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Victoria I - English Queen (1819-1901)
She became Queen at age eighteen, but her first years as regent were under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. By 1850 she had exerted her own control and vision which came to define the next fifty years in Great Britain as the "Victorian Era". She was given the title of Empress of India in 1876. Her reign lwas the longest of any British monarch and coincided with the Industrial Revolution during which the British Empire reached its zenith in prosperity, and world influence. She was grandmother of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The desk still used by the President of the U.S. in the Oval Office at the White House was a gift from Queen Victoria.
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Prince Albert - English Prince (1819-1861)
A German-born royal, in 1840 he married his cousin, Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Leery of his German background German background, British government officials rarely consulted him, though he was Victoria's private secretary throughout their marriage. In time, Albert's political influence rose. He encouraged Victoria's concern over social problems, including child labor and education. He had strong interest in the arts and sciences, and directed the Great Exhibition in 1851, the profits of which funded the building of numerous London museums, colleges, and the Royal Albert Hall. He died of typhoid fever in 1861. The Albert Memorial in London was constructed in his memory.
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Edward VII - English King (1841-1910)
He was the oldest son of Queen Victoria, and because of the length of her reign he was age sixty by the time he succeeded to the throne in 1901. He studied at Oxford and Cambridge, served as a colonel in the military, and was the first royal prince to visit a British colony when he went to Canada in 1860. He had numerous mistresses, was considered to be rather indiscretionate by nature, and was therefore excluded from affairs of government by Victoria. His reign however was characterized by royal participation in public life. He was the uncle of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, whom he greatly disliked.
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Mary Stuart - Queen of Scotland (1542-1587)
Known as Mary, Queen of Scots, she was the daughter of James V, next heir to the English throne after the children of King Henry VIII. She became Queen when six days old and was raised in France as a Roman Catholic. Upon returning to Scotland she enjoyed popular support, but her inclination to impose Catholicism in the country and power struggles with the Scottish aristocracy led to her disfavor. She was eventually forced to abdicate the throne and flee to England, where she was held prisoner for the remainder of her life by Queen Elizabeth I. She eventually fell victim to political intrigue, was sentenced to death, and beheaded.
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Alfonso XIII - Spanish King (1886-1941)
Last of the Bourbon monarchs, he was born shortly after the death of his father, King Alfonso XII. His mother was regent until he was sixteen. By the time he succeeded to the throne, Spain had lost the Spanish-American War and nearly all of its once vast colonial empire. He was an autocratic ruler, repeatedly interfering with the Spanish Parliament, causing increasing political discontent, and under his reign Spain also lost its control over Morocco. By 1931 he was forced to agree to open elections which were won by proponents of a republican government. He lost support of the military, and upon refusing to abdicate the throne, was forced into exile.
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George V - English King (1865-1936)
Second son of King Edward VII, and grandson of Queen Victoria I. He trained as a young man for a career in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of Commander. Became heir to the throne upon the death of his elder brother, and succeeded as king in 1910 upon the death of Edward VII. He visited India in 1911, the only King to do so. During the First World War he made hundreds of visits to troops and wounded servicemen in hospitals. He pressed for humane treatment of German prisoners-of-war and for tolerance of conscientious objectors. Facing anti-German sentiment in England during World War I, he changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
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Charlemagne - King of the Franks (742-814)
Known in English as Charles the Great. During his reign he conquered and united the western German tribes, converting many to Christianity, and conquered much of Western Europe, consolidating it into what became the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Known as the Emperor of the West, he was a patron of literature, science and art, and was credited as the founder of many schools. A large body of heroic myth and romantic legend developed in the Middle Ages relating to his life and exploits.
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Victor Emmanuel II - Italian King (1820-1878)
He became king of the northwestern Italian states in 1849 after his father abdicated the throne following two humiliating military defeats by Austria. Shortly after assuming the throne he achieved a temporary peace with Austria. He joined forces with England and France in the Crimean War. In 1861 he became the first king of a united Italy following the successful unification campaign led by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Camillo di Cavour. Led further campaigns freeing Italy of Austrian and French occupation.
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Wilhelm II - German Emperor (1859-1941)
The eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria, he suffered from a birth defect that left his left arm withered and useless. He overcame this handicap, but was by nature vain, militaristic, insensitive, and narcissistic. His inferiority complex and a love-hate relationship with England and his uncle, Edward VII, led him to pursue German political and military dominance in Europe. Wilhelm failed to halt Germany's entrance into the First World War and when the war ended unfavorably for Germany his popularity failed. He fled in late 1918 to the Netherlands where he lived until his death. He is pictured here with his wife, Empress Augusta Victoria.
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Franz Josef - Austrian Emperor (1830-1916)
Franz Josef was crowned Emperor of Austria in 1848 at age 18. He was also crowned King of Hungary in 1867, and this dual monarchy would last until his death in 1916. As Emperor he lost major wars to France (1848) and Prussia (1866). His brother Maximilian was executed in 1867 in Mexico. His only son, Rudolph, committed suicide in 1889, and his wife was assassinated in Geneva in 1897. The assassination in 1914 of his nephew and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo caused the Emperor to declare war on Serbia, igniting the First World War.
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Wilhelmina - Dutch Queen (1880-1962)
When she became Queen in 1890, the union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg dissolved because Luxembourg refused to recognize a female ruler. She supported Dutch neutrality in the First World War. She fled to England in 1940 at the beginning of the Second World War following the German invasion of the Netherlands and formed a Dutch government in exile. During the war she made frequent radio broadcasts from London over "Radio Orange", inspiring Dutch resistance. She returned to the Netherlands after the end of the war. She abdicated the throne in 1948 in favor of her daughter Juliana.
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Caroline of Brunswick - English Queen (1768-1821)
She was wed to George IV, the Prince of Wales, in 1795 in a marriage arranged by King George III. After their daughter was born, the Prince abandoned Caroline. She
refused to divorce him and in 1814 went to live in Europe. In 1820 King George III died, and Caroline returned to England to assume the role of queen consort. George IV offered her an annuity to renounce the throne. She refused, and the King initiated divorce proceedings on the grounds of adultery, however the charges were later dropped. George IV was crowned King in 1821, however Caroline was not allowed to attend the ceremony. She died shortly thereafter.
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Haakon VII - King of Norway (1872-1957)
Second son of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, as Prince Carl he married a daughter of King Edward VII of England. He was elected to the Norwegian throne after the separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905. He reigned during two world wars. A champion of democracy, when the Germans invaded Norway in 1940 he refused to abdicate, fled to England, and established a Norwegian government in exile. His refusal to submit to German pressure inspired the Norwegian people to resist the German occupation. He remained a popular leader until his death.
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Marie Henrietta - English Royal (1609-1669)
Daughter of King Henry IV of France and sister of King Louis XIII of France. In 1625 she was married to King Charles I of England. As queen consort, her dealings with the Pope, foreign powers, and the military led to suspicion of Charles, fear of a Catholic uprising, and the onset of the English Civil War. In 1649, after years civil turmoil amidst Charles' autocratic rule, he was condemned as a tyrant and enemy of the nation and beheaded. Marie then fled to France.
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