Changes

<u>Victoria</u>: The queen is shown as inexperienced and young, hasty to make judgments (such as her falsely accusing Lady Flora of a pregnancy). However, she emerged as more determined, particularly with Lord Melbourne's guidance and began to be more assertive and wiser with her decisions. There is truth to the fact that Victoria did gradually make decisions that reflected her growing experience, where she did regret some of her earlier experiences early in her reign.<ref>For more on Victoria's personality, see: Rappaport, H. (2003) <i>Queen Victoria: a biographical companion.</i> ABC-CLIO biographical companions. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO.</ref>

<u>Prince Albert</u>: Albert, the prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, became the consort of the queen. He is shown as serious, determined, and duty driven. He was also an early proponent of scientific education and progress while also trying to suggest better treatment of the poor. Much of this was true and Albert was active in many royal societies. The series depicted him chaffing at the fact his salary was limited and he lacked royal authority as he was the consort of the queen rather than have an official royal title in the United Kingdom. There was, at the time, anti-German sentiment in Parliament, which was depicted in the series. Interestingly, it was Albert and Victoria that introduced German Christmas traditions in the UK that became popular, such as having a Christmas tree and sending Christmas cards. <ref>For more on Albert, see: Weintraub, S. (2000) OCLC: 758820883. <i>Uncrowned king: the life of Prince Albert.</i> New York, Free Press.</ref>

<u>Lord Melbourne</u>: Melbourne was shown as a wise and fatherly figure to Victoria, where he had to steer her away from her initial infatuation of him. While the infatuation was likely not accurate, he was, indeed, a fatherly figure to her and did have a strong influence on her early reign prior to marrying Albert. He likely did willingly step aside as Albert gained authority in Victoria's life, as it may have seemed improper for him to have such a close role after her marriage. <ref>For more on Lord Melbourne, see: Mitchell, L.G. (1997) <i>Lord Melbourne, 1779-1848.</i> Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press</ref>

<u>Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent</u>: The Dutchess of Kent was shown as being under the spell of Conroy and doing whatever he wanted, which was mainly try to control Queen Victoria. While some evidence does seem that Conroy did have some influence in court, his role diminished as Victoria became closer to Melbourne. In the series, the queen seems reconciled with her mother; however, the reality was there were tensions throughout much of Victoria's reign and until her mother's death between the two. Victoria did confine her mother to a far away part of the palace, and, in fact, went through long periods of not talking to her mother.<ref>For more on Victoria's mother, see: Rappaport, 2003, page 100</ref>