Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria's funeral, 1901

Queen Victoria had a major influence on mourning rituals during the Victorian era. After her husband Prince Albert’s death from Typhoid in 1861, Queen Victoria went into mourning and remained in mourning for the 40 years left of her life. Society followed their Queens’ example and elaborate mourning rituals became the norm. In “Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion” Rappaport describes how her “unceasing ritualization of mourning” meant “the queen would raise herself as an archetype of sober Victorian widowhood”. She was the widow in which all widows would emulate. She stayed in seclusion, rarely appearing in public, which widows copied. For the first year after her husband’s death during first mourning, Myrtle remained in her home except for visits to church.  Mourning consumed and took precedence of Queen Victoria’s time just like Victorian widows in society. Myrtle had heard rumours that Queen Victoria left everything as her husband had left it.  She wore black mourning clothes for the rest of her life and whilst in full mourning for three years after his death she clothed her staff entirely in black too. Wealthy households imitated this, dressing servants in black. Like Victoria, Myrtle and fellow Victorian widows clothed themselves in black mourning clothes in the first stage of mourning which lasted a year and one day. Queen Victoria spent the 40 years left of her life commemorating him, for example getting statues made of him. This resulted in a trend for mourning memorabilia such as hair jewellery, which Myrtle along with many grieving women commissioned. Jillian Bost notes that “the public grew tired of their queen’s refusal to be seen in public, and her deep mourning that kept her from them.” Queen Victoria realized she owed it to her people to engage in the royal spectacle they yearned for. This reintroduction into society and normality and the ending of secluded mourning was also echoed in mourning etiquette as Myrtle undertook half mourning easing back into colour, social events and more elaborate jewelry and fabrics, after completing a year in full mourning and three to six months in second mourning. Myrtle idolized Queen Victoria and felt an affinity with her as she had experienced heart wrenching loss like herself.