A quickie with... Jenna Coleman
How is Victoria coping with life as a mother?
She’s been in confinement since the birth of her child, which means she’s told she can’t do anything for herself – she has to lie horizontally while she’s pretty much treated like a child. As you can imagine, she’s not in the best of tempers, yearning for the outdoors and for work. And Albert has taken over while she has been away, leaving Victoria feeling threatened.
What’s her relationship with Albert like now?
The dynamics between them shift and change. Albert is incredibly ambitious, and has a great vision for the country. He is a workaholic, and Victoria is threatened, and initially resents any attempt to take away any of her power.
Why’s that?
You have to remember how long she has striven to be independent. It is a complex dynamic and creates a thunderous clash of wills.
Is the marriage strong?
Victoria worshiped Albert, and as they grew older together, the love grew more and more, as she learnt to rely upon him.
What were the main challenges this series?
The hardest thing about this series is learning how to do a scene with three children! I’ve not developed that multi-tasking function yet, maybe it comes with fictional motherhood. We move through time so fast this series, so we filmed with lots of different children. It was hilarious filming in the nursery, because we had the entire crew alongside us trying to find games to
h h h film Also, play wit t ec ildren so we could scenes. we have lots of riding scenes, as Victoria wants to get out of the palace and experience some freedom. We filmed in Scotland, and there is a sequence where Victoria and Albert get lost on horseback in the Highlands, which was beautiful. I had never ridden a horse before, but now I’ve learned to ride sidesaddle.