The Public Life of Queen Victoria
by John McGilchrist · English · Gutenberg #39603 · 371,842 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Public Life of Queen Victoria
Author: John McGilchrist
Release date: May 3, 2012 [eBook #39603]
Language: English
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THE PUBLIC LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
by
JOHN MCGILCHRIST.
Felt and Dillingham,
455, Broome Street, New York.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY.
Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, the Protector of
Luther--Staunch Protestantism of the Queen's Saxon
Forefathers--House of Saxe-Coburg--A Saxon Desperado of the
Middle Ages--A Fighting Hero of the Eighteenth Century--The
Queen's Grandmother a Woman of Extraordinary Excellence--
Great Alliances in the Marriages of her Uncles and Aunts 1
CHAPTER II.
THE GREATEST OF THE MODERN COBURGS.
Romantic Career of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the Queen's
Uncle--His Continuous, Kind, and Fatherly Care of his
Orphaned Niece--The Duchy of Coburg held by Napoleon--
Sufferings of the Ducal Family--A Temptation resisted--The
Tide turned--Leopold's Popularity in England--Betrothal and
Marriage to the Princess Charlotte of Wales 8
CHAPTER III.
PARENTAGE AND BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
How the Princess Victoria came to be Heiress Presumptive to
the Throne--Death of the Princess Charlotte--Marriages of the
Royal Dukes--Of the Duke of Kent--Birth of the Princess
Alexandrina Victoria--Prediction of George IV.--Death of the
Duke of Kent--His Character--His Liberal Opinions--Public
Condolence with the Widow and Orphan--Early Life of the
Duchess of Kent 14
CHAPTER IV.
FIRST YEARS OF CHILDHOOD.
Old Memories of Kensington Palace--Enlargements of the
Structure by William III., Anne, Queen Caroline, and the Duke
of Sussex--Maids of Honour--Rank and Beauty in the Gardens--
Wilberforce and the Infant Princess--Victoria at Ramsgate--A
Picture of Victoria when Five Years Old--Her Physical
Training--Popularity as a Child--Her Youthful Charities--A
Narrow Escape from Death--Early Development of Quick
Intelligence--Anecdotes--Love of Nature--Proneness to
Self-Will--But Counterbalanced by Candour--Waggishness--A
Portrait of the Child-Princess by Leigh Hunt 23
CHAPTER V.
EDUCATION OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.
Additional Grant by Parliament for the Maintenance and
Education of the Princess--Wise Lessons learned at her
Mother's Knee--A Visit to George IV. at Windsor--Assiduous
Pursuit of Knowledge--Accession of William IV.--Victoria
becomes next in Succession to the Crown--Regency Bill--
Satisfaction of the Good Grandmother at Coburg--Her Death--
Joy of Victoria at the Elevation of her Uncle to the Belgian
Throne--Parliamentary Inquiry into the Progress of her
Education--Satisfactory Report in Response--Presented at
Court--Great Ball on her Twelfth Birthday at St. James's
Palace--Court Scandal and Baseless Rumours--The Duchess of
Northumberland appointed Governess--The Princess and the
Poet Southey 37
CHAPTER VI.
THE PRINCESS IN HER TEENS.
Visits paid to many parts of England--Love of Cathedrals and
Church Music--Trip to North Wales and the Midland Counties--
Visit to a Cotton Mill--To Oxford--Gala Day at Southampton--
Interview with the Young Queen of Portugal--Confirmation of
the Princess--Tour to the North--York Musical Festival--At
Ramsgate with the King of the Belgians--A Noble Deed at
Tunbridge Wells 47
CHAPTER VII.
EARLY DAYS OF PRINCE ALBERT.
Birth--Melancholy Story of his Mother--Brought up under the
Care of his Two Excellent Grandmothers--His Winning Ways as
a Child--His Tutor, Florschuetz--The Brothers, Ernest and
Albert--Visit to Brussels, and its Beneficial Effects--Hard
Study--Tour through Germany, &c.--First Visit to England,
and Meeting with Victoria--Studies at Brussels--Enters the
University of Bonn--Tour to Switzerland and Italy--Public
Announcement of Betrothal--Leaves Coburg and Gotha for his
Marriage 52
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES QUEEN REGNANT.
First Meeting of the Princess Victoria and Prince Albert--
Coming of Age--Festivities on the Occasion--Death of William
IV., and Accession of Victoria--The Queen holds her First
Privy Council--Her Address--Proclamation as Queen at St.
James's Palace--Beautiful Traits of Character displayed by
the Queen--Stirring and Gorgeous Scene--Delight of the
People at the Queen's Accession 61
CHAPTER IX.
THE MAIDEN QUEEN.
Removal to Buckingham Palace--First Levee--Dissolves
Parliament--Beauty of her Elocution--Splendid Reception by
the City of London--Settlement of the Queen's Income--Her
Daily Life--Her Admirable Knowledge of, and Devotion to, the
Business of the State--Reverence for the Lord's Day 69
CHAPTER X.
THE QUEEN CROWNED.
Novel Features in the Coronation--Its Cost--Large Amount of
Money Circulated--Splendour of the Procession--Enormous
Crowds--The Scene within the Abbey--Arrival of the Queen--
The Regalia and Sacred Vessels--Costume of the Queen--
Astonishment of the Turkish Ambassador at the Scene--The
Coronation Ceremony--The Queen's Oath--The Anointing--The
Crown placed on her Head--The Homage--An Aged Peer--The
Queen's Crown--The Illuminations and General Festivities--
Fair in Hyde Park--The Duke of Wellington and Marshal Soult
at the Guildhall 75
CHAPTER XI.
THE BEDCHAMBER PLOT.
Resignation of Lord Melbourne's Cabinet--Sir Robert Peel
sent for--Fails to form a Cabinet--His Explanation--The
Queen refuses to Dismiss her Ladies of the Bedchamber--
Supported by her late Ministers--Sir Robert Peel's
Objections--The Queen will not give way--The Whigs recalled
to Power--Public Opinion on the Dispute--The Whig Ministers
blamed, and the Queen exculpated 84
CHAPTER XII.
