Victoria: A Queen Unbound review – darkness lurks beneath the myth of a model royal marriage
Why it matters: The play recontextualizes a foundational royal marriage, potentially shifting public perception of Queen Victoria's reign.
- Daisy Goodwin, screenwriter, reimagines Queen Victoria revisiting her diaries to reveal a darker truth behind her marriage to Prince Albert.
- "Victoria: A Queen Unbound", Goodwin's play at the Watermill theatre in Newbury, depicts Albert's devotion as an act of control and coercion, rather than pure love.
- Prince Albert's desire to choose Victoria's bonnets sparked Goodwin's curiosity, leading her to explore the controlling aspects of their relationship.
Daisy Goodwin's new play, "Victoria: A Queen Unbound," challenges the romanticized myth of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's marriage, portraying it instead as a relationship marked by Albert's controlling nature. The play, staged at the Watermill theatre, uses Victoria revisiting her diaries to expose the coercion hidden beneath Albert's public devotion.
