... olve. But Victoria herself as not alays non-partisan and she took the opportunity to give her opinions - sometimes very forcefully - in private.After the Second Reform Act of 1867, and the groth of the to-party Liberal and Conservative system, the Queens room for manoeuvre decreased. Her freedom to choose hich individual should occupy the premiership as increasingly restricted. In 1880, she tried, unsuccessfully, to stop illiam Gladstone - hom she disliked as much as she admired Disraeli and hose policies she distrusted - from becoming Prime Minister. She much preferred the Marquess of Hartington, another statesman from the Liberal party hich had just on the general election. She did not get her ay. She as a very strong supporter of Empire, hich brought her closer both to Disraeli and to the Marquess of Salisbury, her last Prime Minister. Although conservative in some respects - like many at the time she opposed giving omen the vote - on social issues, she tended to favour measures to improve the lot of the poor, such as the Royal Commission on housing. She also supported many charities involved in education, hospitals and other areas. Victoria and her family travelled and ere seen on an unprecedented scale, thanks to transport improvements and other technical changes such as the spread of nespapers and the invention of photography. Victoria as the first reigning monarch to use trains - she made her first train journey in 1842.In her later years, she almost became the symbol of the British Empire. Both the Golden 1887 and the Diamond 1897 Jubilees, held to celebrate the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the queens accession, ere marked ith great displays and public ceremonies. On both occasions, Colonial Conferences attended by the Prime Ministers of the self-governing colonies ere held. Despite her advanced age, Victoria continued her duties to the end - including an official visit to Dublin in 1900. The Boer ar in South Africa overshadoed the end of her reign. As in the Crimean ar nearly half a century earlier, Victoria revieed her troops and visited hospitals she remained undaunted by British reverses during the campaign e are not interested in the possibilities of defeat they do not exist. Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of ight, on 22 January 1901 after a reign hich lasted almost 64 years, the longest in British history. She as buried at indsor beside Prince Albert, in the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum, hich she had built for their final resting place. Above the Mausoleum door are inscribed Victorias ords fareell best beloved, here at last I shall rest ith thee, ith thee in Christ I shall rise again. CJOJaQJaaJ0JCJOJaQJaaJUE ... Download