Cultural depictions of Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria of the United Kingdom has been portrayed or referenced many times.

Literature

In 1937 Lord Chamberlain the Earl of Cromer ruled that no British sovereign may be portrayed on the British stage until 100 years after his or her accession. For this reason, Laurence Housman's play Victoria Regina (1935), which had earlier appeared at the Gate Theatre Studio in London with Pamela Stanley in the title role, could not have its British premiere until the centenary of Queen Victoria's accession, 20 June 1937. This was a Sunday, so the new premiere took place the next day, at the Lyric Theatre. Pamela Stanley reprised the title role at Housman's request, and Carl Esmond played Prince Albert. The play later appeared on Broadway, where Helen Hayes portrayed the Queen, with Vincent Price in the role of Prince Albert.

A 'Royal Diaries' book was written, documenting her childhood between 1829 and 1830: Victoria, May Blossom of Britannia by Anna Kirwan.

Film

On screen, Victoria has been portrayed by:

• Rose Tapley in the silent short The Victoria Cross (1912)
• Louie Henri in the silent film Disraeli (1916)
• Blanche Graham in the silent film Livingstone (1925), the story of David Livingstone
• Julia Faye in the silent film The Yankee Clipper (1927)
• Marion Drada in the silent film Balaclava (1928)
• Margaret Mann in Disraeli (1929)
• Madeleine Ozeray in the German French-language musical La Guerre des valses (1933)
• Hanna Waag in the German film Walzerkrieg (1933)
• Pamela Stanley in David Livingstone (1936) and Marigold (1938), based on the play by Charles Garvice, Allen Harker and F. Prior
• Fay Holden in The White Angel (1936), the story of Florence Nightingale
• Yvette Pienne in the French comedy Les Perles de la couronne (1937)
• Viva Tattersall in Souls at Sea (1937)
• Anna Neagle in the biopics Victoria the Great (1937) and Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
• Beryl Mercer in The Little Princess (1939), based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
• Fay Compton in The Prime Minister (1941), about Benjamin Disraeli, and Journey to Midnight (1968)
• Evelyn Beresford in Buffalo Bill (1944) and the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
• Pamela Brown in Alice in Wonderland (1949), in which she also played the Queen of Hearts
• Irene Dunne in The Mudlark (1950), based on the novel by Theodore Bonnet
• Helena Pickard in The Lady with the Lamp (1951), based on the play by Reginald Berkeley about Florence Nightingale
• Muriel Aked in The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)
• Sybil Thorndike in Melba (1953), the story of soprano Nellie Melba
• Romy Schneider in the West German biopic Mädchenjahre einer Königin (1954), which features a highly fictionalised story about Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne and marriage to Prince Albert
• Avis Bunnage in the comedy The Wrong Box (1966)
• Barbara Carroll in the Italian film Zorro alla corte d'Inghilterra (1969), in which Zorro visits the British Court
• Mollie Maureen in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
• Peter Sellers in The Great McGonagall (1974), a comic biopic of William McGonagall
• Susan Field in the spoof The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
• John Dalby in the musical fantasy Stories from a Flying Trunk (1979)
• Judi Dench in Mrs Brown (1997), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
• Debra Beaumont in the Chinese film The Opium War (1997)
• Liz Moscrop in From Hell (2001), based on the graphic novel
• Gemma Jones in Shanghai Knights (2003)
• Tress MacNeille (voice) in the animated short Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)
• Kathy Bates in Around the World in 80 Days (2004), based on the novel by Jules Verne
• Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria (2008), with Michaela Brooks playing Victoria as a girl

She also makes appearances in Around the World in Eighty Days (in which a newspaper detailing Phileas Fogg's progress is taken to the Queen, and what is presumably the royal hand is seen eagerly taking it up), and in the 2004 anime movie Steamboy, inaugurating The Great Exhibition. The 1941 Nazi film Ohm Krüger notoriously portrays her as a whisky-soaked drunk. Her daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, reads a letter from Victoria to London Hospital governors, showing her concern for John Merrick, in the 1980 film The Elephant Man.

