Today is Victoria Day, a public holiday here in Canada. Queen Victoria, until now, was the longest reigning monarch in the British Empire.
Queen Elizabeth is set to blitz that record. When? You’d think that would be a fairly simple answer, but it turns out that it isn’t. Just to begin, Queen Elizabeth’s reign includes leap years, and Queen Victoria’s didn’t. Then, there’s deciding which actual date Queen Elizabeth began her reign.
There’s nothing straightforward about the English peerage! Although there is one expert who has decided that September 10, this year, will be when the old record is replaced. (Link here, if you’re curious about all the convolutions that go into the decision.)
Queen Victoria set another record in place, too. She started the trend for white wedding dresses, when she married Prince Albert in all-white.
That trend, too, is seeing some erosion, with coloured wedding dresses and colour highlights creeping into practice.
Happy Vicky Day!