Albert & Vicphwoaria!
SHE is usually remembered as the prudish, portly matron figure that she became in her latter years.
But Queen Victoria was a sexobsessed young woman who put her bedroom activities with husband Prince Albert above caring for their young children, according to ITV’s Victoria.
This raunchier side will emerge when the drama returns for a new eight-part series in September after the huge success of its debut season last year. ‘The Royal couple were always being interrupted by the servants when getting it on,’ says a source close to the drama.
The source said the pair – described as the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton of their day – were vibrant and sexual, adding: ‘The truth is Victoria much preferred being a wife than a mother.
‘It wasn’t that she disliked her children. But she didn’t like pregnancy and the whole ritual of having a baby, being treated like an invalid and by extension not being able to have sex.’ The drama, starring Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert, will also focus on their legendary rows. One scene will see the Queen hurl a jewelled hairbrush at Albert. Later, the petulant Prince goes out to dinner and ignores a series of her written commands to return.
The insider said: ‘I think we still regard Victoria and Albert as having a traditional Victorian marriage where she looks adoringly up at him and he stands “pater familias” looking down on her. But in fact they had incandescent rows. I think viewers will be surprised to see how heated things got.’ Producers insist the rows are drawn from letters and diaries.
Victoria, written by the novelist Daisy Goodwin and attracting six million viewers, beat BBC blockbuster Poldark in the ratings when the shows went head to head on Sunday night.
Lord Fellowes, who studied the Queen for the film The Young Victoria and created Downton Abbey, said: ‘Victoria was full of passion, humour, love, rage, all of it... It’s a marvellous idea for television.’