Victoria of the United Kingdom
Queen Victoria (1819–1901) was queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death. She was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and a granddaughter of George III. Victoria ruled for 63 years, in which the British Empire was more powerful than ever.
Sourced quotes
- "I will be good."[1]
- About the quote: Spoken as a girl, when shown that she was going to become queen one day.
- "It was with some emotion...that I beheld Albert—who is beautiful."[2]
- Simple: It was with some feeling...that I looked at Albert—who is beautiful.
- About the quote: Spoken on her first meeting with her future husband, Prince Albert, as an adult.
- "What you say of the pride of giving life to an immortal soul is very fine, dear, but I own I can not enter into that; I think much more of our being like a cow or a dog at such moments; when our poor nature becomes so very animal and unecstatic."[3]
- Simple: What you say of the pride giving life to an everlasting soul is very good, dear, but I myself can not enter into that; I think much more of being like a cow or a dog at such moments; when our poor manner becomes very animal and unexcited.
- About the quote: Letter to her eldest daughter, the Princess Royal.
- "Dirty, dark, and undevotional."[3]
- Simple: Dirty, dark, and ungodly.
- About the quote: Spoken about St Paul's Cathedral in 1872.
- "The danger to the country, to Europe, to her vast Empire, which is involved in having all these great interests entrusted to the shaking hand of an old, wild, and incomprehensible man of 82, is very great!"[3]
- Simple: The danger to the country, to Europe, to her great Empire, which is involved in having all these great interests in the trust of the shaking hand of an old, wild, and unclear man of 82, is very great!
- About the quote: To Lord Lansdowne, upon the start of Gladstone's fourth term as Prime Minister in 1892.
- "The future Vice Roy must...not be guided by the snobbish and vulgar, over-bearing and offensive behaviour of our Civil and Political Agents, if we are to go on peaceably and happily in India...not trying to trample on the people and continuously reminding them and making them feel they are a conquered people."[3]
- Simple: The future viceroy [of India] must...not be guided by the stuck-up and indecent, over-bearing and insulting behaviour of our Civil and Political Agents, if we are to go on with peace and happiness in India...not trying to walk over people and always reminding them and making them feel that they are a conquered people.
- About the quote: To the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, in 1898.
- "He speaks to me as if I was a public meeting."[4]
- Simple: He speaks to me as if I were a public meeting.
- About the quote: Speaking of William Ewart Gladstone, her Prime Minister.
- "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist."[3]
- Simple: We are not interested in the chances of loss; they do not exist.
- About the quote: Speaking of the Boer War in 1899.
- "We are not amused."[5]
- Simple: We do not find that funny.
- About the quote: Attributed.
Notes
- ↑ H. C. G. Matthew and K. D. Reynolds, Victoria (1819–1901), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 18 Nov 2008
- ↑ Victoria/Esher, Girlhood, 2.262
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Victoria, Queen" The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Ed. Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed on 18 November 2008
- ↑ Strachey, p. 336
- ↑ "We are not amused". Phrases.org. Retrieved on November 20
References
- Matthew, H. C. G. and Reynolds, K. D., Victoria (1819–1901), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 18 Nov 2008
- Victoria, Queen; Reginald Brett, Viscount Esher (1912). The girlhood of Queen Victoria: a selection from her majesty's diaries between the years 1832 and 1840. London: John Murray.
- Strachey, Lytton (2005). Queen Victoria. Kessinger Publishing.
