List of prime ministers of Queen Victoria facts for kids

Queen Victoria was a powerful ruler for many years.

Queen Victoria was the ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the huge British Empire. She was queen from June 20, 1837, until she passed away on January 22, 1901. When she first became queen, countries outside the UK didn't have their own "responsible government" (meaning they couldn't fully govern themselves). But this began to change in the 1840s.

During her long reign, Queen Victoria worked with many different prime ministers. These leaders helped run the governments in various parts of the British Empire. She had 15 prime ministers from New Zealand, 10 from the United Kingdom, 7 from Canada, and 1 from Australia.

Leaders in Australia During Victoria's Reign

Australia became a united country called the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Its first prime minister, Sir Edmund Barton, started his role on January 1, 1901. This was just before Queen Victoria passed away later that month.

Commonwealth of Australia

Portrait		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office		Party	Ministry
		Sir Edmund Barton (1849–1920)	1 January 1901	24 September 1903	Protectionist	Barton
			1901

Leaders in Canada During Victoria's Reign

Canada also had many important leaders during Queen Victoria's time. Before Canada became one country (Confederation), different colonies had their own leaders.

Leaders Before Canada United (Pre-Confederation)

Before 1867, several separate colonies that would later form Canada had their own governments. These included New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

New Brunswick's Early Leaders

New Brunswick had its own premiers (leaders) from 1854 until it joined Canada in 1867. These leaders helped guide the colony.

Premiers of the Colony of New Brunswick (1854–1867)
	1st	Charles Fisher (First time)	1 November 1854 May 1856	16th	Elected June 1854
	2nd	John Hamilton Gray	21 June 1856 June 1857	17th	Elected 24 June 1856
	—	Charles Fisher (Second time)	1 June 1857 19 March 1861	18th	Elected 8 May 1857 Resigned 19 March 1861
	3rd	Samuel Leonard Tilley	19 March 1861 March 1865		Designated 19 March 1861
				19th	Elected 6 June 1861
	4th	Albert James Smith (Anti-Confederation, unofficially)	21 September 1865 14 April 1866	20th	Elected 24 June 1865 Resigned 14 April 1866
	5th	Peter Mitchell (Confederation Party, unofficially)	14 April 1866 August 1867		Designated 14 April 1866
				21st ...	Elected May 1866 Resigned August 1867

Newfoundland's Early Leaders

Newfoundland also had its own premiers before it joined Canada much later. Here are some of the leaders who served during Queen Victoria's reign.

Philip Francis Little, Newfoundland's first premier.

Nova Scotia's Early Leaders

Nova Scotia was very important because it was the first British colony to have a "responsible government." This meant its leaders were accountable to the people living there, not just to the British Crown.

      Confederation Party       Nova Scotia Liberal Party       Nova Scotia New Democratic Party       Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia

Premiers of the Colony of Nova Scotia (1848–1867)

Premier (party)			Period	Assembly	Length of tenure
	1st	James Boyle Uniacke (Liberal)	2 February 1848 3 April 1854	18th	6 years, 60 days
				19th
	2nd	William Young (Liberal) (First of two terms)	4 April 1854 20 February 1857		2 years, 322 days
				20th
	3rd	James William Johnston (Conservative) (First of two terms)	24 February 1857 7 February 1860		2 years, 348 days
				22nd
	—	William Young (Liberal) (Second of two terms)	10 February 1860 3 August 1860		175 days
	4th	Joseph Howe (Liberal)	3 August 1860 5 June 1863		2 years, 306 days
	—	James William Johnston (Conservative) (Second of two terms)	11 June 1863 11 May 1864	23rd	335 days
	5th	Charles Tupper (Confederation Party)	11 May 1864 3 July 1867		3 years, 53 days

Nova Scotia became part of Canada in 1867.

Prince Edward Island's Early Leaders

Prince Edward Island also had its own premiers before it joined Canada in 1873.

Colony of Prince Edward Island (1851–1873)
	1st	George Coles (Liberal) (First of three terms)	24 April 1851 1854	...	Designated 24 April 1851
	2nd	John Holl (Conservative)	1854 1855	19th 20th ...	Elected 1854 Re-elected 1854 Resigned 1855
	—	George Coles (Liberal) (Second of three terms)	1855 1859	...	Designated 1855
	3rd	Edward Palmer (Conservative)	1859 1863	21st	Elected 1859
	4th	John Hamilton Gray (Conservative)	1863 1865	22nd ...	Elected 1863 Resigned 1865
	5th	James Colledge Pope (Conservative) (First of two terms)	1865 1867	...	Designated 1865
	—	George Coles (Liberal) (Third of three terms)	1867 1869	23rd 24th ...	Elected 1867 Re-elected 1867 Resigned 1869
	6th	Joseph Hensley (Liberal)	1869 1869	... ...	Designated 1869 Resigned 1869
	7th	Robert Poore Haythorne (Liberal) (First of two terms)	1869 1870	... ...	Designated 1869 Resigned 1870
	—	James Colledge Pope (Conservative) (Second of two terms)	1870 1872	... 25th ...	Designated 1870 Re-elected 1871 to a coalition Resigned 1872
	—	Robert Poore Haythorne (Liberal) (Second of two terms)	1872 April 1873	...	Designated 1872 to a coalition

Prince Edward Island became part of Canada in 1873.

