Queen Victoria, Empress of India (mini album)

The unlikeliest of monarchs also enjoyed what was at the time the longest reign in British history. Victoria is associated with the Golden Age of the British Empire, when her nation was the world’s greatest power, on which the sun never set. Born Alexandrina Victoria in 1819, the grand daughter of George III only inherited the throne because her late father’s three older brothers died without legitimate heirs. She became Queen in 1837, at the age of 18, and ruled until her death in 1901.  Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whom she married in 1840, was also her cousin. Their children married into royal families throughout the continent, earning her the nickname “Grandmother of Europe.”  This 1/2 pice from British India, issued late in her reign, bears the inscription VICTORIA EMPRESS.