Victoria Information

Victoria is a British drama television series created by Daisy Goodwin and starring Jenna Coleman. The series was announced in September 2015 when Coleman decided to leave Doctor Who to take on the role as Queen Victoria.

Victoria premiered on 28 August 2016 on ITV. The first series consisted of eight episodes, and concluded on 9 October 2016. In September 2016, ITV renewed Victoria for a second series, followed by a Christmas special, both set to air in 2017.

Premise

The first series depicts the first few years of the reign of Queen Victoria, played by Jenna Coleman, from her accession to the throne at the age of eighteen, to her intense friendship and infatuation with Lord Melbourne, to her courtship and early marriage to Prince Albert (played by Tom Hughes) and finally to the birth of their first child, Victoria.

The second series will follow Victoria's struggles on managing her role as Queen with that of her duties to her husband and children.

Cast

Main

• Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria
• Tom Hughes as Prince Albert
• Peter Bowles as the Duke of Wellington
• Catherine Flemming as the Duchess of Kent
• Daniela Holtz as Baroness Lehzen
• Nell Hudson as Miss Skerrett
• Ferdinand Kingsley as Charles Elm Francatelli
• Tommy Knight as Brodie
• Nigel Lindsay as Sir Robert Peel
• Eve Myles as Mrs. Jenkins
• David Oakes as Prince Ernest
• Paul Rhys as Sir John Conroy
• Adrian Schiller as Penge
• Peter Firth as the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
• Alex Jennings as King Leopold
• Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne

Recurring

• Anna Wilson-Jones as Lady Portman, Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting
• Margaret Clunie as the Duchess of Sutherland, Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting
• Nichola McAuliffe as the Duchess of Cumberland, the German wife of the Duke of Cumberland
• Gabriel Constantin as Monsieur Philippe
• Jordan Waller as Lord Alfred Paget
• Basil Eidenbenz as Lohlein, Prince Albert's valet

Episodes

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| Viewers = 8.00 | ShortSummary = Victoria ascends to the throne after the death of her uncle, King William. She asserts her independence by standing up to her mother and Sir John Conroy, who had both reared her under the strict Kensington System. Victoria creates a scandal involving her mother's lady-in-waiting, Lady Flora Hastings, by spreading the rumor that Lady Flora is pregnant with Sir John's child. Lady Flora is forced to undergo a medical examination, which reveals her to not only be a virgin, but suffering from a large and fatal tumour in her abdomen. The public is outraged when they learn of the humiliation the dying Lady Flora suffered at Victoria's hands. Victoria despairs over what she has done and feels her reign is forever tarnished, but is encouraged by the prime minister, Lord Melbourne, to stand tall and face the public. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.37 | ShortSummary = The Whig Prime Minister Lord Melbourne announces he must resign, saying he lacks the required mandate in parliament. Victoria asks the Duke of Wellington to form a new government but he declines, saying he is too old to be prime minister again. He suggests she instead invite Tory leader Sir Robert Peel, which she does reluctantly. However, Peel agrees only on the condition that she dismiss some of her Ladies of the Bedchamber, as four are married to Whig ministers, and replace them with the wives of Tories. The queen refuses, as she considers the ladies to be her intimate friends and not political pawns. This leads to the Bedchamber crisis. Melbourne insists he cannot undermine the British constitution by governing solely at the monarch's whim, but he eventually gives in and stays on as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Victoria's mother, Sir John and her uncle the Duke of Cumberland scheme to install a regency to limit Victoria's power by making people believe she had inherited the madness of her grandfather. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.75 | ShortSummary = Sir John and Victoria's mother want her to marry, believing she is too independent and needs a man to control her. Victoria's uncle, King Leopold of Belgium, arrives to pressure her to marry his nephew and her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but Victoria has no interest in Albert. Leopold tries to get Lord Melbourne to support the scheme, but Melbourne believes there is no hurry to push her into a marriage if it is with the wrong person. Victoria believes she is in love with Melbourne, but he rebuffs her. Tired of Sir John, Victoria offers him a baronetcy and pension for him to leave court, devastating her mother. Following the Newport Rising, Victoria takes pity on the leaders and commutes their death sentences to exile in Australia. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.62 | ShortSummary = Albert arrives for a visit, but both he and Victoria are aloof toward one another at first, resentful that they are being pushed together. Some at court feel Albert, as a younger son and prince of a minor duchy, is beneath her. But as they spend time together, an attraction slowly grows. Albert, however, challenges Victoria on Lord Melbourne's influence over her and his sheltering her from reality, such as the poverty of the masses. They fight, and he prepares to leave, but Victoria proposes and Albert eagerly accepts. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.65 | ShortSummary = Victoria announces her engagement, but the Tory parliament reacts with hostility at the idea of a German consort, especially one who would be given a British title and hefty annual allowance. Additionally, the Duke of Wellington says they cannot be sure Albert is not a Catholic, which would preclude Victoria from marrying him without abdicating her crown. Though unable to give him a royal title such as Duke or King, Victoria makes Albert a Knight of the Garter and gives him a small allowance. Albert is offended, feeling he will have no position or independence, while Victoria worries he will use the allowance to keep a mistress, as her Uncle Leopold did. They reassure each other and get married. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.65 | ShortSummary = Victoria and Albert are happily married. However, Victoria fears she will die in childbirth like her cousin Princess Charlotte, whose death led to Victoria inheriting the crown. Her lady's maid gives her (useless) advice to avoid pregnancy. Victoria curries favor with her uncle the Duke of Sussex, who is unable to present his wife at court because their morganatic marriage was in violation of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Although his wife was the daughter of an earl, she was not a member of the royal family. Victoria uses her discretion to make her the Duchess of Inverness and welcomes her to court. An abolitionist group asks Victoria to open its London meeting, held in June 1840. She says she will publicly support the cause, but is unable to open it because of her position. Prince Albert instead volunteers to give an address against slavery, a subject he feels strongly about. His speech is considered a great success for him. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.31 | ShortSummary = Victoria is pregnant with her first child, but is desperately afraid of dying in childbirth. Her mother insists she refrain from affairs of state and rest full-time. The ministers ask Victoria to choose a regent in the case she dies in childbirth but her baby survives. She insists on Albert as regent, which enrages the Tories. However, Sir Robert Peel believes Albert could be influenced and supports him as regent. Albert takes an interest in the building of the railroad to improve Great Britain, a project Victoria discourages him from pursuing. Sir Robert takes Albert to ride on his locomotive, which infuriates her. Albert, however, insists that he have some measure of influence in his new country, while she worries that his doing so could undermine her own authority as queen. Nevertheless Victoria bravely ventures out to take a ride on the locomotive herself, which she finds exhilarating. | LineColor = 191F28 }}

