Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until 1901; her reign lasted 63 years and she was the longest reigning monarch until 2016, when Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her. She was born in London to a German princess and English prince in 1819. She became queen at the age of 18, on the death of her uncle, William IV.

She was educated by her governess, Louise Lehzen and the Reverend George Davys. She learned to speak and read German and French well.

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Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert in 1840, who encouraged science, trade and art. They had nine children, and made it clear they believed that a good family life and Christianity were very important. In general, English people followed their example. In 1851, the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace was opened. It happened partly because of Albert's hard work. The exhibition featured the achievements of British people in the Victorian era.

Queen Victoria had many houses around the country including Osborne House in the Isle of Wight; Sandringham House in Norfolk; Buckingham Palace in London; Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Windsor Castle.

In 1861, Prince Albert died and Victoria began to keep away from public life; this made her less popular. During the years that followed, Britain became more powerful, and in 1877, Victoria was given the title "Empress of India". She became more popular with her people. In 1897, she had her Diamond Jubilee to celebrate 60 years of being on the throne.

Many of Victoria's children became monarchs, princes and princesses of other countries. Queen Victoria was always very interested in India, although she never went there. Queen Victoria enjoyed dancing, sketching, horse riding and singing; she was given lessons as a child by the famous opera singer Luigi LaBlache. She liked to paint and could play the piano. She kept a regular diary throughout her life.