Yes, we call it 2-4, even when it’s only the 20th, but today is supposed to be a celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday. The 24th of May happens to be her 200th. And here are five things about her you might not have known.
- Her first name wasn’t Victoria. She was Alexandrina Victoria but preferred to be called by her second name or the nickname, ‘Drina.
- She survived several attempts on her life. She was shot at, her carriage was attacked, and a man conked her on the royal noggin with an iron-tipped cane.
- She proposed to her beau – her first cousin (EWWW!) – who became her husband. Sadly, Albert died of typhoid fever 21 years later, at the age of just 42. The couple had nine children.
- Victoria fell into what we would now recognize as deep depression and refused her public duties. It took her many years to recover from Albert’s death and to resume public life.
- Victoria is credited with starting the trend of wearing white wedding dresses. Before her nuptials, women wore dresses of all colours to get wed.
- BONUS FACT: Her favourite beer was Budweiser, and that’s why so many are cracked open on her birthday weekend!*
*this is not true. She preferred Coors.