--- title: How Accurate is PBS' 'Victoria', Starring Jenna Coleman? description: British television drama Victoria premieres on PBS as part of the channel's Masterpiece anthology on Jan. 15, starring Jenna Coleman. canonical: https://time.com/4628353/victoria-tv-show-pbs-masterpiece/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-13T15:46:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:35:25.803Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Real History Behind PBS’s Historical Drama 'Victoria' og:description: British television drama Victoria premieres on PBS as part Masterpiece on Jan 15 og:url: https://time.com/4628353/victoria-tv-show-pbs-masterpiece/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte40f3f8de4b2ecf8/6988b4cee20a87e995a93ace/victoria-pbs.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: victoria-pbs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Real History Behind PBS’s Historical Drama 'Victoria' twitter:description: British television drama Victoria premieres on PBS as part Masterpiece on Jan 15 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte40f3f8de4b2ecf8/6988b4cee20a87e995a93ace/victoria-pbs.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Real History Behind PBS’s Historical Drama _Victoria_ > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Jan 13, 2017 3:46 PM UTC  British television drama Victoria premieres on PBS on Jan. 15 British television drama Victoria premieres on PBS on Jan. 15PBS by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Jan 13, 2017 3:46 PM UTC British television drama [_Victoria_](http://time.com/3806764/magnificent-obsession-how-queen-victoria-influenced-photography/) premieres on PBS as part of the channel’s Masterpiece anthology on Jan. 15\. Starring Jenna Coleman (_Doctor Who_) as [Queen Victoria](http://time.com/4584213/hillary-clinton-queen-victoria/), the series follows the monarch’s early life, from her accession to the throne in 1837 at 18, to her courtship and early marriage to her cousin, Prince Albert. _Victoria_ launched in the U.K. in August last year, receiving a number of positive reviews. The [_Daily Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3763135/Panto-villain-dukes-crafty-maids-PROPER-costume-drama-acting-better-mannequins-Versailles-CHRISTOPHER-STEVENS-reviews-night-s-TV.html) called it a “proper costume drama” that follows the _Downton Abbey_ template “with rapid cutting and short scenes” and [_Digital Spy_](http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/review/a805960/victoria-jenna-coleman-review-episode-one-itv-poldark/) described Coleman’s performance as “terrific.” However, some critics weren’t as impressed: [_The Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/10/09/victoria-series-1-finale-a-right-royal-yawn-itv-review/) called the series finale “a right royal yawn” and [_The Spectator_](http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/09/itvs-victoria-is-silly-facile-and-irresponsible-i-blame-the-feminisation-of-culture/) described the show as “silly, facile and irresponsible.” And while screenwriter Daisy Goodwin drew inspiration from the Queen’s own diaries, historians and critics have remarked on the many liberties the show’s writers took. Here are a few examples: **1\. It’s very unlikely Queen Victoria was in love with Lord Melbourne** “We would certainly know if Victoria was in love with Melbourne,” writes English historian Professor Jane Ridley in [_The Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/08/26/the-young-victoria-most-certainly-did-not-fancy-her-fat-ageing-p/), referring to the British Prime Minister who acted as the Queen’s confidant and ally. “Victoria’s frank, vivid and detailed account makes it abundantly clear that she didn’t fancy Melbourne, let alone contemplate marrying him. \[He\] was urbane and witty, but at sixty he wasn’t nearly as handsome as \[actor\] Rufus Sewell – and he had become enormously fat.” Indeed, Lord Melbourne was 40 years the queen’s senior, but in _Victoria_ he is portrayed as far younger. **2\. Coleman’s monarch appears more together than the real queen** The real Queen Victoria was said to be a “short, vulgar-looking child” with bulging eyes. In fact, she was so portly in her latter years that she had a 50-inch waist, reports [_The Sunday Post_](https://www.sundaypost.com/in10/entertainment/accurate-itvs-royal-drama-victoria/). She was tiny (roughly 4ft 11in) and is said to have had a throne specially made for her because of her height. In contrast, Coleman is 5ft 1in, conventionally attractive and slender. “\[She’s\] more like Kate Middleton, controlled and poised, than the historical tempestuous, wilful, plump young queen,” says Ridley. **3\. Queen Victoria wasn’t known as a philanthropist** According to Ridley, the queen “took little interest in the starving poor.” A plot-line about Victoria intervening to pardon the Newport Chartists—rebels from the Newport Rising of 1839 who wanted to improve life for the working classes—which did not happen in real life. In the episode, Victoria intercedes on behalf of the Chartists sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered after discovering one of them is related to her dresser, Mrs. Jenkins. In fact, as the [_Radio Times_](http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-09-11/what-was-chartism-the-history-behind-itvs-victoria) reports, leaders of the march were initially sentenced to death but were instead sent to Australia after a nationwide campaign. Victoria herself made no personal intervention. **4\. There’s no evidence a plague of rats infested the Palace** Despite a rather memorable scene in _Victoria_, there is no historical evidence that a plague of rats infested the Palace—or that the Queen screamed in horror in reaction. “There was almost certainly never a moment in young Queen Victoria’s life when she was frightened into hysteria by vermin suddenly materialising on a giant cake, thus causing onlookers to speculate that she might have inherited the Madness of George III,” writes James Delingpole in [_The Spectator_](http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/09/itvs-victoria-is-silly-facile-and-irresponsible-i-blame-the-feminisation-of-culture/). **5\. Victoria and Albert’s relationship** **_was_** **love at first sight** Victoria is portrayed as finding Albert irritating at first, but it wasn’t like that in real life. “On the contrary,” Ridley told the [_Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3793676/Victoria-German-accent-Poldark-WOULDN-T-shirt-historic-howlers-Sunday-TV-favourites.html), “Victoria fell madly in love at first sight. She wrote ‘Albert is beautiful’ in her diary. 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