Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years, the second longest reign in the history of England. She was the official head of state not only of the United Kingdom but also of the growing worldwide British Empire, which included Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and large parts of Africa.
When the horses of a carriage bolted, Captain Sotherton Micklethwait JM883, who was a huge and powerful man, stood in their way, seizing the animals by their bridles.
He compelled them by sheer physical strength to stop, thus saving the occupants from serious if not fatal injury. It then became apparent that the occupants were none less than The Duchess of Kent and a young Princess Victoria.
Later when the princess became Queen Victoria, she remembered his bravery and created Captain Micklethwait a baronet on 27 Jul 1838 as a reward for saving both her and her mother.
If Queen Victoria had died before she came to the Throne, would our island ever have become known as ‘Great Britain’?