When the future Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace in 1819, she was fifth in line to the throne. However, by the time she was 18, a quick succession of deaths among her relatives accelerated her to accession. She accepted the crown as an inexperienced teenager; when she died, aged 81, she was known as ‘the Grandmother of Europe’.

Although her marriage to her cousin Prince Albert had been ‘arranged’, it was a successful and passionate match, producing nine children and ultimately 42 grandchildren, who married into royal families all over Europe.

Victoria died in 1901 as Queen of Great Britain and Empress of India, although we view the legacy of empire more critically today. The image of Victoria as a stout elderly lady in black mourning endures, despite the complex, multi-faceted nature of the Victorian era and the Queen herself.

State portrait of Queen Victoria (detail) by Sir George Hayter, RCIN 401213, Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II