Gary Brendel
40 posts


One of the only known photos ever taken of British Queen Victoria smiling, 1897. Despite her reputation as a serious, humorless monarch (epitomized by the apocryphal quote ‘We are not amused’) those close to her considered the Queen to have quite a sense of humor.
For most of her reign, she was portrayed as the embodiment of strict dignity and solemn duty—an image reinforced by her widowhood after the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Victoria spent decades dressed in mourning black, and her perceived sternness became part of her legend, symbolized by the famous phrase “We are not amused,” which may not have actually been her words.
Yet those who knew her personally often described her as warm, witty, and capable of laughter. She enjoyed music, sketching, and the company of close friends and family, especially her many children and grandchildren. Court diaries and correspondence reveal a woman who delighted in playful moments, teasing, and even practical jokes.
The rarity of this smiling photograph is due less to Victoria’s temperament and more to the photographic practices of the 19th century. Early portrait photography required subjects to sit motionless for long exposures, making neutral or stern expressions more common. This image, captured near the end of her reign, humanizes one of Britain’s most iconic monarchs—showing not just the “Grandmother of Europe,” but a woman who found joy in private, even if history often remembered only her solemn mask.
© Historical Photos
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