My Dearest, Dearest Albert

Using excerpts from her letters and diaries, this book shows the very human face of Queen Victoria, from spirited young princess to caring Queen, passionate bride and loving mother to great-grandmother of a royal dynasty who gave her name to the age of improvement. Photographs of Queen Victoria most often show a plump Empress wearing widow’s black; serious and regal. The posed portrait photos were stiff, formal affairs, partly because subjects needed to stay still for the exposure and partly bec