Victoria returns to her royal duties sooner than expected after the birth of her first child. She suspects her husband and prime minister are concealing news from her. Albert's family descend on the palace for the christening.

Victoria discovers she is pregnant with a second child and suspects her husband is attracted to another woman. Below stairs, Cleary thinks the palace is haunted but Brodie thinks there is a natural explanation for events.

Moved by the plight of a silk weaver in Spitalfields, Victoria throws a lavish medieval ball at the palace with all attendees wearing outfits made in the impoverished area. Though a success the event outrages the public.

The royal court celebrates the birth of the queen's second child but Victoria struggles to bond with her newborn son. A crisis compels Albert to return to Coburg and upon arrival learns a terrible family secret.

Concerned that the upcoming marriage between the French King's son and the Queen of Spain will create a dangerous alliance, Victoria sets sail on her first voyage to the continent to try to deter the wily monarch.

Horrified by news of the famine sweeping Ireland, Victoria tries to persuade the government to take action. Peel is reluctant to send aid fearing it may destabilise his own party.

Following another attempt on her life Victoria and Albert travel incognito to the Scottish Highlands to get away from it all, but the trip does not prove to be the romantic retreat she imagined.

Albert unwittingly creates problems for Peel as the embattled prime minister faces the most important battle of his political career. A tragedy forces personal and political sacrifices to be made.

Christmas 1846, a pregnant Victoria faces the festive season without her beloved Baroness Lehzen. Albert wants to transform the palace into a magical, seasonal, wonderland, but tensions mount when he invites some unwelcome guests.