Leaders After Canada United (Post-Confederation 1867-1901)

After Canada became a country in 1867, it had its own prime ministers. These leaders worked with Queen Victoria to shape the new nation.

Canada

Portrait		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office		Party	Ministry
		John A. Macdonald (1815–1891)	1 July 1867	5 November 1873	Liberal-Conservative	1st
			1867 · 1872
		Alexander Mackenzie (1822–1892)	7 November 1873	8 October 1878	Liberal	2nd
			1874
		John A. Macdonald (1815–1891)	17 October 1878	6 June 1891	Liberal-Conservative	3rd
			1878 · 1882 · 1887 · 1891
		John Abbott (1821–1893)	16 June 1891	24 November 1892	Liberal-Conservative	4th
		John Thompson (1845–1894)	5 December 1892	12 December 1894	Liberal-Conservative	5th
		Mackenzie Bowell (1823–1917)	21 December 1894	27 April 1896	Conservative (historical)	6th
		Charles Tupper (1821–1915)	1 May 1896	8 July 1896	Conservative (historical)	7th
		Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919)	11 July 1896	6 October 1911	Liberal	8th
			1896 · 1900 · 1904 · 1908

Leaders in the Cape Colony During Victoria's Reign

The Cape Colony was a British colony in what is now South Africa. It also had its own leaders, called prime ministers, during Queen Victoria's reign.

Colony of the Cape of Good Hope

No.	Portrait	Name	Time in Office		Party
1		Sir John Charles Molteno	1 December 1872	5 February 1878	Independent
2		Sir John Gordon Sprigg	6 February 1878	8 May 1881	Independent
3		Thomas Charles Scanlen	9 May 1881	12 May 1884	Independent
4		Thomas Upington	13 May 1884	24 November 1886	Independent
—		Sir John Gordon Sprigg	25 November 1886	16 July 1890	Independent
5		Cecil John Rhodes	17 July 1890	12 January 1896	Independent
—		Sir John Gordon Sprigg	13 January 1896	13 October 1898	Independent
6		William Schreiner	13 October 1898	17 June 1900	Independent
—		Sir John Gordon Sprigg	18 June 1900	21 February 1904	Progressive

Leaders in New Zealand During Victoria's Reign

New Zealand also had its own leaders during Queen Victoria's time. The title for their top leader changed over the years. From 1856 to 1869, they were called the "colonial secretary." From 1869 to 1907, they were known as the "premier of New Zealand." After that, the title became "prime minister."

	Henry Sewell	7 May 1856 – 20 May 1856
	William Fox	20 May 1856–2 June 1856 12 July 1861–6 August 1862 28 June 1869–10 September 1872 3 March 1873 – 8 April 1873
	Edward Stafford	2 June 1856–12 July 1861 16 October 1865–28 June 1869 10 September 1872 – 11 October 1872
	Alfred Domett	6 August 1862 – 30 October 1863
	Frederick Whitaker	30 October 1863 – 24 November 1864
	Frederick Weld	24 November 1864–16 October 1865 21 April 1882 – 25 September 1883
	George Waterhouse	11 October 1872 – 3 March 1873
	Julius Vogel	8 April 1873–6 July 1875 15 February 1876 – 1 September 1876
	Daniel Pollen	6 July 1875 – 15 February 1876
	Harry Atkinson	1 September 1876–13 October 1877 25 September 1883–16 August 1884 28 August 1884–3 September 1884 8 October 1887 – 24 January 1891
	George Grey	13 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
	John Hall	8 October 1879 – 21 April 1882
	Robert Stout	16 August 1884–28 August 1884 3 September 1884 – 8 October 1887
	John Ballance	24 January 1891 – 27 April 1893
	Richard Seddon	27 April 1893 – 22 January 1901

Leaders in the United Kingdom During Victoria's Reign

The United Kingdom itself had many prime ministers who served Queen Victoria. These leaders were in charge of the British government.

	William Lamb The Viscount Melbourne	20 June 1837 – 30 August 1841
	Sir Robert Peel	30 August 1841 – 29 June 1846
	Lord John Russell	30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852 29 October 1865 – 26 June 1866
	Edward Smith-Stanley The Earl of Derby	23 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 20 February 1858 – 11 June 1859 28 June 1866 – 25 February 1868
	George Hamilton-Gordon The Earl of Aberdeen	19 December 1852 – 30 January 1855
	Henry John Temple The Viscount Palmerston	6 February 1855 – 19 February 1858 12 June 1859 – 18 October 1865
	Benjamin Disraeli	27 February 1868 – 1 December 1868 20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880
	William Ewart Gladstone	3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874 23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885 1 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 15 August 1892 – 2 March 1894
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil The Marquess of Salisbury	23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892 25 June 1895 – 22 January 1901
	Archibald Primrose The Earl of Rosebery	5 March 1894 – 22 June 1895

More to Learn

• British Empire
• Constitutional monarchy
• Dominion