Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. Her reign as the Queen lasted longer than that of any other British monarch, and is the longest of any female monarch in history. She gave her name to an age - the Victorian era - a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military progress within the United Kingdom. Overseas, it was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.