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Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria was
the longest reigning British monarch and the figurehead of a vast
empire. She oversaw vast changes in British society and gave her name to
an age.
She succeeded her uncle, William IV, in 1837, at the
age of 18, and her reign dominated the rest of the century. In 1840 she
married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.
After the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the government of India was transferred
from the East India Company to the Crown and in 1877, Victoria became
Empress of India. Her empire also included Canada, Australia, India, New
Zealand, and large parts of Africa.
In 1887, Victoria's Golden
Jubilee and, 10 years later, her Diamond Jubilee were celebrated with
great enthusiasm.
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