I like to think of myself as a 'Renaissance Man' - it's the only way I can bring together my love of surfing and period dramas like The Young Victoria. I'm not sure how this film will go as a youth group activity, but it should be compulsory viewing for any marriage preparation class.
The Young Victoria covers the turbulent years prior to and immediately after Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne of the British Empire. On the surface it is a story concerning the struggle a young princess undergoes to determine her own destiny and earn the respect of the nation she was seeks to serve.
Victoria's story will have a particular appeal for members of Gen X and Gen Y who feel trapped by a world others seem to control. The young Princess Victoria, potentially the most powerful person in the world, is a prisoner of her own identity. Emily Blunt gives a textured performance of an intelligent but naïve woman who is the subject of every political intrigue in the empire. However, more powerful than the political interplay is the courtship between Victoria and her eventual husband, Prince Albert of Germany. Albert (Rupert Friend) is initially forced on the princess as a potential suitor, but he proves to be as determined to serve her as she is to avoid being trapped. During a chess game, they discuss their situations:
Victoria: Do you ever feel like a chess piece yourself? In a game being played against your will.
Albert: Do you?
Victoria: Constantly. I see them leaning in and moving me around the board.
Albert: Then you had better master the rules of the game until you play it better than they can.
Victoria: You don’t recommend I find a husband to play it for me?
Albert: I should find one to play it with you, not for you.
The production is masterminded by someone who well understands the intrigues of court life: Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York and mother to two daughters in line for the British throne. But more importantly, the former Duchess understands the pressures high profile positions can bring to bear on a marriage. Victoria is determined to ensure that even her growing affection for Albert does not come between her and the responsibilities of the crown. However the film shows that the right spouse helps to bear life's burdens, rather than add to them.
The Young Victoria is a touching depiction of what marriage can and should be for a world that seems increasingly disenchanted with that institution. Victoria and Albert complement each other so that what they achieve together is far greater than what either might have achieved alone. But this marriage is no Hollywood fable. Victoria must learn through stormy times that her marriage is even more important than her occupation, and that Albert deserves the respect due a husband, even though providence has placed him in the position of her inferior. The Young Victoria also exemplifies marriage as a life-long union wherein individual rights are passed over for the sake of serving the other. During an assassination attempt Albert throws himself in front of Victoria and receives the bullet that was meant for her. Victoria asks him why, and his reply reflects a thoroughly Christian perception of his responsibilities as a husband:
"I had two very good reasons. First, I am replaceable and you are not. Second, you’re the only wife I’ve got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you until my very last breath."
In the The Young Victoria viewers are taught to sacrifice for the institutions and the people they commit themselves to rather than seek to be served by them. Albert and Victoria's marriage is a faithful reminder of the relationship between Christ and his church, and our own vows as husbands and wives.
