Queen Elizabeth makes Queen Victoria's diaries public

(CBS News) Britain is celebrating the long reign of two monarchs Friday morning.

Queen Elizabeth II is making public the diaries of Queen Victoria public.

The diaries provide an intimate look at Victoria's life and times, including her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Read the Diaries

The official online launch of Queen Victoria's diaries at Buckingham Palace wasn't exactly a smash the champagne across the bow moment, but the Queen did what she could to show her delighted and her appreciation to those behind the project.

The diaries tell the story of a woman in the throes of a passionate relationship with the dashing Prince Albert - and not afraid to say it.

Complete coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

After they first met, she wrote: "It was with some emotion that I beheld Albert - who is beautiful."

She described her "bliss beyond belief" on her wedding night. "He clasped me in his arms, and we kissed each other again and again!" She also adds they didn't get much sleep.

The diaries had been gathering dust in Windsor Castle for more than a hundred years.

Oxford University had an online publisher scan each page in a project that took more than six months. Royal historians call Queen Victoria the most important figure of the 19th century.

Victoria must have known her journals might one day be read. One entry states: "Wrote in my journal, which I am vain enough to think may perhaps some day be reduced to interesting memoirs."