The Victorian Star

ITV Original Series

Set in the Victorian court from approximately 1855 to 1875, The Victorian Star follows Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg, 26, a Black woman raised as a ward in the extended household of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert — brought into the royal family circle as an infant through the specific historical circumstance of the British crown's abolitionist associations and Prince Albert's particular conviction that the royal household should embody the principles it publicly advocated. Adelaide bears a Germanic Saxe-Coburg name in recognition of her standing. She is entirely Victorian-English in every dimension: she speaks English, German, and French, plays the piano with the discipline that Prince Albert's musical household demanded, manages charitable works with extraordinary efficiency, and is regarded by those who know her well as having one of the sharpest political minds in the Victorian court. Her arranged marriage to Lord Charles Montague, a younger son of the Duke of Manchester who has built a career in colonial administration before returning to London, creates the series' central engine: a woman who is the Victorian ideal in every way the era cannot officially acknowledge, and a man who spent years in empire's service and is slowly, painfully unlearning what empire taught him about the world. S1E1 — Windsor Adelaide managing the royal household's charitable correspondence — thousands of letters, perfect prose, zero credit. Lord Montague arrives in London from his colonial posting. They meet at a royal household function. S1E8 — Albert's Death Prince Albert's death. The court's grief. Adelaide's grief. The episode is almost entirely quiet. S2E12 — The Record Series finale: Adelaide's work — her charitable networks, her behind-the-scenes political correspondence, her two decades of invisible competence — is acknowledged publicly, in print, for the first time. Lord Montague wrote it. He asked her permission.

Story added by mr95 on August 4, 2026