The Style of Mourning Within the Reign of Queen Victoria
When she lost her dear Prince Albert to typhoid in 1861, Queen Victoria established a new trend. Her lengthy mourning paved the way for oppressive rituals that funeral directors were to make last until her own death forty years later. Her entire court was commanded to dress in a certain style and Victoria herself dressed in full mourning attire for three years. Grieving was no longer enough. Inner feelings were to be on full display throughout the full-on grieving that suddenly became popular.
Following their Queen's example, those who had the money to do so purchased expensive funerals, erected ornate monuments at the grave and adhered to the new etiquette of mourning. To go with specific dress came a whole set of laws restricting social behavior. Popular household manuals gave comprehensive instructions about the proper etiquette to adopt for the different stages of mourning. Queen Victoria's less wealthy subjects had to make do with mixing their clothing in a large vat of black dye.