Did Queen Victoria marry her servant John Brown? A US therapist claims she could be the late monarch’s love child

An outlandish claim by a therapist in Minnesota has reignited one of history’s most controversial royal mysteries involving Queen Victoria. The claim has led people to wonder whether the queen was secretly married to her Scottish servant John Brown, and whether they have a secret child.

Angela Webb-Milinkovich, a mental health professional in her 40s with tattoos and a nose ring, suspects she might be the great-great-granddaughter of Victoria and Brown’s rumored love child. This is a theory that historian Fern Riddell, who recently uncovered evidence of their close affinity, also subscribes to.

"I feel pretty confident that there’s some legitimacy to [the theory]," Milinkovich said.

For Angela Webb-Milinkovich it was a dinner-party story, but a historian believes the carer from Minnesota may descend from Victoria and a beloved servant ⬇️ https://t.co/EswQZuwE2R

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 25, 2025

According to a report by the Tatler, Queen Victoria became extremely close to Brown, her ghillie (outdoor attendant) at Balmoral Castle, following Prince Albert’s 1861 death.

Brown supposedly became her companion; he lived in the room next to hers and even addressed her as “darling”. The queen was even dubbed as “Mrs. Brown” by the contemporaries of the day, and Swiss newspapers had even reported a secret marriage in 1866 (Daily Mail).

The secret marriage of Queen Victoria and John Brown is not so far-fetched, as several clues indicate its possibility. The most well-known clue is the one provided by Victoria’s chaplain, the Reverend Norman Macleod, who said he had officiated at their wedding in 1872.

On the other hand, Brown wore a gold ring on his left hand (the heart side in marriage), while Victoria was buried with his mother's wedding ring, a lock of his hair, and a photo of him. Adding to the intrigue, Victoria’s journals about Brown were extensively edited after her death, and his diaries went missing amid speculation of a cover-up.

A look into the the hidden child theory and the historical pushback

Historian Fern Riddell’s research focuses on Mary Ann Brown, daughter of John Brown’s brother Hugh, who went out to New Zealand in 1865. Odd legal papers imply that Balmorals had custody rights of Mary Ann’s children, a highly unconventional agreement for a servant’s family.

“The story that my family grew up with is that John Brown and Queen Victoria had a romantic relationship... They went on a long boat journey. After that, a child was produced, and from that child came my family’s lineage,” Webb-Milinkovich told Times of London.

 

 

 

 

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Many historians dismiss the marriage and child accounts as tabloid fare. The 1997 movie Mrs. Brown, with Judi Dench, depicted their relationship as platonic. Critics cite Queen Victoria’s pious mourning of Albert and the absence of hard evidence.

As the debate continues, critics and several other researchers believe that the controversy serves to highlight Victoria’s rebellion against tradition and the palace’s century-long campaign to erase Brown from history.