Queen Victoria became the outward symbol of Empire in a way that none of her predecessors or successors were. This was due to a combination of the length of her reign (1837 – 1901) – she is still the longest serving British monarch, although it’s likely Queen Elizabeth will surpass her (as of 9 September this year) – and the huge expansion the British Empire undertook during this period. Streets, towns, cities, provinces and states were named after her and numerous statues of the Queen were erected.
Nearly one hundred statues of her were commissioned to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of her reign in 1897, or as memorials after her death in 1901. This is in addition to those which were commissioned earlier in her reign.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve recently begun to collect historical postcards and now collect cards showing these statues, some of which no longer exist. When I was in Malta a month ago I visited Republic Square in Valletta and admired the statue of Queen Victoria outside the National Library. It was carved in white marble by Giueseppe Valenti in 1891 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee (1897). The square is a popular meeting place with shops and cafes so I enjoyed some Maltese pastizzi (cheese pastries) and coffee while admiring the statue.
Although lots of the statues of the good Queen are very similar, or even identical, the Maltese one is rather special because the Queen is wearing a beautiful Maltese lace shawl. Sometime before Queen Victoria had placed an order for “eight dozen pairs long and eight dozen pairs short mitts beside a scarf” of Maltese lace to encourage the revival of the old art of lace making in Malta. The statue reflects her interest in the local industry, and was no doubt a good advertisement for it.
The statue was restored and cleaned in 2011 so the detail in the lace shawl is easy to see. The only postcard I’ve managed to find so far is not particularly clear but gives a general view of the statue and its location outside the library. The card was probably produced at the beginning of the 20th century. The small garden around the statue is no longer there but it looks as though the square has always had a cafe.
In 1901 when Queen Victoria died, the Maltese people laid wreaths around the statute.
Photo credit: “The Times of Malta” newspaper
I’ll keep looking for other postcards of this statue as they’re a fascinating way of tracing the history of a place and the Empire.
The Wandering Historian 