Statue of Queen Victoria, St Helens of Derby in 1905. Originally placed in the centre of Victoria Square, it was moved to a position on the west side of the square in 2000. The statue is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Colonel William Windle Pilkington (1839–1914) was mayor of St Helens in 1902, the year of the Coronation of King Edward VII. Pilkington was the eldest son of Richard Pilkington, who had founded the Pilkington Brothers Glassworks in the town, and he was the technical director and chairman of the company. In order to celebrate his
Legitimacy of Queen Victoria Conroy, whereas she was nineteen years younger than her husband; the court gossiped openly about their relationship. After the Duke's death Conroy assumed a parental role towards Victoria that she bitterly resented. This caused a near permanent rift between Victoria and her mother, as well as between the Duchess and her brother-in-law, William IV. Conroy expected that when Victoria became queen he would be made her private secretary, but instead one of her first acts as monarch was to dismiss him from her household. The belief that the Duchess and Conroy were lovers was widespread. When asked by Charles Greville