Victoria the Great 1937

In June 1837, eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria Anna Neagle ascends the throne of the United Kingdom after the death of her uncle, King William IV, and immediately begins to carve out a path of her own making. Freer from the traditional pressures of the monarchy than some might expect, she asserts a steady independence from two powerful influences at court: her German mother, the Duchess of Kent Mary Morris, and her Belgian advisor, Baron Stockmar Paul Leyssac. This early moment sets the tone for a reign defined as much by personal resolve as by political maneuvering, where family loyalties and statecraft intertwine in quiet but consequential ways.

To navigate the tensions of governance, Victoria leans on Lord Melbourne H.B. Warner, a trusted Prime Minister who senses that the young sovereign will eventually need a guiding hand as he himself grows older. Melbourne proposes a strategic alliance through marriage to her German cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Anton Walbrook. Victoria, initially wary, regards Albert as stern and controlled, while he suspects she might be flighty and too fond of social whirl. The assessment is mutual, and the two are not eager to see eye to eye at first. When Victoria delays inviting Albert and his elder brother Ernest for a visit, a change in plans occurs: Melbourne reveals Albert’s reluctance to travel, and suddenly Victoria’s resolve shifts. She decides to invite them anyway, setting in motion a cross‑Channel encounter that will reshape the entire country’s future.

Albert and Ernest’s Channel crossing is rough and rain-drenched, and when they are first presented to the Queen, Albert comes across as distant. Yet the momentum of a ball soon alters the mood. After a waltz with Victoria (performed to the backdrop of an orchestra led by Johann Strauss), Albert cancels his plan to return home the next day. This moment marks a turning point: Victoria resolves to marry him, and Albert, recognizing the potential of this partnership, accepts.

Once married, Victoria commits herself to ruling, but Albert’s dreams of closer collaboration clash with her initial steadfast insistence on governing alone. Albert’s attempts to join discussions—such as those about the merits of an income tax—are rebuffed by Victoria, who remains resolute. The tension rises until Albert finally presses his case more directly, and gradually she yields, inviting him to participate more fully in guiding the nation. This marks the beginning of a genuine partnership that helps steer policy and governance through a difficult era.

The era known as the Hungry Forties brings social unrest and economic strain, and Albert proves perceptive and protective during a dangerous moment: he spots a would‑be assassin and shields his wife during an open‑carriage ride, with the gun only striking his hat before the assailant is overpowered. The royal couple soon welcomes their first male child, Prince Albert Edward, in November 1841, a development that deepens their family bond and the sense of continuity at the heart of the monarchy. The political climate continues to demand action, and Victoria and Albert align with Sir Robert Peel [Charles Carson]—a central figure in domestic reform—as the government considers the repeal of the Corn Laws to relieve bread‑line distress.

As the nation wrestles with international pressures, the Trent Affair of 1861 threatens to embroil Britain in the American Civil War on the side of the South. Foreign Minister Lord Palmerston [Felix Aylmer] argues for a firm message to the United States, but Victoria favors a more cautious approach, and Albert helps to refine the response so that hostilities can be avoided. The same year also marks Albert’s death, a devastating blow that plunges Victoria into a long period of mourning and withdrawal from public life. The monarchy’s popularity slides as public sentiment shifts, and a somber nation awaits a turn in the balance.

In the end, it is Prime Minister William Gladstone [Arthur Young] who pleads with Victoria to resume her public duties, asking what Albert would have wanted her to do. His counsel helps her to reemerge from seclusion and to reengage with the country she leads. The film closes with a symbolic shift—from monochrome to color—signaling a new era that follows the loss her husband represents but also the resilience she must embody as Queen. Through decades of triumphs and trials, Victoria’s reign is portrayed as a complex interplay of personal devotion, statecraft, and the enduring question of what a monarch’s presence can mean for a nation in flux.