Victoria
 

What did you think of last nights PBS Victoria?

Hi momar,

I am loving the series Victoria.

But I was questioning my own sanity because a friend was talking about the painting Victoria had done as a gift for Albert and I did not know what she was talking about. Turns out that was in the last episode of Season 2 which I guess I missed. But I found it on Netflix or Amazon or whichever.

The painting was rather scandalous, by Victorian standards. She had her hair down (gasp!) and was wearing a rather flimsy gown showing a bit more skin than usual. (gasp! gasp! Oh dear, where are my smelling salts and my fainting couch!)

It was said Albert loved the painting but had to hide it so nobody else could see it.

I looked up a picture of the real painting online. She looked very pretty.

I like knowing that she and Albert really loved each other, unlike the usual royal marriages of the day. Nine children born over seventeen years.

I think last night’s episode showed her as a good ruler who truly cared about her people and not just about herself only. (I like to think if I were Queen, I would have done the exact same thing. :) )

I had recorded the show that followed Victoria. It was about the wedding. I got around to watching it last night.

This separate show includes kind of a crash course in the history surrounding Victoria at the time of the wedding.

I learned that the monarchy was teetering before she was crowned. Her wedding to Albert was extremely important for PR purposes.

She changed history. British history. She also changed wedding history. She wore white. That was a first. And here we still are with white being the traditional color for brides to wear.

The show recreated the whole wedding, from planning to ceremony. I must say that the food for the wedding was mostly something I would have to politely push around on my plate had I been there. If you watch it, you will see what I mean.

They said Victoria ate really fast and protocol was that when the Queen finished a course, the guests stopped eating, too.

Albert was broke, though royal. Victoria was the richest woman in the world. I guess there were sideways glances among the guests when he took the vow to pledge all his earthly treasures. (or however that part was worded)

Everybody was waiting to see if Victoria promised to “obey” Albert. She did. But I knew she meant “sort of.” :)

I do love the series also, but it was kind of slow in places I thought. I did record the wedding, but haven’t had time to watch it.

I've been watching it as well. It's very interesting to view the royals as "humans"....since I think many tend to put them on a pedestal as being different. What is truly interesting how this one woman influenced culture and mores (think: the term Victorian) and even architecture (ie: Victorian homes). I wonder why the Brits in the two shows re: "the wedding" used different actors....just an observation.

I've been a big fan of this series since it started. One of the most interesting episodes to me was last season's episode dealing with the potato famine in Ireland and how Victoria dealt with it.

It will be interesting to see how far into Victoria's reign the series goes. I'm hoping the producers keep the same actors playing Victoria and Albert as both are great.

Where have all the Bond Girls gone?
 

Turned out, I finally figured out that I had missed all of Season 2. I have been catching up on Amazon.

Then I could not figure out why that grumpy, judgemental, bossy Duchess of Buccleuch looked so familiar. (Something about her nose made me think I had to know who she was.)

Anyway, it was Diana Rigg, the glamorous Emma Peel from the 60s “The Avengers” and a Bond Girl, too, “in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

I bet it was fun to play the duchess, maybe not glamorous, but fun. :)

Good to see her keeping up the good work.

sorry we missed it, we were sleeping through the super bowl

Spoiler Alert for Sunday, Feb. 3 Episode
 

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Spoiler if you haven't seen the episode of "Victoria" from Sunday, Feb. 3.
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Sad about Nancy Skerrett dying...I didn't see that coming. I was so glad when she and Charles Francatelli got married and opened their hotel.

One thing I noticed in both "Victoria" and "Downton Abbey" is how the British aristocracy calls their servants by their last names. Wonder if that still occurs today. Kind of demeaning in my opinion.