PUTTING VICTORIA’S NAME ON IT

Born 200 years ago, Queen Victoria’s reign is no less remarkable today than it was at the time. Her 63 years on the throne pipped every one of her predecessors and she presided over the expansion of the largest empire the world has ever seen. At its peak, the British Empire covered nearly a quarter of the globe’s land surface and population, colouring every continent partly pink and encompassing more than 400 million people. “Look at the British Colonial empire – the most magnificent empire that the world ever saw,” declared Sir Henry Ward from the House of Commons in 1839. “The old Spanish boast that the sun never set in their dominions, has been more truly realised amongst ourselves.”

Born at Kensington Palace on 24 May 1819, Victoria looms large to this day. She is the only monarch immortalised by rock’n’roll – , by the Kinks, is one in a long tradition of eponymous offerings – Mrs Beeton presented the Victoria Sandwich and. “Naming cities and landmarks after Queen Victoria was a means of asserting British control of diverse regions around the world.”