COURTSHIP AND BETROTHAL.
Desire of the Coburg Relatives for a Marriage between
Victoria and Albert--Favourable Impressions mutually made by
Victoria and Albert--Prince Albert's Letter on the Queen's
Accession--Opposition of King William IV. to the Marriage--
Correspondence between the Cousins--King Leopold Urges on
the Marriage--The Queen's Reluctance to become Betrothed--
Her subsequent Regret at this--The Prince craves a definite
Determination--His Second Visit to England--Betrothed at
Last--Returns to Germany to say Farewell 91
CHAPTER XIII.
THE QUEEN WEDDED.
Announcement of the Intended Marriage to the Privy Council
and Parliament--Parliamentary Settlement of the Prince's
Rank, &c.--Annoying Circumstances--The Prince's
Protestantism--His Income--Arrival of the Bridegroom--
Receives a National Welcome--The Wedding--Honeymoon Spent at
Windsor 100
CHAPTER XIV.
EARLY YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE.
Difficulties and Delicacy of Prince Albert's Position--Early
Married Life--Studies continued--Attempts on the Queen's
Life--Courage of the Queen--Birth of the Princess Royal--
Parting from the Whig Ladies of the Bedchamber--Dark Days
for England--Birth of the Prince of Wales--The Queen
Described by M. Guizot--A Dinner at Buckingham Palace--State
Dinner at Windsor 110
CHAPTER XV.
THE QUEEN IN SCOTLAND.
Christening of the Prince of Wales--Manufacturing Distress--
The Queen's Efforts to alleviate it--Assesses Herself to the
Income Tax--Resolves to Visit Scotland--Embarks at Woolwich--
Beacon Fires in the Firth of Forth--Landing on Scottish
Soil--A Disappointment--Formal Entry into Edinburgh--Richness
of Historical and Ancestral Associations--The Queen on the
Castle Rock--A Highland Welcome--Departure from Scotland 126
CHAPTER XVI.
WHAT ENGLAND OWES TO PRINCE ALBERT.
The Prince's Study of our Laws and Constitution--Two
Misconceptions Outlived--His Versatility--His First Speech
an Anti-Slavery one--His Appreciation and Judicious Criticism
of Art--Scientific Side of his Mind--As an Agriculturist 141
CHAPTER XVII.
FOREIGN TRAVEL AND HOME VISITS.
Visit to King Louis Philippe at Eu--A Loyal Corporation--
Splendid Reception of the Queen in France--Anecdote of the
Queen's Regard for Prince Albert--Visit of the Czar
Nicholas--Home Life in Scotland--Visit to Germany--
Illuminations of the Rhine--A Rural Fete at Coburg 149
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE QUEEN IN IRELAND.
First Visit to Ireland--Rapturous Reception at Cork--
Queenstown so denominated--Enthusiasm at Dublin--Its
Graceful Recognition by the Queen--Visit to the Dublin
Exhibition--Encouragement of Native Industry--Visit to the
Lakes of Killarney--The Whirligig of Time 157
CHAPTER XIX.
THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF INDUSTRY.
Prince Albert the Inaugurator of International Exhibitions--
Proposes, Unsuccessfully, his Scheme to the Government--To
the Society of Arts, Successfully--First Steps towards
Realisation--Objections to be Met--Perseverance of the
Prince--The Royal Commission--The Prince's Speech at York--
The Opening Ceremony--The Royal Procession 164
CHAPTER XX.
THE WAR CLOUD.
Bright Hopes of Peace Dispelled--An Era of War all over the
World--The Russian War--The Queen's Visits to the Wounded
Soldiers--Presentation of the War Medals--Crimean Heroes--The
Volunteer Movement 172
CHAPTER XXI.
THE QUEEN IN HER HIGHLAND HOME.
The Queen as an Author--"The Early Years of the Prince
Consort"--"Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the
Highlands"--Love for Children of all Ranks--Mountain Ascents
on Pony-back--In Fingal's Cave--"The Queen's Luck"--
Salmon-spearing, and a Catastrophe attending it--Erection of
a Memorial Cairn--Freedom of Intercourse with Humble
Highlanders--Visits to Cottagers--"Mrs. Albert"--Travelling
Incognito--Highland Dinners--"A Wedding-Party frae
Aberdeen"--A Disguise Detected 186
CHAPTER XXII.
THE WIDOWED QUEEN.
Unbroken Happiness of the Queen's Life up to 1861--Death of
the Duchess of Kent--The Prince Consort slightly Ailing--
Catches Cold at Cambridge and Eton--The Malady becomes
Serious--Public Alarm--Rapid Sinking, and Death--Sorrow of
the People--The Queen's Fortitude--Avoidance of Court
Display--Good Deeds--Sympathy with all Benevolent Actions--
Letter of Condolence to the Widow of President Lincoln--The
"Albert Medal"--Conclusion 194
LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY.
Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, the Protector of
Luther--Staunch Protestantism of the Queen's Saxon Forefathers--House
of Saxe-Coburg--A Saxon Desperado of the Middle Ages--A Fighting Hero
of the Eighteenth Century--The Queen's Grandmother a Woman of
Extraordinary Excellence--Great Alliances in the Marriages of her
Uncles and Aunts.
