5. It Did Not Feel That Long Ago

The Victorian era, aka the time when Queen Victoria sat on the throne and ruled over England, feels like a long time ago, but it’s only been a little over a hundred years since that age actually ended. The Victorian era ran from 1837-1901. By this point, the monarchy’s purpose was to reign rather than rule.

This has led to plenty of Brits who we may know of that lived to the 70s and 80s to have been born during this time. One prime example is author and scholar J.R.R Tolkien, who was born in 1892 at the tail end of her reign.