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The Lives Of The Rich and Famous In Victorian Times
How did they get their money? What did they do for fun?
In many ways, the Victorian Era (1840–1900) was the high point for the European monarchal system. European monarchs during the Victorian Era were incredibly wealthy, powerful, and well connected. Their names are well known, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm, Nicholas II, Leopold, and more. These figures dominated world politics for decades while amassing sizeable fortunes for themselves. But what exactly did their lives look like? How did they spend their time? Where did they get all of their money?
This is a quick look at the lives of the rich and famous during one of the most opulent periods of history.
Wealth
By the dawn of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm and his family, the House of Hohenzollern, were the wealthiest people in Germany. Similarly, Queen Victoria had a fortune that was estimated to be north of £100,000,000. So where did these people get all of their money from?
Most of the royal houses of Europe had large estates that were holdovers from the Medieval period. Kaiser Wilhelm’s family…