Queen Victoria is, through her mother, descended--and her children are
descended by the double line of both their parents--from the great, good,
and glorious Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony early in the sixteenth
century, who was one of the first to embrace the principles of Luther's
Reformation, and whose name still stands out so nobly and brightly as the
staunch and courageous protector of the great Reformer. The Ernestine
branch of this great Saxon house, from which the Queen and the Prince
Consort both derived their descent, have ever, though at great cost and
injury to themselves at many periods of their history, remained true to
the principles thus early adopted by their common ancestor; and they have
ever considered it as the brightest glory of their race, that they can
proudly point to this unquestionable fact. When one of the most
distinguished members--if, indeed, he was not the most illustrious
scion--of this family, the Queen's maternal uncle, Leopold, King of the
Belgians, made a journey into Scotland, to allay the pangs of the
bereavement which he had suffered in the untimely death of his young wife,
the Princess Charlotte, he paid a visit of a few days' duration to Sir
Walter Scott at Abbotsford. While there, an aged and reverend Scottish
divine was presented to the Prince. The clergyman, in the course of the
interview, made complimentary reference to this fact in the descent of the
Prince. Prince Leopold, in reply, stated that this was the first notice
which had been taken of the circumstance in his presence since the day of
his first arrival in England, and that he felt more honoured by it than by
any other tribute which had been paid to him and his family.
[Sidenote: "A GLIMPSE OF SAXON HISTORY."]
The curious in such matters, those for whom the minute particularity of
authenticated genealogical detail possesses a charm, with which the
compiler of these pages acknowledges that he is himself affected, but
which it would be unfair to such of his readers as do not share this taste
to minister to at excessive length--such we refer to the Reverend Edward
Tauerschmidt's "Brief Historical Account of the Dukedom and Ducal House of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha." There they will find the full pedigree, with no
link wanting, which connects Her Majesty, and equally her first cousin and
spouse, by the links of twenty-five generations, with the Saxon Earl
Theodoric, or Dideric, of the House of Bucizi, who is recorded to have
died in the year of our Lord 982. We content ourselves with proceeding at
a leap to the reign of Frederick the Benignant, Elector of Saxony, who
was thirteenth in descent from Earl Theodoric, and died in 1464. In a most
fascinating article which was contributed by Mr. Carlyle to the January
number of the _Westminster Review_ for the year 1855, entitled, "A Glimpse
of Saxon History," a most romantic incident of this Elector's reign is
narrated with the writer's customary graphic power. This potentate had a
"fighting captain" in his employ, by name Kunz von Kaufungen. Fighting for
his master, he was captured, and being a warrior of importance, was
amerced in the heavy ransom of a sum equal to 2,000 English pounds. This
he paid, but expected to be indemnified by Frederick. This expectation,
for some reason, was not fulfilled. Kunz, exasperated, swore to be
avenged. On the 7th of July, 1455, Kunz entered the town of Altenburg, at
the head of a party of thirty men. Having bribed one of the servants to
treachery, they obtained admission into the Electoral castle, from which
they carried off Frederick's two sons, the Princes Ernest and Albert. The
Electress soon discovered her loss, and the desperadoes had not proceeded
far on their several ways (they had divided into two bands, each having
one of the children), ere they were hotly pursued. Kunz himself headed
that moiety of his force who bore with them Ernest, the elder boy and the
more valuable hostage. The pursuers caused alarms to be rung from the
village spires, and amongst others of the peasantry who were aroused, was
a rough charcoal-burner, who, encountering the party of Kunz, "belaboured
him with the poking-pole" which he used in his vocation, and to such
effect that he vanquished the abductor, rescued the boy, and had the
happiness of restoring him to the arms of his agonised mother. When
asked, wonderingly and admiringly, how he dared to attack so formidable a
foe, he replied to his fair and grateful querist, "Madam, I _drilled_ him
soundly with my poking-pole." From that day he was known by no other name
than the Driller--_der Triller_. Kunz was consigned to the block, while
the Driller, and deliverer, was offered any reward he chose to name. This
true man--a mediaeval "Miller of the Dee"--asked no other recompense than
"only liberty to cut, of scrags and waste wood, what will suffice for my
charring purposes." This was at once granted, along with the freehold of a
snug farm, and an annual and ample allowance of corn from the barns of the
Electors. All was secured to him and his posterity by formal deed, and his
descendants to this day enjoy the privileges so valiantly earned by their
ancestor four centuries ago. From the two princes so rescued, descended
respectively the Ernestine and the Albertine branches of the Saxon house.
The Queen is--as her husband was--twelfth in descent from the little
Prince Ernest, who became the progenitor of the former line.
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN'S SAXON ANCESTORS.]
The parent stock had boasted among other meritorious or distinguished
representatives the names of Conrad the Great, Otho the Rich, Henry the
Illustrious, three Fredericks, dubbed respectively the Serious, the
Warlike, and the Benignant; whilst, as disparaging sets-off, either
demerit or misfortune was indicated, in the instance of other Electors, by
these sobriquets--the Oppressed, the Degenerate, the Severe, and,
strangest of all, Frederick-with-the-Wounded-Cheek. This habit of
designating the successive Electors by their moral or other
peculiarities, or by the incidents or accidents of their careers, was
continued but for a few generations of the Ernestine branch of the
bifurcated line. It contained a Magnanimous Frederick, and a Fiery Ernest,
after whose death, in 1675, this pleasing plan of picturesque designation
no longer meets the eye of the student.
The chivalrous protection which Frederick the Magnanimous--or the Wise, as
he is sometimes also denominated--spread as a buckler over Luther and the
Lutherans cost him his birthright. The bigoted Charles V. diverted, in
1547, the Electoral dignity from the Ernestine to the Albertine branch,
and the fortunes of the house cannot be said to have been fully restored
until the Treaty of Tilsit, in 1807, ratified as its main provisions were
by that of Vienna, seven years later.
Coming down to more recent times, and to the Queen's more immediate
ancestry, we find the old spirit which these brave Saxon princes
represented in the stirring mediaeval and Reforming days, abundantly
maintained in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and notably so on
the field of battle, in the great wars with which the names of Frederick
the Great, Maria Theresa, Suwarow, and Napoleon are associated.
