Queen Victoria Naval Appointment Signed.

VICTORIA, Queen.

Item Number: 115549

Rare 19th century naval appointment signed by Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Dated February 6, 1889, the document appoints a Quartermaster to the Royal Navy. Signed in the upper left corner by Queen Victoria in the 52nd year of her reign. Retaining the orange revenue stamp and royal blue paper seal. In near fine condition. Double matted and framed with a portrait of Queen Victoria, the document measures 11.5 inches by 15.5 inches. The entire piece measures 18.5 inches by 27.5 inches.

Queen Victoria's reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.