Queen Victoria's Letters (2014)

Queen Victoria’s Letters: A Monarch Unveiled - a documentary film in two parts – was shown on British television (BBC) and released on DVD in 2014. Here is some basic information about it:

** Written and presented by Andrew Norman Wilson

** Directed by Ian Denyer

** Produced by Susie Atwood & Claire Whalley

** Excerpts from Queen Victoria’s letters and journals are read by Anna Chancellor

** Run time: 2 x 59 minutes = 118 minutes

As stated above, there are two episodes:

** The first episode – “Constraint” – covers the first half of Victoria’s long life, i.e. the time until 1861, when her husband Prince Albert died.

** The second episode – “Liberation” – covers the second half of Victoria’s life, i.e. the time from 1861 to her death in 1901.

What do reviewers say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 81 per cent, which corresponds to four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is quite appropriate. Why? The topic is interesting and presented in a professional way; the experts who are interviewed by the presenter are well-chosen; many aspects of Queen Victoria’s life are covered in this film, but it has a flaw: one important topic “Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children” is almost completely ignored.

This is a shame, because this topic is highly relevant if we want to go behind the official façade of the queen and get a closer look at the real person, the true character.

The oldest son Bertie who became king under the name Edward VII is mentioned briefly, and so is the oldest daughter Victoria who is usually known as Vicky. But the other seven children are never mentioned and we hear nothing about Victoria’s relationship with them.

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Victoria and Albert tried to control and dominate the lives of their children. They had the notion that a young child is like a blank piece of paper where you can write anything you want. They believed that if you teach a child certain things, you will get a certain result. In other words: that you can form and shape a child in any way you want. Obviously, this notion is false.

When Albert died in 1861, Victoria became a single mother of nine children. By that time, the children were growing up, but Victoria did not want them to grow up to be independent persons. She wanted to control and dominate them - even more than before. She told them they should emulate their father who was held up as the ultimate ideal.

None of this is mentioned in the film. I do not understand how and why A. N. Wilson, who is an expert on Queen Victoria, could fail to include this essential aspect in his analysis of Queen Victoria’s character.

I like this film and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, it has a flaw, which cannot be ignored; which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove one star because of this flaw. Therefore I think it deserves a rating of four stars.

PS # 1. In episode one at 34:50, A. N. Wilson tries to impersonate Queen Victoria. This was not a good idea. In fact, he sounds ridiculous. There are a few other cases as well, but this is the worst. I am surprised that nobody from the film crew told him not to do this. He should read Victoria’s words in a neutral way or let someone else do the impersonation. Trying to impersonate Queen Victoria was a bad decision.

PS # 2. For more information about the topic not covered in Wilson’s film, see the following items:

** Queen Victoria’s Children – a documentary film in three parts (shown on BBC in 2013)

** Queen Victoria’s Children – a book written by John van der Kiste (paperback 2009)

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Andrew Norman Wilson (born 1950)

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