1. The Queen Wrote A Full, 12-Page Instruction Manual For Her Burial
In the Victorian age, people were much more preoccupied with death than they are today. One reason is quite simple and rather obvious: the life expectancy was much shorter, and death was much more of a common feature of life. Queen Victoria was no exception, as she planned out her own funeral more meticulously than someone today might plan out the funeral for a loved one. In fact, following a meeting with the poet Lord Alfred Tennyson, she dictated for her personal physician, Dr. James Reid, a 12-page manual for what she wanted at her funeral.
However, these instructions were kept secret, as Victoria was often known to be at odds with many people, including her own nine children. She was renowned for her eccentricities and must have had the foresight to realize that the people around her might not agree with her requests. Moreover, she wouldn’t be around to do anything about it!
Sir James Reid ensured that the instructions were fully followed, down to the rather odd and somewhat bizarre requests of things to go inside her coffin. Some of the items actually had to be hidden because of the reactions that were sure to come from her family members were they to discover them.