During Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign, seven young men, many of them teenagers, made the fateful decision to attack her. After each attempt the news shot through Britain like lightning – journalists, politicians, police and the public all clamoured for information.  Why on earth did they do it?  Dr Bob Nicholson is an expert in Victorian journalism and popular culture, but the seven assailants were unknown to him – even though their lives intertwined with the most famous woman on the planet. Bob sifts through the police archives, census returns, court reports and the grubby world of Victorian newspapers to piece together their stories, and try and establish the motives of the seven.

The first to attack the Queen was 18 year-old Edward Oxford, who worked clearing glasses in a London pub. One day in June 1840 he walked to Buckingham Palace, took a duelling pistol from his pocket and fired at Victoria as she passed by in her carriage. Oxford’s target was just 21 years old and pregnant with her first child. Victoria was unhurt, but shocked. Oxford is caught and put on trial for high treason; within hours, journalists and detectives try to uncover the young assassin’s story. Bob carries out detective work of his own and discovers a traumatic family history that may hold the key to Edward Oxford’s infamous crime.

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

During Queen Victoria&rsquo;s 63-year reign, seven young men, many of them teenagers, made the fateful decision to attack her. After each attempt the news shot through Britain like lightning &ndash; journalists, politicians, police and the public all clamoured for information.  Why on earth did they do it?  Dr Bob Nicholson is an expert in Victorian journalism and popular culture, but the seven assailants were unknown to him &ndash; even though their lives intertwined with the most famous woman on the planet. Bob sifts through the police archives, census returns, court reports and the grubby world of Victorian newspapers to piece together their stories, and try and establish the motives of the seven.
The first to attack the Queen was 18 year-old Edward Oxford, who worked clearing glasses in a London pub. One day in June 1840 he walked to Buckingham Palace, took a duelling pistol from his pocket and fired at Victoria as she passed by in her carriage. Oxford&rsquo;s target was just 21 years old and pregnant with her first child. Victoria was unhurt, but shocked. Oxford is caught and put on trial for high treason; within hours, journalists and detectives try to uncover the young assassin&rsquo;s story. Bob carries out detective work of his own and discovers a traumatic family history that may hold the key to Edward Oxford&rsquo;s infamous crime.
This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

During the 63-year-long reign of Queen Victoria, seven men took the fateful decision to try to kill her. The seven men were within seconds of changing history - each could have brought the Victorian era to a premature end, yet each has been forgotten to history. This new podcast series narrated by Dr Bob Nicholson will look to answer the question of what led these men to try to kill the most famous and influential woman on the planet.

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

During the 63-year-long reign of Queen Victoria, seven men took the fateful decision to try to kill her. The seven men were within seconds of changing history - each could have brought the Victorian era to a premature end, yet each has been forgotten to history. This new podcast series narrated by Dr Bob Nicholson will look to answer the question of what led these men to try to kill the most famous and influential woman on the planet.
This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Killing Victoria

The dramatic story of the first assassin, a fame-seeking teenager named Edward Oxford.

1. The Monster

If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft turns out to be flawed? The History Bureau revisits the defining stories of our times with the reporters who first covered them. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss?

Season 1: Putin and the Apartment Bombs. In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia, killing hundreds of people while they slept. The attacks plunged the country into panic. Families fled their homes. Residents patrolled their blocks around the clock. An entire nation paralyzed by fear. But who did it? It's a mystery that has fuelled some chilling theories. The government blamed Chechen militants. Many reporters agreed. But then the whispers started. Was something even more sinister going on?

Listen to The History Bureau on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft turns out to be flawed? The History Bureau revisits the defining stories of our times with the reporters who first covered them. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss?
Season 1: Putin and the Apartment Bombs. In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia, killing hundreds of people while they slept. The attacks plunged the country into panic. Families fled their homes. Residents patrolled their blocks around the clock. An entire nation paralyzed by fear. But who did it? It's a mystery that has fuelled some chilling theories. The government blamed Chechen militants. Many reporters agreed. But then the whispers started. Was something even more sinister going on?
Listen to The History Bureau on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to listen to next: The History Bureau

In 1882, the threat of assassination was in the air. The year before, Tsar Alexander II was killed by an assassin’s bomb, then in July, American President James Garfield was also murdered. Queen Victoria, on the throne for 45 years seemed vulnerable. The final attempt on her life was from a young man named Roderick Maclean. His father Charles was the owner of a satirical magazine called Fun, but Roderick’s life was anything but that. Roderick grew up dreaming of a literary career, but the family lost its fortune and an accidental blow to the young MacLean’s head caused a marked change in personality. Roderick began to see enemies everywhere and became fascinated by the colour blue and the number four. Unable to hold down a job, Roderick tramped around England from one workhouse or asylum to another.

