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and this was used to buy a large area of land in

Kensington, London, on which buildings were built to
encourage science and technology. Among the buildings
there today are the Victoria and Albert Museum, the
Science Museum, the Imperial College of Science and
Technology, the Royal College of Music and the Royal

Albert Hall.

During the reign, the British empire doubled in size to
include New Zealand and expansion in Burma, the Pacific,
India, Egypt and South Africa. Britain gained control of
the Suez Canal, and the queen was made Empress of

India (1876).

Low points: The death of her husband, Prince Albert, was probably

the lowest point of Victoria's reign. The queen
was devastated. They had both married at the age of 20
in 1840 and were deeply in love with each other. Victoria
relied heavily on Albert and he took a leading role in
many of the decisions that were made.

After his death, the queen went into mourning and wore
black for the rest of her reign (another 40 years). She

also withdrew from public view and spent most of her
time at Balmoral in north Scotland, and Osborne House on
the Isle of Wight. The queen only opened parliament
seven times in the last thirty-nine years of her reign.
Indeed she was not really seen until her Golden Jubilee

celebrations in 1887.

This lack of public appearance caused a downturn in the
popularity of the monarchy. People could not understand

why it was taking her so long to get over the death of her
husband. It was only when her public appearances
increased that people warmed to her once more.

General: The Victoria Cross dates from this period. Queen Victoria

awarded it for valour and bravery to soldiers who had
fought in the Crimean War. It was made from iron that

was taken from captured guns in the war, and is still in

use today. The Victoria Cross ranks above all other

(Victorians) 6