June 20
Queen Victoria Ascends the British Throne
Eighteen-year-old Princess Victoria was awakened at Kensington Palace in the early morning of June 20, 1837, and told that her uncle King William IV had died, making her queen of the United Kingdom.
Summary
King William IV died without surviving legitimate heirs in the early hours of June 20, 1837, ending his short reign. His niece, eighteen-year-old Princess Victoria, was awakened at Kensington Palace and informed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chamberlain that she had become queen. Victoria held her first Privy Council meeting later that day, demonstrating composure despite her youth. The accession separated the British and Hanoverian crowns due to Salic law barring female succession in Hanover. She would reign for more than 63 years, overseeing profound industrial and imperial expansion.
Context
The death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1817 triggered a scramble among the sons of George III to secure the succession. Several of the king's brothers, including the future William IV, married late in life, yet none produced surviving legitimate heirs who could continue the direct line. Victoria, born in 1819 as the only child of the Duke of Kent, stood third in line after her uncles and became heir presumptive in 1830 upon William IV's accession.
What Happened
William IV died at Windsor Castle shortly after 2 a.m. on June 20. Messengers immediately carried the news to Kensington Palace, where Victoria had lived under the restrictive Kensington System imposed by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and Sir John Conroy. At six o'clock the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, and the Lord Chamberlain, the Marquess of Conyngham, were admitted to the princess's sitting room; she received them alone and still in her dressing gown.
Aftermath
Victoria presided over her first Privy Council meeting later that same morning, displaying calm and dignity that impressed the assembled ministers and officials. Because Salic law barred female succession in Hanover, the British and Hanoverian crowns parted; Victoria's uncle Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, became king there while she ruled in Britain.
Legacy
Victoria's accession ended the immediate Hanoverian succession crisis and opened a reign of more than sixty-three years that coincided with Britain's industrial transformation and the height of its imperial power. Historians view the event as the starting point of the Victorian era, during which the monarchy adapted to a more constitutional role while retaining symbolic centrality in national life.
Why It Matters
Victoria's long reign defined an era of British global dominance, industrial growth, and constitutional evolution. Her accession stabilized the monarchy after turbulent Hanoverian years and initiated the Victorian age, shaping modern British institutions and the British Empire's peak extent.
Related Questions
Why did Victoria become queen at such a young age?
Her three uncles ahead of her in the line of succession—George IV, the Duke of York, and William IV—left no surviving legitimate children.
Where was Victoria when she learned she was queen?
She was at Kensington Palace, where she had lived throughout her childhood and adolescence.
What happened to the throne of Hanover?
It passed to Victoria's uncle Ernest Augustus because Salic law prevented a woman from inheriting the Hanoverian crown.
Who told Victoria of her accession?
The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, and the Lord Chamberlain, the Marquess of Conyngham.
Did Victoria face a regency?
No; she had turned eighteen a month earlier, so the Regency Act provisions did not apply.
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Sources
- Queen Victoria, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-07-12.
- Victoria (r. 1837-1901), The Royal Family. Accessed 2026-07-12.