Queen Victoria, Dead Again November 13, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Queen Victoria, like Shakespeare’s cowards, died many time before her death in 1901. Beach has, in his career as a nineteenth-century voyeur, often stumbled over references to one or other corner of the Empire convincing itself that Victoria had died before time. You can well imagine how it happened. A misunderstanding in a tiny village, a malicious joke… The news spreads from mouth to mouth until the whole community is in a palaver over the fate of her majesty. The rumour is discussed endlessly until the next day’s newspaper or the telegraph reveals the tale for the farrago it is: in the news stories referenced below there are several instances of crowds waiting for the truth to arrive by coach; memories of news of Little Nell floating into New York harbour. Beach’s mother was once announced to have died in a local paper. In the days before Internet, twitter accounts and mobile phones, this was, of course, an understandable mistake for journalists to make and produced much enjoyable copy. But has anyone ever died as often as Queen Victoria? drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com Her long reign and the absolutely central place she had in the imagination of her subjects presumably explains this. Here is a list of days that Queen Victoria died in one corner or other of Britain (or the world). There are ten. Beach would bet anyone willing to take the challenge that he could (easily?) triple the number. The location refers to the location of the rumour, not the place of the queen’s death.
3 Aug 1842, Queen dead in Cork [Cork Jou]
1 Apr 1853, Queen dead in London [Leic Journal] [stillborn]
16 May 1865, Queen dead in London [Lanc Gaz]
25 Apr 1868, Queen dead at Bridgewater [Salis Journal]
13 Sep 1870, Queen dead at Hockliffe [Leighton Buzzard]
13 Nov 1874, Queen dead in London [Dail Gaz]
27 Jan 1881, Queen dead in London
26 Oct 1891, Queen dead in London, spread rapidly to America [Dund Adv]
11 Apr 1895, Queen dead in New York [Bath Chron]
18 Jul 1896, Queen dead in Middlesborough [Shields Daily Gaz]
Of course, most of these will have begun with a joker (or as below an inventive newspaper seller) and, in at least one case, at Brigewater, the perpetrator got a month in prison for his fun.
