Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Hamlet, they were certainly getting pretty inbred, weren't they - not at all a good idea. Not meaning to be picky, but actually I think you will find that Nicholas II of Russia was George V's cousin because their mothers were sisters, both from Denmark - Nicholas wasn't a grandson of Victoria, although his wife Alexandra was a granddaughter, and Kaiser Wilhelm was another grandson.

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

And, there was also the unusual and close relationship that she developed with her Indian servant Abdul Karim. I bought the book Victoria and Abdul by Shrabani Basu last year but haven't read it yet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12670110

I find it interesting that she was so fascinated with India yet never visited there. She added a wing to Osborne in 1890 which contained the Durbar Room intended for state functions. She commissioned John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father) who then enlisted the architect Bhai Ram Singh to design the interior. It now contains items celebrating her jubilees in display cases. A quick Google search brings up loads of photos if you want to see how intricate and beautiful this room was.

Osborne House also has on display a collection of paintings which Queen Victoria commissioned from Rudolf Swoboda. These paintings are of Indians resident or visiting Britain in the 19th Century and other Indian scenes observed during the artist's travels. While in India he stayed with Kipling.