,..56 I MAY 19, 20t9 THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA MAY 19, 2019 I 57 LIFE& WELLBEING HISTORY Regina et Imperatrix - 200 years from her birth

FR GEOFFREY G. ATTARD

At 4.14am on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Poster of the 2009 movie The Young Victoria, Palace on the outskirts of London, a little Poster of the 2016 television drama series dramatising the turbulent first years of Queen girl called Alexandrina Victoria was born, Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman as the young Victoria's rule, featuring Emily Blunt in the the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, and . title role. • his wife Princess Victoria Saxe-Coburg­ Saalfeld. Her father, Edward, was the fourth son of King George III and his wife Char­ Citadel commemorates the event, although considered one of the legacies tha't go back lotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, while her there are hardly any other monuments to to Queen Victoria's glorious reign. It would mother Victoria, after whom she was commemorate the historical the elevation not be right not to mention the special ded­ called, was the fourth daughter and seventh of Rabat to its present urban status. ication that Victoria had for the poor and child of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of People in the 21st century may ask what the needy of her kingdom in an age charac­ Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess legacy Queen Victoria left behind her, and this terised by the Industrial Revolution; her life Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. would be reasonable considering the fact that and legacy continue to attract the attention Queen Victoria's mother had already she reigned for 64 years and gave her name of thousands if not millions of people, as been married to Charles, Prince of Leinin­ to the . Victorian wallpaper, Vic­ the late TV series about her has sympa­ marriage, Carl; the regency ended with her been called after the queen-empress. Hun­ thies to realise that it is high time a statue of second wedding in 1818 to Prince Edward dreds of places in the Commonwealth and all Queen Victoria is erected in a square· of Gozo's of Great Britain. She was to give her name around the globe carry her illustrious name. ancient town of Rabat to commemorate the to one of the greatest eras in British history, Archbishop Pietro Pace (1831-1914), who As to British history, she is considered by fact that it was she who - at the instigation of and hers is now the second longest reign in instigated the petition to Queen Victoria for historians as the queen who "redefined Bishop Pietro Pace and his friend lind com­ British history. the area of Rabat, Gozo, and adjacent areas to Britain's monarchy". She did, in fact, restore panion Sir Adrian Dingli, both gf Rabat The young Alexandrina Victoria was only be renamed Victoria in her honour. a sense of aura and respect to Britain's most (Gozo) -bestowed the status of a city of the daughter of the fourth son of the British ancient institution, a respect that had almost Gozo's old town and gave her the new name monarch; she was not born to reign. Her faded entirely due to the controversial of Victoria. While Rabat remains tpe most father was not Prince of Wales. However, monarchy; by 1848 - the 'Year of the Revolu­ and scandalous by her family members that, The 'Victoria Lines', originally known as lifestyle that her uncles had adopted. In popular name for Gozo's main town, it will be fate favoured her. tions' - when she has already reigned for 11 upon the monarch's ·death in 1901, they the 'North West Front' and sometimes unof­ many ways, Queen Elizabeth II's British known for posterity as Victoria after the great years, many European monarchs had lost scrubbed his existence from royal history. ficially known as the Grear Wall of Malta, are monarchy offers continuity with Queen British queen and empress whoie name their throne. It was her duty to see to it that Shrabani Basu, the journalist who uncovered a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilome­ Victoria's and reflects it in many ways - became an icon to be remembered for ever. "One does not have to the monarchy popularity's would rise again this friendship between Queen Victoria and tres along the width of ~alta , dividing the longevity and both royal anC. political stabil­ A statue of the queen-empress in the and steal the hearts of her British subjects. after a 2003 visit to the Queen's north of the island from tl:e south. The open­ ity, together with a healthy economy are roundabout next to Dar il-Gvernatu.r as one be a monarchist, Gradually, she became so popular and her summer home, wrote about it in her book Vic­ ing of the Suez Canal in 1869 highlighted the some of the common traits of both Queen arrives in Victoria from Mgarr wpuld be reign so long, that she became like an idol. toria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Clos­ importance of the Maltese islands and the Victoria's and that of her great-great-grand­ the ideal way to commemorate such an an Anglophile or After her death, historians would speak of est Confidant. Basu explained how the Queen British, who were the colonisers of the Mal­ daughter Queen Elizabeth. important anniversary and give: Gozo's the 'Victoria era' and refer it with a sense of had expressed interest in the Indian