A Comparison Of Great Women Leaders

A Comparison of Great Women Leaders

Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are well known women leaders of England who each in her own manner and in her own generation shaped her country. These women led their countries with conviction. Each lady was dedicated to her position. Even through difficult situations, they were strong and true to their beliefs. Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Thatcher were both forceful women in a time when it was not popular for women to be in control.

The personal lives of Queen Victoria and Margaret Thatcher shaped how they each led her country. Queen Victoria was born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819. She was the only child of Edward Duke of Kent, son of King George III and Mary Louisa Victoria. Her mother and father named her Victoria, but her uncle George IV insisted she be named Alexandrina after Tsar Alexander II of Russia who was her godfather (Arnstein 1). Victoria had an older half sister, Feodore, who was her mother's child by her first husband Charles of Leiningen (Erickson 10). When Victoria was eight months old, her father Edward, Duke of Kent died. Her mother became involved with Sir John Conroy who had a great deal of influence on her as a child. Sir Conroy controlled her mother's finances throughout Victoria's childhood (Arnstein 1).

Like Queen Victoria, Margaret Thatcher's early years developed her strong character. She was born Margaret Hilda Roberts on October 13, 1925. Margaret Thatcher's parents Alfred and Beatrice ran a grocery store in Grantham and lived above the store (Nardo 7). Growing up, Margaret Thatcher never considered going into politics. During her time period, it was rare for women to do so. The political field was almost completely made up of men. She went to Oxford University and majored in chemistry. While at Oxford she formed a student group called Oxford's Conservative Association. This group studied politics. Eventually, she became president of this group. Here began her love for politics. After college she began attending Tory political meetings (Nardo 78).

Another aspect of these women's personal lives included their families. The family life of Queen Victoria included her husband, Prince Albert, and nine children. Victoria's family was very important to her. When Victoria first met Albert she found him dull. Three years later in 1839 when he visited, she felt differently. She wrote in her journal "Albert is beautiful." Five days later, she proposed marriage (Vallone 5). On February 10, 1840, three years after Victoria took the throne, she married her cousin Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg. They both had great love and admiration for one another ("Life" 2). Between 1840 and 1857 Victoria and Albert had nine children. The eldest, Victoria, known as The Princess Royal, was born in 1840, a year from Victoria and Albert's marriage. Their other children were Edward VII (Bertie), born 1841; Alice, born 1843; Alfred, born 1844; Helena, born 1846; Louise, born 1848; Arthur, born 1850; Leopold, born 1853; and Beatrice, born 1857 ("History" 1). Victoria was not at ease with her children as Albert was but loved them nonetheless. She preferred their family gatherings to the state functions of London life (Vallone 5).

Like Victoria, Margaret Thatcher's family was important to her. She met and fell in love with businessman Denis Thatcher at a political meeting. They got married in December 1951 (Nardo 78). Two years later in August 1953, they had twins, Mark and Carol ("Margaret BRB" 2).

Queen Victoria and Margaret Thatcher came to power in different ways. Eighteen-year-old Victoria described her uncle King William IV's death and how she became queen. "20 June 1837. I was awoke at 6 o'clock by mamma, who told me that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Congingham [a high government official] were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting room (only in my dressing gown), and alone, and saw themÐ'...[they told] me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently, that I am Queen." Victoria could not have known then that she would reign for sixty-three years (Nardo 60). Victoria became her uncle King William IV's heir when he became King in 1830 because he didn't have any surviving legitimate children. King William IV died June 20, 1832; twenty-seven days after Victoria turned eighteen (Arnstein 1).

Unlike Queen Victoria who inherited her title as queen, Margaret Thatcher rose through the political scene to become prime minister. Margaret Thatcher won her first election to the House of Commons in 1959 representing a small suburb of London called Finchley. She rose through the Conservative ranks and became leader of the party by 1975. She was the first woman to hold this position. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher called for a vote of "no confidence" in the House. The vote passed 311 to 310. She forced the prime minister and his cabinet out of office. Margaret Thatcher won the election becoming Britain's first female prime minister (Nardo 80, 81). It was unthinkable for a woman to become the leader of the Conservative Party and then the prime minister before she did it (Davies 1). She was the first woman prime minister, and she also was the longest continually serving prime minister in one hundred and fifty years ("Margaret" 1).

How Queen Victoria ruled during her generation impacted her country for many years. Victoria, as the young queen, was described as pleasingly simple by onlookers and the press (Vallone 3). She was forceful and stubborn as well as graceful and poised. The monarchy had become mostly ceremonial with the Prime Minister and Parliament running the country, but Victoria changed that (Nardo 63). Queen Victoria used her influence to support peace. In 1864 she told her ministers not to intervene in the Prussia-Austria-Denmark war and she wrote a letter to the German Emperor that helped prevent a second Franco-German war. As a policy Queen Victoria opposed women having the right to vote and favored helping the poor. She also supported many charities involved in education and hospitals. She is associated with great industrial expansion in Britain. At the time of her death it was said Britain had a "worldwide empire on which the sun never set" ("History" 1, 2).

After Victoria's marriage to Albert he became her main influence over her views. She began to be concerned over social problems in Britain because he was concerned over them (Arnstein 3). Albert was a major guiding force behind one of the now famous achievements of Queen Victoria - the 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all