Queen Elizabeth Releases Queen Victoria's Personal Journals

Posted on May 26, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II has released the diaries of Queen Victoria, the only other British monarch to have ruled for 60 years. The queen wrote a personal note on the new websites announced at royal.uk.

She explains her reasons for releasing the diaries, which also include Victoria's many illustrations and drawings. The release is part of the Queen's own Diamond Jubilee.

At the ceremony at which the website went live, the Queen was asked if she kept journals. The monarch replied that hers will not be published, which made the journalists laugh.

The website is maintained by Oxford University's Bodleian Library, and is a fantastic resource. Victoria was rather frank about her assessments of people an things, and the entries give an interesting peek at history, including her love for her beloved Prince Albert, whose death at the age of 42 sent her into mourning for decades. The online journals can also be searched.