Queen Victoria hated her children, say academics According to the BBC, the series reveals "a story of manipulation, conflict, intimidation, emotional blackmail and fevered attempts by her children to escape the clutches of their domineering and needy mother." Prince Albert, she added, was a martinet. He wanted his children to fulfil their intellectual potential. Their saving grace was that they were more involved with the upbringing of their children than many parents of the time, who entrusted their care completely to nannies and servants. Queen Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert was a tempestuous one, punctuated with rows. Prince Albert, who chided Queen Victoria in a letter. It is a pity you find no consolation in the company of your children. "The trouble lies in the mistaken notion the function of a mother is to be always correcting, scolding and ordering them about'" he wrote. Queen Victoria's five daughters fared particularly badly as their mother clung to them and tried to run their lives and arrange their marriages. As a result the resentful princesses fought back, becoming early champions of female independence. The household was not this chocolate-box image of gorgeousness. It was a place of simmering tensions,"' according to Professor Kathryn Hughes. Queen Victoria's Children is being shown on BBC Two at 9pm on Jan 1, 2 and 3.