“Her Majesty most graciously consented to supply notes on her childhood and youth… I am, therefore, enabled to present, for the first time, an accurate account of the childhood and youth of Queen Victoria.”
To commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the Queen’s librarian compiled her biography.
Queen Victoria gives us a contemporary Victorian insight into the Queen, her peers, her background and her heirs.
Holmes also gives a thorough explanation into the lineage of the Queen, and how she came to inherit the throne.
As Librarian to the Queen, Holmes gained access to what was then new and private material, including notes written by the Queen herself for Homes to use.
What made Victoria into the Queen she was?
What were her key successes?
How did the Queen react to key Victorian events?
Written in her 60th year on the throne, Queen Victoria provides a detailed account of her reign in those 60 years and before from an intimate perspective, and a personal source.
Sir Richard Rivington Holmes (1835-1911) was a British archivist and courtier, best known for being Librarian to the Queen at Windsor Castle. He was reappointed this role in 1901 by King Edward VII. He is also well known for his large Ethiopian artefact collection that has been catalogued into the British museum. Holmes is buried in Buckinghamshire.
