Queen Victoria Trivia Questions

Victoria actually popularized Christmas trees in Britain after Prince Albert introduced one to Windsor Castle in 1840.

She ascended the throne on June 20, 1837, just weeks after turning 18, following the death of her uncle William IV.

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 7 months, but Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her in 2015, reigning for over 70 years. Victoria is now the second-longest reigning British monarch.

In 1877, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli convinced Queen Victoria to take the title Empress of India, which was officially proclaimed at a Delhi Durbar. This reflected Britain's expanded control over India.

Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace, not Buckingham Palace. She was the only child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent and spent her early childhood at Kensington.

She took her first train ride in 1842 from Slough to Paddington, making her the first reigning British monarch to travel by rail.

She was raised speaking German as her first language due to her mother's German background and only learned English later in childhood.

Queen Victoria learned German from her mother and often spoke it with her husband Prince Albert, who was German. German was a common language in her household.

Prince Albert introduced the German tradition to the royal family, and a tree was erected at Windsor Castle in 1841, a widely documented milestone.

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert on February 10, 1840, not on February 14 (Valentine's Day). The wedding took place at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London.

As queen, Victoria was required to propose to Albert to maintain royal protocol. She did so on October 15, 1839.

Remarkably, she faced eight separate attempts on her life, all by gun or cane, but emerged unscathed each time.

She chose white to show off British lace, not purity. The trend caught on, but white wedding dresses existed before her 1840 wedding.

Though Victoria spoke German fluently, there is no evidence she taught it to a parrot. This is a fabricated whimsical myth.

Under Salic law, women could not inherit the throne of Hanover. When Victoria became Queen of the United Kingdom, the throne of Hanover passed to her uncle, Ernest Augustus, not to Victoria.

On June 10, 1840, Edward Oxford fired two pistols at Queen Victoria while she was riding in a carriage. Neither shot hit her, and Oxford was later found not guilty by reason of insanity.