Television

On television, Victoria has been portrayed by:

• Helen Hayes in Victoria Regina (1951), an episode of the American series Robert Montgomery Presents based on the play by Housman
• Renée Asherson in the BBC drama series Happy and Glorious (1952)
• Judi Meredith in The Consort (1957), an episode of the American series Telephone Time
• Julie Harris in the American drama Victoria Regina (1961), based on Housman's play
• Kate Reid in the American drama The Invincible Mr. Disraeli (1963)
• Patricia Routledge in the Granada Television series Victoria Regina (1964), also based on Housman's play
• Gladys Spencer in the BBC Play of the Month Gordon of Khartoum (1966)
• Jane Connell in an episode of the American sitcom Bewitched titled "Aunt Clara's Victoria Victory" (1967)
• Christine Ozanne in an episode of the Yorkshire Television drama series The Flaxton Boys titled "1854: The Dog" (1969)
• Mollie Maureen in the BBC drama series The Edwardians (1972)
• Perlita Neilson and (as an old woman) Mavis Edwards in the BBC drama series Fall of Eagles (1974)
• Terry Jones in an episode of the BBC comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus titled "Sex and Violence" (1969)
• Michael Palin in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus titled "Michael Ellis" (1974)
• Annette Crosbie in the ATV drama series Edward the Seventh (1975)
• Shirley Steedman in the British series East Lynne (1976), based on the novel by Mrs Henry Wood
• Rosemary Leach in the ATV drama series Disraeli (1978)
• Sheila Reed in the LWT drama series Lillie (1978), telling the story of Lillie Langtry
• Jacquelyn Hyde in the American comedy drama The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979)
• Jessica Spencer in an episode of the Granada Television drama series Cribb titled "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (1981)
• Marina McConnell in the Granada drama series Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982)
• Lurene Tuttle in an episode of the American time travel series Voyagers! titled "Buffalo Bill & Annie Oakley Play the Palace" (1983)
• Zena Walker in the episode of the Yorkshire Television drama series Number 10 titled "Dizzy" (1983)
• Bronwen Mantel in the drama Barnum (1986)
• Erica Rogers in the miniseries Shaka Zulu (1986), based on the novel by Joshua Sinclair
• Miriam Margolyes in the BBC comedy Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)
• Anna Massey in the miniseries Around the World in 80 Days (1989)
• Honora Burke in the British drama Hands of a Murderer (1990)
• Margaret Heale in the BBC drama series Rhodes (1996)
• Rhoda Lewis and (as an old woman) Avril Angers in the Granada miniseries Victoria and Albert (1997)
• Wendy Worthington in an episode of the Paramount sitcom The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer titled "Saving Mr. Lincoln" (1998)
• Patti Allen in the series The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (2000)
• Victoria Hamilton in the miniseries Victoria & Albert (2001), in which Joyce Redman played her as an old woman
• Prunella Scales in the BBC drama Station Jim (2001) and in the BBC drama documentary Looking for Victoria (2003), in which Charlie Hayes played the young Victoria
• Janine Duvitski in the BBC drama The Young Visiters (2003)
• Doreen Mantle in the BBC drama series Shadow Play (2004)
• Tessa Pointing in the British drama documentary The First Black Britons (2005)
• Pauline Collins in the episode of the BBC series Doctor Who titled "Tooth and Claw" (2006)

Monty Python's Flying Circus portrays Queen Victoria as a slapstick prankster and includes a sketch in which she says "We are not amused" in German accented English. Another Monty Python sketch contains a footrace in which all the contestants are dressed as Queen Victoria.

In a series of sketches portraying the Phantom Raspberry Blower, the Two Ronnies dress an entire squad of policemen as Queen Victoria to act as body doubles for protection from the PRB.

In the 2006 series of Doctor Who, Queen Victoria appears in the episode "Tooth and Claw", where she is played by Pauline Collins. In the episode, set in 1879, she is threatened by a werewolf that wants to infect her and take control of her empire. It is suggested that a scratch from the werewolf is the source of haemophilia in many of her descendants. Rose Tyler makes a bet with the Doctor for £10 that she can get the Queen to say "We are not amused". At the episode's conclusion, she founds the Torchwood Institute, an integral feature of the spin-off series Torchwood, with various (fictional) speeches and proclamations by her available on the Torchwood Institute website

The BBC series Blackadder Goes Forth, set in World War I, alludes humorously to Queen Victoria's heritage. Captain Blackadder interrogates Captain Kevin Darling whom he suspects to be a German spy. Captain Darling: "I'm as British as Queen Victoria!" Captain Blackadder: "So – your mother's German, your father's half German and you married a German?".

Other

The Kinks honour Queen Victoria and her empire in their 1969 song "Victoria". The song has since been covered by The Fall, Cracker, and Sonic Youth. Both The Kinks' and The Fall's versions were UK Top 40 hits.

Leonard Cohen refers to her in a mostly non-factual way in his 1964 poem "Queen Victoria and Me", and again in the 1972 song "Queen Victoria" (based on the poem). The song was later covered by John Cale.

Queen Victoria's reign features in the Paradox Interactive game, Victoria, An Empire Under the Sun. In this game a player guides a country through colonisation, the Industrial Revolution, warfare and various historic events.

In 2006, the Comics Sherpa online comic service started carrying a comic strip titled The New Adventures of Queen Victoria using cut-out photographs and portraits of the Queen and others.

Footnotes