Celebrating Victoria Day – so who is Victoria?

Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901.

Queen Victoria has inspired an entire era named after her and now this era is known as Victorian.

Queen Victoria is famous with a lot of assassination attempts. In 1840, an 18-year-old named Edward Oxford took two shots at her carriage as she was riding in London. He was accused of high treason but found not guilty by reason of insanity. Two years later, a man named John Francis fired a gun at her carriage, but missed. He was caught, convicted of treason, but avoided the death penalty and was shipped to a penal colony. Less than two months later, a youngster named John William Bean fired ammo made out of tobacco and paper at the Queen. And in 1849, it happened again when William Hamilton, who history books describe as an ‘angry Irishman’, fired a pistol at her carriage. He pled guilty and was also exiled to a penal colony. They say if you stay around in politics long enough, you’re bound to make enemies. And Victoria was living proof of that. The Queen was set upon again in 1850, when ex-Army officer Robert Pate hit her with his cane. He pleaded insanity but the courts didn’t buy it, leaving him to the same fate as Hamilton. Incredibly, in 1882, there was yet another attempt on her life, this time by Roderick Maclean, who also missed her with a bullet from a gun. He was found insane and sent to an asylum for life.

In spite of all these serious assassination attempts Queen Victoria was one of the longest sitting monarchs in British history. Victoria kept her seat on the throne for an astounding 63 years, 216 days.

Victoria day now is a public holiday in Canada. This year Victoria day was celebrated in Canada on Monday May 23.