Dominated by her possessive mother and her bullying consort Conroy since childhood teen-aged Victoria refuses to allow them the power of acting as her regent in the last days of her uncle William IVs rule. Her German cousin Albert is encouraged to court her for solely political motives but following her accession at age eighteen finds he is falling for her and is dismayed at her reliance on trusty Prime Minister Melbourne. Victoria is impressed by Alberts philanthropy which is akin to her own desire to help her subjects. However her loyalty to Melbourne perceived as a self-seeker almost causes a constitutional crisis and it is Albert who helps restore her self-confidence. She proposes and they marry Albert proving himself not only a devoted spouse prepared to take an assassins bullet for her but an agent of much-needed reform finally endorsed by an admiring Melbourne.
Review
Rupert Friend gives a performance as Prince Albert that lifts "The Young Victoria" to unexpected levels. He is superb. As we know Queen Victoria fell into a dark deep depression after Prince Albert's death and looking into Ruper Friend's eyes I understood. The film doesn't take us to his death but to an incident that may very well could have cost his life. An act of love. I believed it or I should say him. I believed what he felt was real. Nothing or anybody gets anywhere near the delicacy and profundity of Friend's characterization. Emily Blunt is good but I didn't believe for a minute she was Victoria. No real sense of period. It may no have been her fault but her prince deserved the crown.