Fairy-tale collides with reality in this insightful biography about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Gill doesn't pull any punches, exploring the gritty details behind their fairy-tale love. She looks at each spouse's childhood in turn, examining how their familial relationships and upbringing might have influenced their marriage and their reign. She goes on to explore their years together and the power struggle that never quite ended, even after Albert's death. Victoria quickly emerges as a strong, ambitious woman, determined to rule in a misogynistic society. Deprived and suppressed throughout her girlhood, she quickly embraces her independence and power. Albert, also deprived and suppressed, has ambitions of his own. Raised with the knowledge that marriage is his only career path, he still longs to achieve greatness on his own. Together they reform British and European society, but theirs was hardly a marriage of true minds. Albert wanted a large family, Victoria didn't. Victoria was a Whig, Albert was a Tory. Both thought they should be in charge, COMPLETELY in charge. After Albert's death, Victoria (and later biographers) took great pains to make her husband a paragon and their marriage an example of perfect marital bliss. Gill presents a far more compelling story, one where each spouse struggles to define their role and find some autonomy in a very co-dependent relationship.
Pair this with the Young Victoria movie for a clearer look at the Queen and her consort or read it with Charles and Emma for a contrast with another fascinating Victorian couple.
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