Which monarch did Queen Victoria succeed in 1837?

Queen Victoria succeeded William IV as monarch of the United Kingdom in 1837. William IV died on 20 June 1837, and his 18-year-old niece Victoria immediately became queen.

Victoria was the only child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III. Because George III’s other sons had no surviving legitimate heirs who could take precedence, the succession passed to Victoria after William IV’s death. Her accession avoided the need for a regency because she had just turned 18.

Her coronation took place later, on 28 June 1838, at Westminster Abbey. Victoria reigned for more than 63 years, a period associated with rapid industrialisation, imperial expansion, political reform, and major scientific change. That era became known as the Victorian era.

The alternatives belong to different parts of her family story: George III was her grandfather, George IV was her uncle, and Edward VII was her son and successor in 1901.