The Coercive Control of Queen Victoria

Can't blame a girl for trying...

The Origin of a System

A German Royal Girl

Supposing you are a teen girl, married off to some guy twice your age for the purposes of bearing spawn. Nothing you say matters, nothing you want matters. You don’t matter at all. Then the old guy dies.

Great! says your family. Now we can get more power by marrying you off to someone else.

Which is how you find yourself in England as the only wife in the royal family capable of bearing children. Predictably, that means your child has a some chance of inheriting the British throne. Whippee! As an added bonus, your husband dies within months of your giving birth. Thank God that’s over! You can spend time with Sir John Conroy now, your attendant and partner in schemes.

Finally, your time has come: powerless no more. While you may be hated as a general matter by everyone else at court, including the King, as long as that kid br…