from premiership. However, in the following weeks, he regained his position.

Following her marriage to Albert in 1840, Lord Melbourne took a backseat as Albert soon filled up for his shoes and became her chief political advisor. His influence dominated her being, as he resolved to solve all her issues be it political or personal.

This exemplary British monarch served for about 63 years and 7 months which is till date the longest time by any British monarch and longest ever by a female monarch.

Through the 1860s, there were rumours of a romantic connection between the Queen and a manservant from Scotland, John Brown.

The story of the relationship between the Queen and John Brown was the subject of the 1997 movie Mrs. Brown.