Francis Josias was twenty-second of the line, and the Queen's
great-great-grandfather. His great-grandson, the late King Leopold, says
of him, that he was "much looked up to." He was a tall and powerful man,
but disfigured by having lost an eye at tennis, a game then very popular
on the Continent. One of his grandsons, a Prince Frederick Josias, served
with distinction in the Seven Years' War, in one of the battles of which
he was shot through the hand. He was subsequently employed in high
positions by the Empress Maria Theresa, and made a great name for himself
against the Turks. Suwarow and he extricated the Emperor Joseph, the son
of the Empress, from utter failure, and conquered the Principalities. He
afterwards fought against Dumouriez in the Netherlands, and gained the
battle of Neerwinden, in 1793, near Tirlemont; "one of the greatest
battles of modern history," says his nephew, King Leopold, a most
competent authority on the subject. He says that, but for the inaction of
the Dutch contingent, and the insane attempt of the Duke of York to
conquer Dunkirk, the allies, after this victory, which cleared the
Netherlands of the French, might as easily have marched upon Paris as the
forces of Wellington and Blucher did after Waterloo.
The Queen's grandfather, suffering early in life from exceedingly bad
health, was cast in a much less energetic mould, but his character was
eminently benevolent and loveable, and he had a knowledge and love of the
fine arts, which Prince Albert, in the highest degree of all his
descendants, inherited. The Queen's grandmother, who was of the
Reuss-Ebersdorff family, was equally warm-hearted, possessed a powerful
mind, and "loved her grandchildren most tenderly." We shall have much to
say of her in subsequent pages.
[Sidenote: THE HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG.]
Of the Queen's aunts, one, after declining many eligible offers in her own
princely rank, married Count Mensdorff-Pouilly, a French emigrant of the
Revolution, who entered the Austrian service, and became the father of the
well-known Austrian statesman, Count Arthur Mensdorff, who was the bosom
friend of Prince Albert from his earliest infancy until his untimely
death. A second married the reigning Duke of Wurtemburg, and occupied for
many years a very influential position in Russia, her husband being
brother of the Empress Catherine (the second of that name), and maternal
uncle of the Emperors Alexander and Nicholas. The third daughter of the
house herself became a Russian Grand Duchess; she was wedded at the age of
fifteen to the Grand Duke Constantine. The marriage was an inharmonious
one, and in 1802 the young pair agreed to separate. Both husband and wife
were acquitted of all blame; Leopold, the brother of the latter,
attributes the sad event to "the shocking hypocrisy of the
Empress-mother," in the absence of which "things might have gone on." The
Queen's mother, who was christened Victoire (or Victoria) Marie Louise,
was the youngest of the four sisters. Besides Duke Ernest, the father of
Prince Albert, the Queen had two other maternal uncles. One was Frederick
George, who married a great heiress, the Hungarian Princess of Kohary. His
son became the consort of Donna Maria II. of Portugal; his grandson, the
present King of Portugal, is the Queen's first cousin once removed, and
the second cousin of her children. Her other uncle was the late King of
the Belgians, whose career is a portion of the history of our
grandfathers', our fathers', and our own times, and is so intimately
associated with the life and fortunes of Her Majesty as to merit separate
treatment in a succeeding chapter, and elsewhere incidentally in the
course of our narrative.
CHAPTER II.
THE GREATEST OF THE MODERN COBURGS.
Romantic Career of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the Queen's
Uncle--his Continuous, Kind, and Fatherly Care of his Orphaned
Niece--The Duchy of Coburg held by Napoleon--Sufferings of the Ducal
Family--A Temptation resisted--The Tide turned--Leopold's Popularity
in England--Betrothal and Marriage to the Princess Charlotte of Wales.
[Sidenote: PRINCE LEOPOLD OF SAXE-COBURG.]
Born in the year 1790, Prince Leopold was a soldier and in the saddle when
he was fifteen years of age. In 1805, that war broke out between Napoleon
and Austria, in which the power of the Kaiser was so near being destroyed.
The health of the Duke Francis, Leopold's father, was fast failing him,
and the tremendous sorrows and sufferings inflicted by the victorious
French upon Germany, hastened the rapidity of his descent to the grave.
Ernest, the eldest son, and Leopold hurriedly left Coburg to join the
Russian army in Moravia. Their only other brother was already in an
Austrian regiment of Hussars. Ere Leopold could flesh his sword,
Austerlitz had been fought and lost, and Austria was thoroughly crippled.
He returned to Coburg to witness his father's death. The French were in
possession of the town and Duchy, and when they learned that the new Duke
was with their Prussian foe, they appointed a military intendant, a M.
Vilain--in nature as well as in name, so Leopold afterwards recorded. The
Ducal family were reduced to such straits, that they depended for their
very sustenance upon the clandestine benefactions of the Governmental
subordinates, surlily winked at by their French masters. The Duchess set
off on a journey to Warsaw to endeavour to propitiate Napoleon; but she
was permitted to proceed no farther than Berlin, as Napoleon hated such
visits. She returned baffled to Coburg, which remained "une possession
Francaise." The Peace of Tilsit, among its other provisions,
"reintegrated" Coburg; but, through the greed and treachery of Prussia,
the stipulated arrangements were never fulfilled. On the ratification of
the Peace, Duke Ernest came to Coburg for the first time to assume his
Ducal power and dignity.
As a matter of policy, Leopold, with other German Princes, now visited
Napoleon at Paris, where he was courteously received. On his return from
Paris, early in 1808, he nearly died of scarlet fever. After a very tardy
and painful recovery, he went, at the end of the year, to the Congress of
Erfurth, to which he had been summoned by the Czar Alexander. He tried
there to secure to his brother his undiminished territorial possessions,
and succeeded in making such a favourable impression upon Napoleon that he
would have done so, but for the impolitic excessiveness of his brother's
claims, and the apathetic manner in which the Czar supported them. The war
with Russia came on, in which he eagerly desired to serve against the
French; but Napoleon caused it to be known that if he did so his brother
would be held responsible; so he had to abide in inglorious and detested
ease. Napoleon made him tempting offers to enter his service, and would
have been more incensed at his persistent refusal than he was, but for
the friendly intercession of Josephine and Queen Hortense, her daughter,
who were both very friendly to the young Prince.
