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She was born fifth in line to the throne, making it unlikely that she would ever become queen to begin with.Wikimedia Commons
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Victoria was actually her middle name. Her first name was Alexandrina.Wikimedia Commons
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But to her German-speaking family, she was mainly called "Vickelchen."Wikimedia Commons
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She was brought up under the restrictive “Kensington System” of parenting, which kept her in near-complete isolation in order to make her dependent upon her parents.Wikimedia Commons
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She was just 18 years old when she became queen.Wikimedia Commons
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Victoria then promptly moved into Buckingham Palace and became the very first monarch to live there.Wikimedia Commons
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She proposed to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who accepted. He could not propose to her because she was already queen.Wikimedia Commons
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Albert’s health was fragile, but Victoria privately believed he overplayed it — like a Victorian version of the "man flu."Wikimedia Commons
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But when Albert died of typhoid fever (or perhaps another chronic condition) in 1861 at age 42, the emotional Queen adopted some elaborate mourning rituals.Wikimedia Commons
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These included having a change of his clothes laid out every morning, and hot water brought in for his shave, as if he may reappear at any moment.Wikimedia Commons
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She spoke several languages, including French, Italian, and Hindustani.Wikimedia Commons
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She learned the Hindustani language from her Indian attendant, Abdul Karim, whom Victoria considered her true friend and most trusted confidant.Wikimedia Commons
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Her family hated Karim’s presence and closeness with the queen, and after Victoria’s death, they burned all their correspondence and deported him back to India.Wikimedia Commons
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Her face was on the first adhesive postage stamp, known as the Penny Black, issued in Great Britain on May 1, 1840.Wikimedia Commons
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She was prone to oversleeping.Wikimedia Commons
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Queen Victoria was the first known carrier of the blood disease hemophilia, which would become known as the "Royal disease."Wikimedia Commons
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She hated the telephone, citing the new invention as cold and impersonal.Wikimedia Commons
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Eventually, she made peace with her severe upbringing and forgave her mother, who died the same year Albert did (1861).Wikimedia Commons
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In 1880, she had a retired ship, the HMS Resolute, made into a desk as a gift for then-President Rutherford Hayes. Most presidents since then have used the very same desk.Wikimedia Commons
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She was named the Empress of India, yet never got to set foot in the country.Wikimedia Commons
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She was the first British royal to travel by train.Wikimedia Commons
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Eventually, she got her own royal train car, the first in the world to feature an onboard bathroom.Wikimedia Commons
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Before Queen Elizabeth II beat her record in 2015, Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch in English history, serving for 63 years and seven months.Wikimedia Commons
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There were six attempts made on her life and she survived them all.Wikimedia Commons
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