New
New
Year 2
Victoria's 'melancholy' childhood
I can explain why Victoria's early life was 'melancholy'.
New
New
Year 2
Victoria's 'melancholy' childhood
I can explain why Victoria's early life was 'melancholy'.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Almost 200 years ago, a woman called Victoria became the Queen of the United Kingdom.
- She would go on to rule for longer than any other monarch before her and be remembered as very important.
- However, when she was very little her life was very sad, later Victoria would describe it as 'melancholy'.
- She was very lonely; her father died when she was just one year old and her mother was very protective of her.
- Victoria did not meet many other children, spending her days learning or playing with her dolls and her dog, Dash.
Common misconception
That nothing is known about Victoria (or indeed other monarchs) before becoming Queen.
There is a lot of historical evidence about Victoria's childhood including written accounts and artefacts that tell us a great deal about what her early life was like.
Keywords
Monarch - the king or queen of a country is its monarch
Melancholy - a feeling of sadness is described as melancholy
Queen Victoria is so significant there are places around the world named after her. From cities to smaller towns, to streets and parks, individual buildings, trains and boats. Choose some of these and share photographs or facts about them with the pupils to help them begin to grasp her significance.
Teacher tip
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Elizabeth II was __________ of England.
King
Duke
Princess
Q2.
Which of these would a queen usually wear?
A helmet
A cycling helmet
A hat
Q3.
Which of these statements is correct?
England, Wales and Scotland have always had the same king or queen ruling them.
Today, England, Wales and Scotland have different kings or queens ruling them.
Q4.
What can we learn from looking at this photograph?
The language people spoke in the past.
The thoughts people had in the past.
Q5.
Starting with the earliest, place these events of Elizabeth II's life in chronological order.
Q6.
Today, what do many people expect their rulers to do?
Spend lots of money
Ignore what their country needs
Q2 image 1 PixelSquid3d, Shutterstock.com Q4 © Bridgeman Images Q6 © Photopress Archiv / Keystone / Bridgeman Images
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Victoria's mother was a princess from...
England
Scotland
Q2.
Victoria was born in the...
18th century
20th century
21st century
Q3.
Which of these images shows Queen Victoria?
Q4.
To understand how Victoria felt, we can read her diaries and...
Q5.
Victoria described her childhood as...
happy
joyful
awful
Q6.
Which of these events made Victoria's early life 'melancholy'?
She had a spaniel called Dash for company.
Q3 image 1 Source: Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805–1873). This work is in the public domain. Q3 image 2 © Universal History Archive/UIG / Bridgeman Images Q3 image 3 "The Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, c.1590 (oil on panel)", English School, (16th century) / English, c. 1590 AD (C16th AD), Bridgeman Images
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