Meanwhile he turned his eminent talents for diplomacy to good account. He
persuaded Bavaria to return to his brother portions of Coburg territory
which that state unjustly held, and removed the galling pain of the
Bavarian flag floating over villages within four English miles of the town
of Coburg itself.
[Sidenote: THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE.]
In 1812 Napoleon's frightful war with Russia broke out. Napoleon summoned
the subject and enfeebled German Princes to Dresden. Duke Ernest was
compelled to go, and Leopold also was cited to the gathering, but he went
to Vienna, and then to Italy, to keep out of the way. It would have been
now most dangerous to decline the French service, and he was determined at
all costs not to enter it. "Germany," said he, "was, at the beginning of
1812, in the lowest and most humiliating position; Austria and Prussia
sunk to be auxiliaries; everybody frightened and submissive, except Spain,
supported by England." But Napoleon's reverses in Russia soon followed,
and they electrified all Germany into new courage. The Duke of Coburg
posted off to Berlin to endeavour to stimulate the perplexed, vacillating,
and timorous Prussian King into manly and decided action. The other
brother, Ferdinand, went to Vienna on a similar errand. Leopold hied him
to Munich to stir up the Crown Prince of Bavaria, afterwards King Louis.
They were all moderately successful, and Leopold hastened to Kalisch, in
Poland, being the first German Prince to join the Army of Liberation. He
was equally honoured and gratified by being appointed a Major-General by
the Czar. He was present at the hard-fought but indecisive battles of
Lutzen and Bautzen. There followed an armistice, and a conference at
Prague, with a view to a definite settlement. This the Prince attended. He
was the only person admitted to the presence of the Emperor of Austria,
and spent much of his time with the plenipotentiaries Metternich,
Humboldt, Ansted, Gentz, and others. The negotiations broke off, and
hostilities were resumed. At the decided defeat which the French general
Vandamme sustained, shortly before the crowning victory of Leipsic,
Leopold commanded all the allied cavalry, and distinguished himself the
more that he was the only general in the field who knew the country. He
was present, and in high command, at Leipsic, where Germany was finally
freed. After the fight, the Grand Duke Constantine accompanied him to
Coburg, visiting the relatives of the wife from whom he was now separated,
and who lived and died in retirement in Switzerland. Amongst others they
visited the future Duchess of Kent, then Princess of Leiningen, her first
husband being still alive. Shortly afterwards Constantine and Leopold
rejoined the army in Switzerland, where Leopold tried hard, but
ineffectually, to effect a reconciliation between his sister and her
husband. Leopold subsequently entered Paris at the head of the cavalry;
his eldest brother procured the evacuation of Mayence by its French
garrison. The three brothers all met in Paris, from which Leopold
proceeded, in the suite of the Czar, to the great triumphant gathering of
the Allied Sovereigns in London. Now for the first time he met his future
bride, the Princess Charlotte, only child of the Prince Regent, and heir
to the throne. His splendid continental career already propitiated her,
as it did all the British people, in his favour. The project of a
matrimonial union between the gallant young general and the still more
youthful princess was warmly taken up by the leading men in power,
including Wellington, his brothers, and Castlereagh. The Prince Regent
alone was opposed to the project. He was irritated by his daughter's
repugnance to the Prince of Orange, who was destined by him to be his
son-in-law, and by her recent flight from Carlton House to the residence
of her mother. Leopold, however, decidedly succeeded in winning the
affections of the lady herself, and the nation was delighted at the
project. The Dukes of York and Kent, too, warmly encouraged his suit. On
his return home he found that his youngest sister had been unexpectedly
left a widow, and he arranged the guardianship and pecuniary affairs of
the future mother of England's Queen. At the Congress of Vienna, whither
he went to plead the cause of his brother, his amazing sagacity and tact
induced the negotiators to make a very satisfactory arrangement of
frontier. This he settled, to the great chagrin of Humboldt, the Prussian
envoy, who, with the Prussian Court and people generally, seems to have
been extremely spiteful towards the little principality, their near
neighbour.
[Sidenote: A ROYAL MARRIAGE.]
Leopold was not at Waterloo--fought so near the capital of his future
kingdom. He was posted in Alsace in command of an army of observation,
which, of course, was never needed for action. Leopold went alone to
Paris, with the leave of the Czar, still animated by the purpose of
advancing his brother's pretensions; Prussia having failed to carry out
the rectifications of frontier enacted at Vienna the year before. He
succeeded in this object, and hopes of the highest nature were engendered
about an affair still nearer to his heart. Wellington and Castlereagh
treated him with marked and significant deference. And through the kind
intervention of the good-hearted and simple-minded Duke of Kent, he
received from his ladye-love some pleasant tokens of continued affection
and renewed pledges of staunch fidelity. He was strongly recommended to
repair to England and renew and prosecute his wooing in person; but he
very astutely declined, thinking it unwise to "brave" the Prince Regent.
He went, instead, to Vienna, to act as groomsman at the wedding of his
brother Ferdinand with the great Hungarian heiress whose love he had won;
and from thence to Berlin, persistently to enforce his brother's twice
recognised and sanctioned rights. At Berlin he received a welcome
invitation to England from the Regent, and a most satisfactory letter of
"explanation" from Lord Castlereagh. He arrived in London in February,
1816. Castlereagh at once took him to Brighton, where the Regent was. He
received his daughter's wooer most graciously. The old queen and her three
daughters posted after Leopold from London, and in a family council the
marriage was definitely agreed on. The young couple were married in May,
amid the joyful acclamations of the whole nation.
CHAPTER III.
PARENTAGE AND BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
How the Princess Victoria came to be Heiress Presumptive to the
Throne--Death of the Princess Charlotte--Marriages of the Royal
Dukes--Of the Duke of Kent--Birth of the Princess Alexandrina
Victoria--Prediction of George IV.--Death of the Duke of Kent--His
Character--His Liberal Opinions--Public Condolence with the Widow and
Orphan--Early Life of the Duchess of Kent.
