Queen Victoria had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Victoria married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and
MV Queen of Prince Rupert In what was seen by many as a politically expedient move, they leased "Queen of Prince Rupert" to the BC Steamship Corporation when "Princess Marguerite" was found to violate US pollution requirements. The vessel was renamed "Victoria Princess". To enable loading at Victoria's Inner Harbour, a side-loading door was installed. "Victoria Princess" only operated on the route for one summer, however, and in November, 1980, returned to the BC Ferries fleet as "Queen of Prince Rupert" to begin its service between Prince Rupert and Skidegate. When "Queen of the North" sank on March 22, 2006, "Queen of Prince Rupert" was