For Love, Glory, and Honor FOR LOVE, GLORY, AND HONOR HER LITTLE MAJESTY: THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA Author: Carolly Erickson Report Written By: Julia Schwartz November 1, 1999 FOR LOVE, GLORY, AND HONOR Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria, written by Carolly Erickson, was a candid tale of the life of Victoria, a British queen whose obstinate and pertinacious behavior helped to maintain England's impenetrable reign over the rest of the world. Erickson aimed to prove that women, such as Victoria, were entirely competent of governing themselves and others, even though women were regarded as inferior and in need of male supervision. The author successfully accomplished her purpose of depicting Victoria in a positive light by imforming the reader of how she managed to triumph over adversity despiite her callous upbringing. Princess Alexandria Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, to the Duke and Duchess of Kent in Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, the Duke passed away shortly after her birth. Therefore, Victoria's upbringing was left in the hands of her avaricious and irascible mother in the hands of her father's tyrannical equerry, Captain Conroy. With only their own self-interests in mind, Victoria's care takers attempted to deprive the young princess of her childhood by enforcing stringent rules and by confining her to the palace. Her own relatives tired to deny her noteworthy status of being third in line for the throne, and they publicly regarded her as an intruder. However, there were, in fact, many favorable aspects of Victoria;s childhood and adolescence. Victoria was taught the grace of dance and the beauty of art in her childhood, and she learned to appreciate her future role as queen through her extensive study of British history. She was quite a determined and uncompromising young princess, and this attitude remained with her throughout her reign as Queen of England. Soon after the death of King William IV, Princess V...