[Sidenote: MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF KENT.]
On the 6th of November, 1817, the hopes of the nation, which had so fondly
rested upon the happy union between the Princess Charlotte and Prince
Leopold, were fatally blasted by Her Royal Highness's death, shortly after
her delivery of a still-born child. Never in our history was a blow felt
more deeply and personally by all the nation, than this bereavement. The
death of the Princess Charlotte severely and most painfully disappointed
the nation in its general expectation with regard to the much desired
succession to the throne in the person of herself and her heirs. The Duke
of Cumberland, who was hated by all, was the only married younger son of
the king, and there was a general desire that the other royal princes,
especially the popular and estimable Dukes of Kent and Sussex, should seek
out suitable partners. The Duke of Kent rightly felt that the House of
Brunswick was dear to the English people, that the nation had a very
strong desire that the question of succession should be placed beyond
doubt, and that, considering the uncertainty of the chances of life, and
of leaving offspring, it was clearly his duty to marry. Indeed, he had
already, ere the untimely death of his niece, offered his hand and heart
to the widowed Princess of Leiningen. The Princess Charlotte tenderly
loved her uncle Kent, who had done so much to promote the attainment of
the wishes of her own heart, and she did all she could to promote the
marriage of her uncle with the sister of her husband. But the position of
the Princess of Leiningen as guardian of her two children occasioned
delays; and no unimportant matter was the fact that if she re-married, she
would sacrifice a jointure of nearly L5,000 a year, while the Duke of Kent
was punished by the Court for his free and outspoken Liberal opinions by
being restricted to a very meagre pecuniary allowance from the Tory
Parliament. At last, however, all minor difficulties were smoothed over.
On the 13th of May, a message was brought down to Parliament, announcing
that "the Prince Regent had given his consent to a marriage between the
Duke of Kent and Her Serene Highness Mary Louisa Victoria, daughter of the
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, widow of Enrich Charles, Prince of
Leiningen, and sister of Prince Leopold." Of all the royal marriages, this
was the one which the heart of the country went most thoroughly along
with. The Duke of Kent never disguised--indeed, he openly proclaimed--his
attachment to the principles of the popular party; and the fact of the
close relationship of his intended wife to Prince Leopold was another
strong recommendation. The marriage was celebrated, first according to the
Lutheran rites in Germany, on the 29th May, 1818, and, on the 13th of
July following, by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Prince Regent, on the
latter occasion, giving away the bride. In the same summer, the Dukes of
Clarence and Cambridge had married. The Duke of Sussex, whose affections
and sympathies were otherwise engaged, declined to contract a foreign
alliance; but he took the liveliest interest in the marriage of his
favourite brother Kent, as he also did in the future welfare and
prosperity of his niece.
[Sidenote: CHRISTENING OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.]
After the English marriage, the young couple sojourned for a brief period
at Claremont, the residence which had been selected by the Princess
Charlotte, and which Prince Leopold continued to occupy. They then, guided
chiefly by motives of economy, for their means were very small, travelled
on the Continent, from which they returned for the accouchement of the
Duchess. Both prospective parents were desirous that their child should be
"born a Briton." They arrived at Dover on the 23rd of April, 1819, and on
the 24th of May the Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born at Kensington
Palace. She was born in the presence of the Dukes of Sussex and
Wellington, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl
Bathurst, Mr. Canning, Mr. Vansittart, and the Bishop of London. The Duke
of Kent wept for joy, and the fact that his infant was a daughter did not
in the least degree diminish his delight. The Duchess rapidly recovered,
and the beauty and symmetry of the infant Princess were spoken of with
admiration by all who had an opportunity of observing her. Shortly after
this happy event, the Duke of Kent attended a drawing-room, from which,
and similar Court ceremonies, the estrangement between himself and the
Regent had for some time kept him away. His brother was most affable, and
invited him to dine the next day, when he predicted that his little niece
would be Queen some time. This certainly seemed improbable shortly
afterwards, for Clarence, who was nearer in succession than Kent, became
the father of two daughters by his wife, Adelaide. But they both died
young, thereby opening the succession to the child of the Duke of Kent,
and verifying the Regent's prophecy. The child was christened with great
privacy, on the 24th of June, in the Palace of Kensington. The royal gold
font was fetched from the Tower, and fitted up in the grand saloon of the
palace. Under the direction of the Lord Chamberlain, the draperies were
removed from the Chapel Royal, St. James's. The Archbishop of Canterbury,
assisted by the Bishop of London, administered the holy office; the Prince
Regent, the members of the Royal Family, and other illustrious visitors
were present. The sponsors were the Prince Regent, the Czar Alexander
(represented by the Duke of York as proxy), the Queen Dowager of
Wurtemberg (represented by the Princess Augusta), and the Duchess Dowager
of Coburg (represented by the Duchess of Gloucester). A brilliant evening
party filled the saloons of the happy parents.
The Duke and Duchess still made Claremont their chief home. But the winter
of 1819-20 set in with unusual severity, and they went to Sidmouth, in the
hope of escaping its trying severity. From Sidmouth the Duke made an
excursion to visit Salisbury Cathedral, where he caught a slight cold. On
his return to Sidmouth it became alarming, and the Duchess sent off in
haste to her brother, who was visiting at Lord Craven's. Soon after his
arrival, the Duke breathed his last. While his cold still slightly
affected him, he had gone for a long walk, on the 13th of January, with
Captain Conroy, and had his boots soaked through with wet. He neglected to
change his boots and stockings until he dressed for dinner, being
attracted by the smiles of his infant princess, with whom he sat for some
time playing. Before night he had a sensation of cold and hoarseness, but
the doctors were not alarmed, and merely prescribed mild medicaments and a
good night's rest. But the symptoms of fever rapidly increased, and, in
spite of much blood-letting, he died ten days from the date of the
recurrence of his cold. He met his death with pious resignation. The
Duchess was most indefatigable in her attentions, and personally performed
all the offices of the sick-bed. For five successive nights she never took
off her clothes, and she struggled to prevent his seeing the agony of her
apprehensions, never leaving the bed-side but to give vent to her bursting
sorrow. The presence of her brother was a great comfort to her, both
before and after the moment of death. It was fortunate, indeed, that
Leopold was in this country, "as the poor Duke had left his family
deprived of all means of existence." So did Leopold himself testify many
years afterwards.
