Queen Victoria and her prime ministers Her life, the imperial ideal, and the politics and turmoil that shaped her extraordinary reign

Queen Victoria's remarkable reign of more than six decades meant that she saw many a prime minister come and go. The strong-willed, intelligent monarch navigated these constant, inevitable political upheavals. Somerset, previous biographer of Elizabeth I and William IV, admirably details just how Victoria manipulated and was manipulated by these politicians. Her first prime minister, Lord Melbourne, steered the young queen through her tentative first years. It was difficult for any other prime minister to have such close bonds with her again. Victoria was nevertheless willing to learn as her initial governments alternated between Whig and Tory. She might at first have intensely disliked Sir Robert Peel and Lord Palmerston, but she could see beyond bad first impressions and learned to cherish them. Victoria's later reign was dominated by the titanic figures of Disraeli and Gladstone. She generally sympathized with progressive politicians but could be stubborn if she felt ignored or disrespected. Those who know Victoria more from the perspectives of her marriage to Albert and relations with family will find here an astute and sophisticated queen.