Episode 1 - Comfort and Joy: Christmas Special

As Christmas approaches, Victoria is uncharacteristically melancholy, bereft without Baroness Lehzen, and the festive season reminds her of her lonely childhood spent isolated at Kensington. Albert, on the other hand, is gripped by an obsession with staging the perfect family Christmas, and ruffles feathers as he transforms the Palace into a magical festive wonderland. But Victoria is furious to find that Albert has invited two very unwelcome house guests - meddling Uncle Leopold, and the person that Victoria holds responsible for her miserable Christmas memories: her mother. Based on a true life story, Captain Forbes arrives with a gift for the Queen – a young African princess named Sarah. Victoria cannot understand Albert’s objection, and welcomes Sarah into the royal nursery, giving her the lavish attention that she feels she was denied as a princess. ‘Tis the season for historic enmities to finally climax, new romances to blossom and sacrifices to be made… but a terrifying ice skating accident on the frozen lake calls the couple’s priorities into question, and Victoria and Albert finally realize that they must leave behind the pain of their upbringings if they are to give their own children the Christmas that they never had.