"The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them"
About this Quote
The subtext is especially pointed given Victorias century, when monarchy had to learn to coexist with mass politics, a ferocious press, and an expanding electorate. She was both symbol and target: caricatured, scrutinized, endlessly interpreted. This sentence reads like a private vaccination against that exposure. If you cant control the crowd, you can at least deny it the power to define you.
Theres also a sharp emotional logic under the steel. Victoria lived much of her reign managing grief, isolation, and the claustrophobia of being watched for a living. Declaring that other peoples opinions dont matter is a way to reclaim interior space. Yet the second clause gives away the real concern: she does care about people, just not on their terms. She reserves the right to approve, to dismiss, to decide who counts. Its a monarchs version of boundaries, less about serenity than sovereignty.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: The Mammoth Book of Great British Humour (Michael Powell, 2010) modern compilationISBN: 9781849016698 · ID: 5qmeBAAAQBAJ
Evidence:
... The important thing is not what they think of me , but what I think of them . Queen Victoria I sometimes wonder if two - thirds of the globe is covered in red carpet . Prince Charles * The monarchy is finished . It was finished a while ... |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Victoria, Queen. (2026, February 16). The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-important-thing-is-not-what-they-think-of-me-15476/
Chicago Style
Victoria, Queen. "The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-important-thing-is-not-what-they-think-of-me-15476/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-important-thing-is-not-what-they-think-of-me-15476/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.








