"The Sins of the Father" is the fourth episode of the second season of ITV's Victoria. It originally aired on the 17th September 2017.
Synopsis[]
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.
Plot[]
Victoria's birth of a son is painful and she experiences postpartum depression. Albert, upon receiving news of his father's sudden death, visits Germany for the funeral, and learns that Leopold believes that he may be Albert's biological father. Albert's mother found comfort with Leopold while her husband ignored her and pursued other women. Albert, questioning his beliefs and his sense of identity, drinks excessively that evening, and then departs for England the next day without a farewell. Victoria, encouraged by the Duchess of Buccleuch, continues to make public appearances, though her depression makes it an exhausting task for her. Miss Skerrett reveals to the Queen that it was her cousin, Eliza, who sold to the newspapers the story of the palace thief, and that her position as dresser was first intended for Eliza, but Eliza fell pregnant so Nancy was forced to assume her identity. Victoria prepares to remove Skerrett from the palace, but Albert persuades her to allow the woman to remain.