In November 1840, Queen Victoria gave birth to the first of her nine children. She and Prince Albert were bitterly disappointed that the child was not a boy, but Albert in particular was to develop a deep love for his daughter. She inherited his intelligence and to her parents' embarrassment consistently outshone her brother, Bertie, Prince of Wales. By the time she was in her early teens, her parents had planned a brilliant future for her: she was to marry into the Prussian royal family and bring British liberal ideas to the deeply conservative court at Berlin. But she found herself confronted with the hostility first of Bismarck, and then of her son, Kaiser Wilhelm II. In spite of her happy marriage, her life in Germany was one of frustration and disappointment.
Course aim
To describe the life of Victoria, Princess Royal and German Empress and to place her in the context of her times.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- This course is suitable for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- understand the main outlines of Vicky's life
- recognise the importance of international politics behind royal marriages in the nineteenth century
- assess Vicky's significance in both British and German history
- understand how Vicky's gender frequently undermined her freedom of action
How will I be taught?
- The WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas will be used to provide resources or to support lessons, enable assessment, provide learner feedback and for other activities for individuals away from the course. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning
What kind of feedback can I expect?
- A range of informal activities will be used by the tutor to see what you are learning which may include quizzes, question and answer, small projects and discussion
What else do I need to know?
- What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
Pre-course work, reading and information sources
- No pre reading is required but research on the subject on the internet or in the library may be helpful
What can I do next?
- Progress to another WEA course
- Progress to a course with another provider
Download full course information sheet
Saturday Lecture: Vicky - German Empress and Prince Albert favourite child
