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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 13 of 26
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 16 of 26
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 21 of 26
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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