Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) was born on the 24th May 1819, and died on the 22nd January 1901. She was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20th of June 1837 until she died. She named herself Empress of India from 1st of May 1876, and was monarch over the greatest empire the world has ever known.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. It was not expected that she would become queen, but after her father and brothers died, she inherited the throne at the age of 18.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. She had nine children, all of whom married into royal and noble families across Europe. The idea was, as it had always been, to intermarry across countries and so influence the future of Europe. That is also why she was called "the grandmother of Europe".

Victoria lost her husband in 1861, and it rocked her life. She mourned for a long time, and kept away from public life, but began to be seen again by the time of her Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

She reigned for nearly 64 years, longer than any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history. The time she reigned for is known as the Victorian era and the word 'Victorian' is used not just in the former empire, but in the United States and other places, too to mean the second half of the 19th century. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover (started by George I). Her son, Edward VII, was named after his father and so was part of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In the Second World War, this obviously German line, like Hanover, was so unpopular that the royal house name was changed to its present one - Windsor, although the present royal family are all related to Victoria.

Around the world, places and memorials are dedicated to Victoria: the capital of the Seychelles; Africa's largest lake, Lake Victoria; the Victoria Falls; the capitals of British Columbia (Victoria) and Saskatchewan (Regina), and the Australian states of Victoria and Queensland.

The Victoria Cross was introduced in 1856 to reward acts of extreme bravery during the Crimean War. Victoria Day is a Canadian public holiday.