Victoria on PBS: Did She and Albert Really Become Engaged That Quickly?
On this week’s episode of Victoria, she and Albert end up in love in less than an hour. Did their courtship happen so quickly in real life?
It seems a bit ridiculous, really. At the start of this week’s episode of Victoria, Her Majesty seems none too pleased about the arrival of her first cousins, Ernest and Albert, who are themselves princes. By the end of this week’s episode, Victoria is asking a very special question, and then Albert picks her up and kisses her. One’s left wondering if the writers had to squeeze a period of months into the episode.
Apparently, that’s not the case. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, which also sneakily mentions that Vicky’s friendship with Lord Melbourne was “romantic”, Her Majesty proposed to Albert within five days.
Here’s an excerpt from her diary, reprinted here from Britannica:
"“Albert really is quite charming, and so extremely handsome…a beautiful figure, broad in the shoulders and a fine waist; my heart is quite going.”"
That emphasis is all Victoria’s, by the way. We’re pretty sure that that’s the equivalent of calling someone a babe or a smokeshow these days, or whatever the youths say.
In other words, much as we like to assume that she was quite prim and proper, the fact that she and Albert went on to have nine children really says a lot. That’s doubly true when you come to grips with the idea that she also really didn’t like having children. (In fact, their first child, creatively named Victoria, was born in 1840, the same year they got married.)
Also, they totally were down with having nude paintings around, to the point where they had one hanging by their writing desks.
Additionally, the show also does get right that the two were at Windsor at the time. And yes, Victoria’s uncle Leopold did encourage the match, per Britannica.
Next: 16 Times Victoria Made Us History Didn't Happen
In other words, although it might seem odd to the general consciousness, Victoria and Albert really did love each other.