ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book discusses the monarchy throughout Victoria’s reign was of a far greater volume, intensity and variety than has hitherto been realized. The old model of the linear rise in the standing of the monarchy – from unpopularity in the first half of the reign to popularity in the second – needs to be broken down and amended. The Royal Family ceased to appear as controversial political actors but as the consensual cynosures of national pageants and of an ideal yet identifiable family life. The decline in the importance of the monarchy’s political functions augmented that of its ceremonial and domestic ones. The Royal Family ceased to appear as controversial political actors but as the consensual cynosures of national pageants and of an ideal yet identifiable family life.
