Just over 200 years ago, the future Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, Her arrival, on 24 May 1819, marked the start of a very famous story. While the healthy baby girl was happily welcomed by her parents, the family had been forced to race against the clock for Victoria’s birth.
Her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent was the fifth child and fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. As he was not set to inherit any major roles, he joined the Army and spent much of his career abroad in Canada and Gibraltar. He spent nearly three decades in a long term relationship with a woman called Madame de Saint-Laurent.
However, following the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in November 1817, the Royal Family found the line of succession in deep crisis. The heir to the throne, the future George IV, was still married to Caroline of Brunswick but the pair had long been separated and loathed each other. His brothers had no legitimate children to pass the throne to while George III and Charlotte’s daughters were largely past the age of child-bearing by the the time Princess Charlotte died.,
The responsibility fell to their sons to marry and produce legitimate children. Edward, Duke of Kent as well as his brothers, the Duke of Clarence and Duke of Cambridge, quickly contracted marriages to try and produce the needed heir.
Prince Edward married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess. The 50 year old prince and 32 year old princess married in the spring of 1818 and quickly moved to Germany as they could not afford to live in England.
Princess Victoria found herself pregnant later in 1818. However, following seventeenth century scandals at the Stuart court, the baby’s birth would need to be witnessed in England.
They were forced to race across Europe while Victoria was pregnant to be back in time for the baby to be born in England.
While the journey was uncomfortable for the pregnant princess, they landed at Dover on 23 April and made their way to Kensington Palace.
On 24 May, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent was born at Kensington Palace at 4:14am. She was fifth in the line of succession when she was born; however, she would find herself queen shortly after her eighteenth birthday in 1837.
