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
Grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha unfortunately did little to hide their favouritism. Both Vicky and Alfred were the favorites of Albert, and Arthur enjoyed the favouritism of both his parents. Victoria initially was jealous of the time that Albert had been spent with Vicky, but in her widowhood Victoria made Vicky something of her confidante, and for her part, Vicky had accrued hundreds of letters from her mother, to the point that shortly before her death, she had them smuggled out of Germany by her brother's secretary, Sir Frederick Ponsonby. Of her sons, Victoria had the most trouble with her eldest, Albert Edward, and her