On this day – January 22nd

Queen Victoria dies

Cowes, Isle of Wight The 22nd of January 1901 AD

On January 22 1901 the reign of Queen Victoria ended with her death of a brain haemorrhage while staying at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, as was her custom every Christmas. Her reign had lasted 63 years seven months.

Her son 'Bertie' the future Edward VII , and her eldest grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, were present at her deathbed. As she had wished, her sons lifted her body, dressed in white and with her wedding veil covering her face, into the coffin. She had worn black since the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert in 1861.

The nation and indeed the empire, with a population of more than 400 million people, went into mourning, though the new king decreed that it should not last longer than three months. Though Victoria had worn her widow's weeds for forty years she reportedly disliked black funerals, so many of the banners in London for her funeral on February 2 were purple and white.

Victoria was buried on February 4th, after two days of lying-in-state, beside Prince Albert at the Frogmore Mausoleum in Windsor Great Park.

Her reign stood as the longest in British history until it was surpassed by the current queen who is also the oldest reigning British monarch. There were enormous social changes during her reign, with the industrial revolution at its peak, the railway age changing transport in the land, and the rise of the middle classes as parliament was reformed and the franchise expanded.

(error amended, thanks to Ed's wife and others for spotting it! – Ed.)

The question is – how old was Queen Victoria when she died?

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