A Tale of Two Queens:
Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and the Modernization of the British Monarchy

 
Courtesy of The Victorian Web and The National Portrait Gallery
 
Of all the professions available consistently throughout history to the people of England, the monarchy has been perhaps the least open to women.  As the sovereign, policy maker, and leader of the armed forces, it would be, and was, extremely odd for a woman to be successful in navigating her way around such a patriarchical society.  Yet, two women, Elizabeth I and Victoria, separated by time but not by aptitude, managed not only to fill the throne of their fathers, but to also become two of the most successful and celebrated monarchs of their nation.  Although in many respects the challenges they faced were similar, the requirements they had to fulfill were very different.  In the rough and tumble national politics of sixteenth century England, Elizabeth Tudor had little choice but to distance herself from her feminine side, adopting a harsh, masculine tone in her speeches often.  Victoria, over 200 years later, was free to reference her more delicate attributes, and indeed, would probably be rejected by her people had she attempted to become another ‘Virgin Queen’.  The demands placed upon the two Queens, and their created public personas, show in sharp relief not only the rise of the domestic sphere, but also the movement away from reliance on the monarch as the sole governmental authority.
 
Table of Contents
 
* Marriage and the Family
Queen Victoria and her Prince.
The Virgin Queen.
 
* Court and Political Ethics
Victorian Morality and Parliament.
The Privy Council and Conspicuous Consumption.
 
 
* Other Women
Reliance on Albert and Female Suffrage.
One Woman Court.

Conclusion
 
* Bibliography
Book Sources.
Internet Resources.

Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery

Copyright © 2002. ECFS. All Rights Reserved.