The longest reigning British queen, Victoria was the daughter of Edward, the Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. She was born in Kensington Palace on May 24th, 1819. She took the throne in 1837, after the death of her uncle William IV.

London grew massively and prospered during her reign, and there's a cluster of places named after her, including Victoria Station, the main-line terminus for many trains from the south of the country, Victoria Park, Victoria Embankment, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Victoria Line.

In 1840, Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. After he died in 1861, she put herself into self-imposed seclusion for ten years whilst she mourned. She also ordered many monuments (such as the Albert Memorial) to be built in his honour.

She died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. on 22 January 1901. At the time, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.