| Viewers = 7.74 | ShortSummary = The pregnant Victoria insists on going for daily carriage rides to greet her subjects. Victoria's uncle the Duke of Cumberland, now the King of Hanover, returns to England and angrily tells her that the British people will not accept the German Albert as regent in case of her death in childbirth. He menacingly threatens her with hints of assassination. On 10 June 1840, Edward Oxford attempts to assassinate Victoria during a carriage ride but fails. Cumberland, who is first in line to the Throne if Victoria dies, is blamed but denies any involvement. Oxford turns out to be inept anyway as his guns were not loaded at the time. He is declared not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a lunatic asylum. On 21 November 1840, Victoria gives birth to a healthy baby girl, also named Victoria, with no complications. | LineColor = 191F28 }} }}

Music

The theme song is by Martin Phipps, sung by the Medival Bbes. Phipps also wrote and conducted incidental music for the early episodes. For later episodes the conducting role was undertaken by Ruth Barrett. An official soundtrack for the first series was released on Spotify on January 13, 2017.

Production

Filming

Much of Victoria was filmed in Yorkshire. The interiors of Castle Howard double as Kensington Palace, Harewood House stands in for Buckingham Palace, with Bramham Park and Wentworth Woodhouse also being used for both royal residences. Carlton Towers is used as Windsor Castle, while Beverley Minster replaces Westminster Abbey. Other locations include Raby Castle, Wentworth Woodhouse, Allerton Castle, Newby Hall and Whitby pier. Church Fenton Studios, a converted aircraft hangar near Selby, was used to recreate some of the interiors of Buckingham Palace.

Development

According to an October 2016 speech by Daisy Goodwin, a Christmas special episode for the 2016 season had been proposed, but was rejected by ITV, which subsequently commissioned one for 2017 after the popularity in the ratings for Victoria.

In September 2016, ITV renewed Victoria for a second series, followed by a Christmas special, both set to air in 2017. Beyond the renewal, ITV administration reportedly expects Victoria to run for a total of six series, although it is not yet clear whether Jenna Coleman will remain as the lead actress as the series moves into depicting Victoria's later years.

Broadcast

The series premiered on 28 August 2016 on ITV in the UK and premiered on 15 January 2017 on PBS in the United States as part of Masterpiece.