Happy Victoria Day! In past years I’ve posted about Queen Victoria’s children and movies about Queen Victoria, so today let’s look at some of the many things named after Victoria.
Victoria Cross
Instituted in 1856, the Victoria Cross is awarded “for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.” Queen Victoria created the medal to recognize acts of bravery during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Ever since, the majority of VCs have been awarded personally by the British monarch. (As I learned last year Greenwood Cemetery in Owen Sound is the only cemetery outside of England where three Victoria Cross recipients are buried.)
Victoria Sponge
After the invention of baking powder in the 1840s, sponge cakes were developed as a lighter alternative to pound cake. One version that Queen Victoria enjoyed with afternoon tea was layered with jam and sprinkled with sugar — the Victoria sponge.
Victoria’s Secret
In 1977 Roy Raymond founded Victoria’s Secret as a lingerie store where men could feel comfortable shopping. It originally was meant to feel like a boudoir with dark wood and silk drapery and Queen Victoria’s name was used to evoke an image of propriety and refinement.
Victoria Water Lilies
Victoria is a genus of water lilies described in 1837 by John Lindley, who named them after the new crowned monarch. (One species has a leaf up to three meters in diameter!)
Victoria Plum
Victoria plums are a type of yellow-fleshed English plum named after Queen Victoria. According to Wikipedia, “The variety was supposedly first discovered in a garden in Alderton, Sussex, but there has never been a place named Alderton in Sussex.” Hmm, mysterious. It was introduced in Sweden in 1844 and became popular there.
Great Victoria Desert
As you can imagine there are many places named after Queen Victoria; I will mention a few that caught my fancy. The Great Victoria Desert in Australia was named after the reigning monarch by British explorer Ernest Giles, the first European to cross it (1875).
Victoria Land
Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica discovered in January 1841 by Captain James Clark Ross, a Royal Navy officer and polar explorer. (He also discovered the Ross Sea, the southernmost sea on earth.)
Victoria, British Columbia
The capital of British Columbia began as Fort Victoria, built in 1843. A fur trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, it was very briefly called Fort Albert, but officially named Fort Victoria on June 10, 1843. The settlement grew and the fort itself was demolished in 1864. Two years later when the island was politically united with the mainland, Victoria was designated the capital and it became the provincial capital when British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871.
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was given its English name by David Livingstone, the famed explorer, missionary, and physician, who reached it in November, 1855. He wrote, “No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” (It’s possible the falls were seen by a European earlier — Portuguese priest Gonçalo da Silveira in the 16th century.)
Victoria Day
Celebrated only in Canada, Victoria Day has been a holiday since 1845. When I was growing up we would gather at friends’ house for a giant scavenger hunt and fireworks. Maybe it’s time I started some Victoria Day traditions for my kids?
So interesting! I enjoyed learning some new things. My nod to Victoria Day this year is to read Victorian novels — specifically by Trollope and Thackeray.