The Years of Waiting

Overview

Britain finds itself at war in South Africa when British colonists attack the Transvaal government. But Queen Victoria still refuses to let Bertie have any role in matters of State, so he reluctantly spends his time going to the races and as is so often the case, plays host to visiting relations, this time the Czar and Czarina of Russia at Balmoral. The King of Greece appeals to Alexandra for help against the invading Turks. The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee; the event is recorded with a new invention which works by displaying a sequence of still photographs through a projector. Victoria is outraged that Gladstone's funeral is held at Westminster Abbey. The war with the Boers is unpopular on the Continent. Bertie is the object of an assassination attempt by a teenage anarchist in Brussels. Visitors to Victoria's sickbed include her grandson, the Kaiser. Queen Victoria dies; Bertie becomes King Edward VII.