Dr Bob Nicholson visits the Punch Tavern in central London and describes the Victorian love of satire and comedy in such publications as Punch and Charles Maclean’s Fun. As he finds out more about Roderick Maclean’s story, Bob throws a light on the life of the Victorian wanderer, and the asylum system and Victoria’s later life. He traces Roderick’s final journey as a free man, from Southsea where he had befriended a landlady named Mrs Sorrell, up through Hampshire and into Windsor, where he waited, armed with a pistol, for the Queen to arrive.

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

In 1882, the threat of assassination was in the air. The year before, Tsar Alexander II was killed by an assassin&rsquo;s bomb, then in July, American President James Garfield was also murdered. Queen Victoria, on the throne for 45 years seemed vulnerable. The final attempt on her life was from a young man named Roderick Maclean. His father Charles was the owner of a satirical magazine called Fun, but Roderick&rsquo;s life was anything but that. Roderick grew up dreaming of a literary career, but the family lost its fortune and an accidental blow to the young MacLean&rsquo;s head caused a marked change in personality. Roderick began to see enemies everywhere and became fascinated by the colour blue and the number four. Unable to hold down a job, Roderick tramped around England from one workhouse or asylum to another.
Dr Bob Nicholson visits the Punch Tavern in central London and describes the Victorian love of satire and comedy in such publications as Punch and Charles Maclean&rsquo;s Fun. As he finds out more about Roderick Maclean&rsquo;s story, Bob throws a light on the life of the Victorian wanderer, and the asylum system and Victoria&rsquo;s later life. He traces Roderick&rsquo;s final journey as a free man, from Southsea where he had befriended a landlady named Mrs Sorrell, up through Hampshire and into Windsor, where he waited, armed with a pistol, for the Queen to arrive.
This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

The story of the assassin who attempted to kill Victoria on her way to Windsor Castle.

7. The Wanderer

In March 1868 Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred was at a charity event in Sydney, Australia when an Irishman named Henry O’Farrell walked up behind him and shot the young prince at point blank range in the back, just missing his spine.  O’Farrell was captured, beaten, swiftly tried and found guilty of attempted murder, and then hanged.  Alfred survived the attack, but the Victorian world was clearly becoming a more dangerous place for the Royal Family.  Queen Victoria hadn’t encountered an assassin of her own for almost two decades, but many felt that her luck couldn’t last.

In 1872 Queen Victoria was a grieving widow who was rarely seen in public, then in January Arthur read that a thanksgiving service would be held at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales from serious illness.  The papers were full of the plans for the day and the news galvanised teenager Arthur O’Connor into action.

Dr Bob Nicholson explores the backstory of Victoria’s sixth attacker - Arthur O’Connor, an aspiring poet from a family of Irish nationalists. Dreaming of following in his ancestor’s footsteps, the young O’Connor concocted an audacious plan: in front of thousands of the Queen’s subjects, he would put a gun to her head and force her to sign a document releasing a group of Irish republican prisoners who had been fighting for independence. Arthur looked forward to dying a hero’s death.

In March 1868 Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred was at a charity event in Sydney, Australia when an Irishman named Henry O’Farrell walked up behind him and shot the young prince at point blank range in the back, just missing his spine. O’Farrell was captured, beaten, swiftly tried and found guilty of attempted murder, and then hanged. Alfred survived the attack, but the Victorian world was clearly becoming a more dangerous place for the Royal Family. Queen Victoria hadn’t encountered an assassin of her own for almost two decades, but many felt that her luck couldn’t last.In 1872 Queen Victoria was a grieving widow who was rarely seen in public, then in January Arthur read that a thanksgiving service would be held at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales from serious illness. The papers were full of the plans for the day and the news galvanised teenager Arthur O’Connor into action.Dr Bob Nicholson explores the backstory of Victoria’s sixth attacker - Arthur O’Connor, an aspiring poet from a family of Irish nationalists. Dreaming of following in his ancestor’s footsteps, the young O’Connor concocted an audacious plan: in front of thousands of the Queen’s subjects, he would put a gun to her head and force her to sign a document releasing a group of Irish republican prisoners who had been fighting for independence. Arthur looked forward to dying a hero’s death.

The young rebel who broke into Buckingham Palace holding a list of demands and a pistol.

1. The Monster

Killing Victoria

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