June 20, 2013

This day in history:
Victoria became queen on 20 June, 1837, with the death of her uncle, King William IV. She was 18 years old. Queen Victoria is the longest reigning British Monarch. Her long reign saw many changes to society; science and technology were encouraged and supported; her many children and their foreign marriages brought Britain connections with virtually every European monarchy, while the British empire reached its grandest scale. It was also a largely peaceful reign. Although there were conflicts in the Empire, British forces were only involved in one European conflict, the Crimean War (1854-56). read more