[Sidenote: THE DUKE OF KENT.]
The Duke of Kent, although unpopular in his youth on account of his
strictness as a military disciplinarian, became in later days much
beloved. His stature was tall, and his appearance noble and manly. His
manner was engaging, and his conversation animated. He possessed an exact
memory, varied information, a quick and masculine intellect. In many of
his tastes and habits he closely resembled his father. He was an early
riser, and a close economist of time; temperate in eating; though fond of
society, indifferent to wine; a kind master, punctual correspondent, and
exact man of business; a steady friend, and an affectionate brother. He
was peculiarly exempt in his youth from those extravagances and vices with
which the names of some of his brothers were so painfully associated. He
was in his early life, which he spent in active and laborious military
service, a pattern of prudence, economy, and industrious habits. He
incurred no unnecessary expenses, and made few debts, although his annual
allowance was only L1,000 for some years after he had attained his
majority. He delighted in books, education, charity, and the promotion of
all useful arts, and was a model son, husband, and father. He was a
staunch and uncompromising advocate of those liberal opinions which it is
so well known that his daughter inherits, which she displayed so
unreservedly early in her reign, but the prominent expression of which
prudence and constitutional restraints convinced her that it was advisable
to keep in the background, as her mind grew and ripened. The Duke of
Kent's political views will be gathered from the following extract from a
speech at a banquet, in which he replied to the toast of the junior
members of the Royal Family:--"I am a friend of civil and religious
liberty, all the world over. I am an enemy to all religious tests. I am a
supporter of a general system of education. All men are my brethren; and I
hold that power is only delegated for the benefit of the people. These are
the principles of myself and of my beloved brother, the Duke of Sussex.
They are not popular principles just now; that is, they do not conduct to
place or office. _All_ the members of the Royal Family do not hold the
same principles. For this I do not blame them; but we claim for ourselves
the right of thinking and acting as we think best, and we proclaim
ourselves, with our friend Mr. Tierney, 'members of His Majesty's loyal
Opposition.'" These words give a precise and definite idea of the
character of this clear-headed, good-hearted, shrewd, practical, and
unpretending man.
Prince Leopold accompanied his widowed sister and the little orphan from
Sidmouth to Kensington Palace. The weather was most severe, and the
journey a trying one. The Houses of Parliament remembered, with respectful
solicitude, the widowed and isolated state of the Duchess. Both Houses
voted addresses of condolence. That from the Commons was presented by
Lords Morpeth and Clive. She appeared in person, though unable to suppress
her grief, with the infant Victoria in her arms, to receive the
deputation. She presented the babe to the deputed Members, and pointed to
her as the treasure to whose preservation and improvement she was resolved
to dedicate her best energies and fondest love. The interview was
exceedingly touching. A true woman, the Duchess could not conceal the
intensity of her widowed grief; but that did not overshadow her maternal
affection, and she recognised and spoke courageously of her duties, her
responsibilities, and her high resolves. Public feeling and national
anxiety accompanied her into her domestic privacy, and all classes of
society took the deepest interest in all her movements.
[Sidenote: THE DUCHESS OF KENT.]
The Queen, indeed, owes much to her mother, who lived long enough to see
her daughter's grandchildren. The Duchess of Kent had been brought up
under the immediate care and superintendence of her illustrious mother,
whose character we have already described. She had shared the youthful
lessons of her brother Leopold--a source, doubtless of great intellectual
profit. In 1802, when she was but sixteen, much against her own wish, and
only in compliance with the entreaties of her beloved father--who wished
to see his only surviving daughter married, in such troublesome times, ere
the end of his precarious and sickly life came--she became the wife of the
Prince of Leiningen, a man eight-and-twenty years her senior. The union
was most inappropriate and unwise. Her husband was repugnant in person and
manners. He failed either to secure her confidence or contribute to her
happiness. Yet she fulfilled her duties as a wife and mother in so
exemplary a manner, from her marriage to her husband's death, in 1814,
that the breath of slander never sullied her fair fame. Indeed, by the
purity of her life, the manner in which she discharged her maternal
duties, and the graceful suavity of her manners, she did much to ennoble
the character of the House of Leiningen, which her husband had done much
to lower. Her marriage with the Duke of Kent was one of unmistakable
affection, and was a very happy one. Their tastes were similar; but her
meekness and tact had a beneficial influence in mitigating a certain stern
and abrupt brusqueness which he partly inherited from his father, and
partly derived from the camps and garrison towns in which his youth was
spent. The simplicity and tender unaffectedness of her manners--a
peculiarity distinctive of the highest class of well-bred German
women--and her fascinating combination of gentleness with gaiety, not
only won and bound, by daily increasing ties, the affections of her
husband, but of all those who had the good fortune to become personally
acquainted with her admirable life and disposition.
CHAPTER IV.
FIRST YEARS OF CHILDHOOD.
Old Memories of Kensington Palace--Enlargements of the Structure by
William III., Anne, Queen Caroline, and the Duke of Sussex--Maids of
Honour--Rank and Beauty in the Gardens--Wilberforce and the Infant
Princess--Victoria at Ramsgate--A Picture of Victoria when Five Years
old--Her Physical Training--Popularity as a Child--Her Youthful
Charities--A Narrow Escape from Death--Early Development of Quick
Intelligence--Anecdotes--Love of Nature--Proneness to Self-will--But
Counterbalanced by Candour--Waggishness--A Portrait of the
Child-Princess by Leigh Hunt.
