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The reign of Victoria was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. The Victorian Era was at the height of the Industrial Revolution, a period of great social, economic, and technological change in the United Kingdom. Victoria was the last monarch of the House of Hanover; her successor belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Victoria's father, HRH The Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of KentPrince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent ( 2 November 1767 23 January 1820) was the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria. He was created the Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin on 23 April 1799. His Royal Highness Field Ma, was the fourth son of George IIIGeorge III (George William Frederick) ( 4 June 1738 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. He was c. The Duke of Kent, like many other sons of George III, did not marry during his youth. The eldest son HRH Prince George, Prince of WalesGeorge IV (George Augustus Frederick) ( 12 August 1762 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. He had earlier served as Prince Regent; his father, George III, suffered from porphyria, and had lapsed into insanity. (the future George IV) did marry, but had only a daughter, HRH Princess Charlotte Augusta of WalesPrincess Charlotte Augusta of Wales ( January 7, 1796 November 6, 1817) was the only child of the ill-fated marriage between George IV (at that time the Prince of Wales) and Princess Caroline of Brunswick. She was born at Carlton House in London, her birt. When she then died in 1817Events March 4 James Monroe succeeds James Madison as the President of the United States of America April Earthquake in Palermo, Italy April 3 Princess Caraboo appears in Almondsbury in Gloucestershire, England July 4 At Rome, New York, construction on th, the remaining sons of George III scrambled to marry and beget so that the line of George III might continue. Thus, at the age of fifty, the Duke of Kent married Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldMarie Luise Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ( August 17, 1786- March 16, 1861) was the daughter of Duke Francis Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield ( 1750- 1806) and Countess Auguste Reuss zu Ebersdorf und Lobenstein ( 1757- 1831). First Marriage On the D, the sister of Leopold I, King of the BelgiansKing Leopold I Leopold I first King of the Belgians, ( December 16, 1790 December 10, 1865), was born in Ehrenburg Castle in the Bavarian town of Coburg, and named "Georges Chretien Frederic. He was the youngest son of Duke Francis Frederick of Saxe-Cobur and widow of Karl, Prince of Leiningen . Victoria, the only child of the couple, was born in 1819.
From birth, she was known as HRH Princess Victoria of Kent. Princess Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, died eight months after she was born. Her grandfather, George III, died blind and insane less than a week later. Princess Victoria's uncle, the Prince of Wales, inherited the Crown, becoming George IV. Though she occupied a high position in the line of succession, Victoria was taught only GermanGerman (called Deutsch in German in which germanisch refers to prechristian times), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and one of the world's major languages. It is the language with the most native speakers in the European Union., the first language of both her mother and her governess, during her early years. After she became three years old however, she was schooled in English. She eventually learned to speak Italian, Greek, Latin, and French. Her educator was the Reverend George Davys and her governess was Louise Lehzen .
When Princess Victoria of Kent was eleven years old, her uncle, George IV, died childless, leaving the Throne to his brother, William IV. As the new King was childless, the young Princess Victoria became heiress-presumptive to the Throne. Since the law at that time made no special provision for a child monarch, Victoria would have been eligible to govern the realm as would an adult. In order to prevent such a scenario, Parliament passed the Regency Act 1831, under which it was provided that Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, would act as Regent during the Queen's minority. Ignoring precedent, Parliament did not create a Council to limit the powers of the Regent.
Princess Victoria met her future husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, when she was sixteen years old. Prince Albert was Victoria's first cousin; his father was the brother of the Duchess of Kent. Princess Victoria's uncle, King William IV, disapproved of the match, but his objections failed to dissuade the couple. Many scholars have suggested that Prince Albert was not in love with young Victoria, and that he entered into a relationship with her in order to gain social status (he was a minor German Prince) and out of a sense of duty (his family desired the match).