Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Republicanism in the United Kingdom is the political movement that seeks to replace the United Kingdom's monarchy with a republic. Supporters of the movement, called republicans, support alternative forms of governance to a monarchy, such as an elected head of state. Monarchy has been the form of government used in the United Kingdom and its predecessor domains almost exclusively since the Middle Ages, except for a brief interruption in the years 1649–1660, during which a republican government did exist under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.
Thomas Paine (1737–1809): "One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings is that nature disproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule, by giving mankind an ass for a lion."
Tony Benn in 2007
A Labour for a Republic sign at a demonstration against the coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May 2023
A Dutch satirical view of Cromwell as a usurper of monarchical power[citation needed]
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days—which was longer than those of any of her predecessors—constituted the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British Parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
Portrait by Alexander Bassano, 1882
Victoria as a child with her mother, after William Beechey
Portrait by Stephen Poyntz Denning, 1823
Portrait with her spaniel Dash by George Hayter, 1833