I am watching the BBC/PBS TV series Victoria and am about halfway through the second season. Three seasons have been produced and currently there no plans for any subsequent seasons. By the conclusion of this show the protagonists, Victoria and Alfred should still be relatively youthful, with plenty of life still ahead of them. This post’s title aside, I have enjoyed watching this TV series. The title is a quote attributed to the queen and championed by my sister-in-law. Putting aside all of the domestic turmoil that constitutes so much screen time, what I like best about this show are the interventions of real-world history that manage to be featured. one in particular comes to mind. Victoria and Alfred are vacationing in the north of England with Prime Minister Robert Peel. Peel shows Albert a then new steam locomotive that he is championing and takes him for a ride in it, which Albert loves. Returning Victoria is upset with Albert, because of the danger of these engines of change that she perceives. Albert is able to overcome her fears, and the scene shifts back to the locomotive where the crew chief is congratulating his men for not having accidently killed His Royal Highness. His self-satisfaction is short lived though, because at that moment Her Majesty arrives also expecting a ride on this newfangled train. 

The other thing that I love about this show is the love story between young Victoria and Alfred. Their passion for each other is like a ray of sunshine in what is otherwise a dark and foreboding household. There are so many competing interests that it is hard to come to grips with them all. On her ascension to the throne, Victoria was only eighteen. She was mired in unhealthy relationships with people who wanted to control her. With Alfred she found a friend. Who she could trust. Who helped her be the great leader that we now know her as.