Danielle Thorne - The Story of Queen Victoria 200 Years After Her Birth: People Who Changed the Course of History

People Who Changed the Course of History: The Story of Queen Victoria 200 Years After Her Birth

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Thorne, Danielle, author

Title: The story of Queen Victoria 200 years after her birth : people who changed the course of history / by Danielle Thorne.

Other titles: Story of Queen Victoria two hundred years after her birth

Description: Ocala, Florida : Atlantic Publishing Group, 2017. | Series: People Who changed the course of history | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018006510 (print) | LCCN 2018020044 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620235317 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620235300 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781620235324 (library edition : alk. paper) | ISBN 1620235307 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901. | Queens--Great Britain--Biography. | Great Britain--History--Victoria, 1837-1901.

Classification: LCC DA554 (ebook) | LCC DA554 .T56 2018 (print) | DDC 941.081092 [B] --dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018006510

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Chapter Six

Enemies and Errors

L ike many world leaders, Queen Victorias own life was in danger on several occasions. Sometimes, the curious or mentally ill would sneak into her gardens or even the palace. Other times, she found herself in true danger of being murdered by obsessed, insane, or angry men, determined to assassinate the Queen of England. Her calm and courageous reaction in every life-threatening situation made the people of the United Kingdom admire and respect her even more.

Queen Victoria was attacked eight times by seven different men during her reign. All of them were captured and punished, but none of them were executed. The queens compassion spared them their lives, and because of her ability to rise above their actions, all seven of them disappeared and were almost forgotten. She became as famous as ever for her nerves of steel and compassionate heart.

Edward Oxford

The first attempt on Victorias life happened in the summer of 1840, just a few months after she had married Prince Albert. Traveling by carriage to the popular Hyde Park, Victoria was surprised when Albert reached for her in alarm. At first, the young queen thought someone was shooting birds, and she laughed. Then another shot exploded into the back of the carriage wall over her head. Victoria later assured Albert, I was not the least frightened.

The public was impressed with Victorias bravery after the shots were fired. She insisted on continuing her trip and returning home on another public road. Later that day, horseback riders in the park saw the royal carriage returning, and they surrounded the queen to escort her safely back to Buckingham Palace.

Immediately after the attack, onlookers in the park captured the young gunman and delivered him to the police. Only 17 years old, the police discovered Edward Oxford belonged to an unofficial political group, or club, called the New England or the Young England. Oxford insisted the club, which believed in an absolute monarchy , wanted Victoria dead. He also said that the King of Hanover was a member and plotter, too.

Edward Oxfords assassination attempt on Queen Victoria is depicted in this painting by G.H. Miles in 1840.

Oxford kept other weapons in his room. He was poor and dreamed of revolution. The newspapers expressed concerns he was a paid assassin from Hanover, Germany, but Oxford later told police he wanted to kill the queen because he didnt believe a woman had the right to rule the United Kingdom.

Edward Oxford was sent to an insane asylum for 27 years. After his release, the government sent him to Australia. Its believed he settled in the city of Melbourne, changed his name, and lived a respectable life as a painter and churchwarden. He later died in 1900 after finding himself in trouble with the law once more after suffering from delusions.

John Francis

The second would-be assassin of Queen Victoria tried to shoot her twice. John Francis was a small, angry-looking young man. The papers reported Francis, the well-known son of the head machinist who operated and repaired machines, at the Theater Royal in Covent Garden, was thought to be respectable. Unknown to police, he had taken a shot at the carriage the day before in Green Park ,but he was caught on his second try on May 30, 1842.