Victoria: Truth or fiction?
THE REALITY BEHIND HIT TELLY SHOW
REEL: Eyebrows were raised when Jenna Coleman, one of the UK’s hottest young actresses, was cast as Victoria. At 5ft 1in, Jenna is only a few inches taller than the real Queen. And she wears striking blue contact lenses to transform her brown eyes. Her long-term boyfriend is Scottish Game Of Thrones heart-throb Richard Madden.
REAL: The real Victoria was a “short, vulgar-looking child” who had bulging eyes and a tendency to be overweight. In fact, in her later years, she was so portly she had a 50-inch waist. She was absolutely tiny, just 4ft 11in, and needed a specially-made throne as she was too short. Jenna’s petite frame fits comfortably into a tiny-waisted corset – any later weight-gain to copy Victoria will likely have to be padding.
REEL: Jenna is actually 30, so her youthful looks came in handy for portraying the teenager thrust on to the throne.
REAL: Victoria was crowned when she only was 18. Writing in her diary, the Queen said the Archbishop put the regal ring on her wrong finger, and she faced a painful struggle to remove it later.
REEL: Episode two saw her scheming mother and evil Sir John Conroy concoct a plot to send her mad, like her grandfather, King George III. They used a plague of rats to make the young monarch think she’s losing her mind.
REAL: Victoria did have a strained relationship with her mother but there’s no evidence of a plot by her to depose her daughter. However, one of the first acts of her reign was to remove Sir John Conroy from her household. Her mother protested but Victoria gave her short shrift.
REEL: Victoria’s uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, also helped plot her downfall. “She’s got an unstable temperament,” he spat. “Her wits are fragile.”
REAL: Rumours persisted that the Duke of Cumberland was plotting against his niece. But in response to these accusations, the duke stood up in parliament and declared he would shed his “last drop of blood” for Victoria.
REEL: Victoria intervened on behalf of the Newport Chartists, who rebelled in order to gain the vote. Defying those demanding the traitors be hung, drawn and quartered, the compassionate Victoria commuted their sentences.
REAL: The Newport Chartists were in fact spared by the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. The young Queen wasn’t particularly interested in the starving poor, according to historians.