territo­ tese islands, called the Great Wall of Malta With the British Empire a reality of the ancient town a long-deserved monument pro-British to realise awe and appreciation. ries ahead of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. It was the 'Victoria Lines' after Q:.1een Victoria, who past, the Commonwealth, consolidated dur­ that has been lacking since Rabat became The fountain in Cathedral Square at the Citadel commemorating the naming of Victoria on June Since Queen Victoria's death, various most probably this book which inspired the was also to become Empress of India. In 1998 ing the reign of the present queen, can be a city in 1887. ~ 10, 1887. that it is high time a movies have been filmed about her. Victoria film. After the filming, Brian Viner of The Daily · the government subrnittec the Victoria Lines the Great is a 1937 British historical Mail even stated that "Queen Victoria was to Unesco for consideration as a World Her­ statue of Queen Victoria film directed by Herbert Wilcox and star­ born to be played by Judi Deneb"; such was the itage Site. The Victoria Lines owe their origin ring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Wal­ success of the film that was screened in 2017. to a combination of international events and is erected in a square ter Rilla; the movie was so successful that a Victoria is also the name of a popular eight­ the military realities of the time. sequel appeared the following year, Sixty Glo­ episode 2016 British television drama series On the island of Gozo, Victoria is the of Gozo's ancient rious Years. Other films followed. Mrs starring Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria. name of the island's main town. It was Brown (also theatrically released as In Valletta, the square in front of the Queen Victoria who gave permission for the town of Rabat" Her Majesty, Mrs Brown) is a 1997 National Library was originally called Piazza ancient town of Rabat in Gozo to be named British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Regina after Queen Victoria. Its official name after her. This took place through a docu­ This was because while George III, her Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, is now Republic Square and it is connected ment dated June 10, 1887; a fountain in paternal grandfather, had some 56 grandchil­ and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was to Republic Street, the main street of the city. Cathedral Square within :he old Castello or dren by the time she was born, not one of written by Jeremy Brock and directed It was after a statue of Queen Victoria was them was legitimate under the terms of the by John Madden. Meta critic, a review aggre­ erected in the middle of the square that it Royal Marriages Act of 1772, following the gator, assigned the film a weighted average was nicknamed Piazza Regina and it is by the much-lamented death of the Regent's sole score of 71 out of 100, based on 22 critics, latter name rather than by the former that it heir Princess Charlotte, in childbirth that indicating "generally favourable reviews". It is now referred to by one and all. year. Destiny prepared her way to the throne, is still a popular movie today although more The statue of the Queen was erected "She restored a sense of and with the death of her paternal uncle, than 20 years have passed since it was pro­ instead of that of Grand Master Manoel de King William IV, she automatically became duced. Monarchy lovers would definitely Vilhena's statue in 1891, which it replaced, aura and respect to Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Head own a copy of this popular movie. giving the square its present name. The of the Church of England. In 2009, the popular movie The Young Vic­ statue was originally paid for by public sub­ Britain's most ancient It is important to state from the outset that toria was screened; it was a dramatisation of scription to commemorate Queen Victoria's when the young daughter of the Duke of Kent the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The statue depicts the elderly institution that had was born, the British monarchy was defi­ rule, with continuous references to her monarch with a lace shawl, as she had nitely not at the highest point of its popular­ enduring romance with Prince Albert. Emily ordered "eight dozen pairs long and eight almost faded entirely due ity. Whether dissolute, mad, bullying, eccen­ Blunt and Rupert Friend featured as Queen dozen pairs short mitts, besides a scarf" of tric or merely disagreeable, the first five Victoria and Prince Albert. The film is still Malta lace. The statue was restored in 2011 to the controversial Hanoverian monarchs had done little to very popular with monarch lovers. by theM. Demajo Group; the entity spon­ endear themselves to their subjects. The relationship between Queen Victoria sored the conservation-restoration of the lifestyle her uncles It was Victoria's role to attract once again and her handsome, young Indian attendant monument but the project was coordinated An 1896 royal family group photo showing (from left) Queen Alexandra with young Anastasia, the love of the British nations towards their Abdul Kari_m was deemed so controversial by heritage NGO Din l-Art Melwa. had adopted" Queen Victoria with her controversial Indian attendant Abdul Karim. Tzar Nicholas II, Queen Victoria and the future King Edward VII.