Queen Victoria is recognized as one of Britain’s greatest monarchs, her reign lasted 63 years from 1831 to 19011; a period of time known as the Victorian era, in which the British Empire was in the heights of power and wealth.2
In 1835 Victoria gave birth to Leopold, who was diagnosed with haemophilia, now known as the ‘Royal Disease.’ Haemophilia is a rare blood disease that results from mutations on the X chromosome; this means that it almost always affects males and can only be passed on by a female carrier.3 There has been great public interest into the legitimacy of the Queen Victoria’s birth because Prince Leopold was the first member of the royal family to have the disease. This mutation