The infancy, girlhood, and budding womanhood of the Princess Victoria were
chiefly spent at the Royal Palace of Kensington. It was her mother's fixed
residence, but the family were much at Claremont, where the Queen
testifies that she spent the happiest days of her childhood. There were
frequent trips made, too, to various watering-places; and, as the Princess
grew in years, visits were paid at the country houses of some of the
nobility. Leigh Hunt, in his exquisite book of gossip entitled "The Old
Court Suburb," thus happily describes the more salient and prominent
features of the somewhat sombre region of the Queen's up-bringing:--
In vain we are told that Wren is supposed to have built the south
front, and Kent (a man famous in his time) the east front. We can no
more get up any enthusiasm about it as a building, than if it were a
box or a piece of cheese. But it possesses a Dutch solidity; it can
be imagined full of English comfort; it is quiet; in a good air; and,
though it is a palace, no tragical history is connected with it: all
which considerations give it a sort of homely, fireside character,
which seems to represent the domestic side of royalty itself, and thus
renders an interesting service to what is not always so well
recommended by cost and splendour. Windsor Castle is a place to
receive monarchs in; Buckingham Palace to see fashion in; Kensington
Palace seems a place to drink tea in: and this is by no means a state
of things in which the idea of royalty comes least home to the good
wishes of its subjects. The reigns that flourished here, appositely
enough to this notion of the building, were all tea-drinking
reigns--at least on the part of the ladies; and if the present Queen
does not reign there, she was born and bred there, growing up quietly
under the care of a domestic mother; during which time, the
pedestrian, as he now goes quietly along the gardens, fancies no
harsher sound to have been heard from the Palace windows than the
"tuning of the tea-things," or the sound of a pianoforte.
[Sidenote: KENSINGTON PALACE.]
The associations of Kensington Palace are almost entirely with the earlier
Hanoverian reigns; the later Georges neglected it. Rumour hath it that
this royal domain originated in the establishment of a nursery for the
children of Henry VIII. If it were so, Elizabeth and Victoria must have
been brought up on the same spot; but the tradition is not well supported.
Its first ascertained proprietor was Heneage Finch, Speaker of the House
of Commons at the accession of the First Charles, who built and occupied
only a small nucleus of the present structure, which was enlarged from
time to time by most of its successive occupants, but with no pretension,
and without much plan. From the second Earl of Nottingham, the grandson of
Finch, William III. bought the house and grounds. The latter he enlarged
to the extent of twenty-six acres. To these Anne added thirty, and to
these in turn Queen Caroline, wife of George II., added three hundred.
The house had been the while proportionately growing. Its last expansion
was contributed by the Duke of Sussex.
The gardens were pedantically squared to Dutch uniformity by William of
Orange, and the semblance of a Court which he held in this Palace was
correspondingly gloomy and dismal. The most singular visitor ever received
by William was the Czar Peter, who drove hither _incognito_ in a hackney
coach, on his arrival in London, and was afterwards entertained here with
some slight show of state. In Anne's time, the palace and gardens were
little livelier than in William's. The Queen hedged herself in behind
absurd _chevaux-de-frise_ of etiquette, and the court chroniclers of the
period record little else than eating and drinking. Swift and Prior,
Bolingbroke and Marlborough, Addison and Steele, nevertheless, lent
occasional gleams of brightness and dignity to the otherwise sombre scene.
The most fascinating and memorable association of Kensington Palace is in
connection with the Courts of the first two Georges, and of the son of the
latter, Frederick Prince of Wales. These associations are specially
connected with the bevies of frolicsome, and sometimes frail, maids of
honour, who now live in the pages of Pope and Gay, of Hervey and Walpole.
Chief among them was the gay, sprightly, and irresistible Molly Leppell,
who resisted, in a manner equally indignant and comical, the degrading
overtures of the coarse-souled George II. She married Hervey, the most
effeminate and egregious dandy of his time. Chesterfield thus toasted her
in a ballad on the beauties of the Court;--
Oh! if I had Bremen and Varden,
And likewise the Duchy of Zell,
I'd part with them all for a farden,
To have my dear Molly Leppell.
Caroline of Anspach, consort of Frederick, Prince of Wales, introduced the
habit of promenading in gorgeous costume in the gardens, first on
Saturday, then on Sunday, afternoons. By degrees the quality were admitted
as well as the royal family and their immediate attendants. The liberty
was gradually extended to the general public. Hence it was that Kensington
Gardens became in time as open to all comers as are the royal parks. These
gorgeous promenades ceased with the commencement of the last malady of
George III. It was in allusion to the stately train of attendant beauties
who accompanied the Princess Caroline of Wales, that Tickell wrote--
Each walk, with robes of various dyes bespread,
Seems from afar a moving tulip bed,
Where rich brocades and glossy damasks glow,
And chintz, the rival of the showery bow.
Here England's Daughter, darling of the land,
Sometimes, surrounded with her virgin band,
Gleams through the shades. She, towering o'er the rest,
Stands fairest of the fairer kind confess'd;
Form'd to gain hearts that Brunswick's cause denied,
And charm a people to her father's side.
With the death of George II., the glory departed from Kensington. No
future English King favoured or frequented it. George III. never resided
in the Palace, and it was altogether too dull and homely for his eldest
son. He was willing enough that his bookish brother Sussex, and his steady
brother Kent, should abide in it; and, as one writer puts it, depicting
the "first gentleman in Europe" in a light far from pleasing, but for the
use of which we fear there was too much foundation--"He was well content
to think that the staid-looking house and formal gardens rendered the spot
a good out-of-the-way sort of place enough, for obscuring the growth and
breeding of his niece and probable heiress, the Princess Victoria, whose
life, under the guidance of a wise mother, promised to furnish so
estimable a contrast to his own."
[Sidenote: WILBERFORCE AND THE PRINCESS.]
It was in the rooms, rich with such varied associations as those, some few
of which we have cited, and surrounded by the remarkable collection of
pictures, chiefly by Byzantine and early German painters--that England's
future Queen grew up from babyhood to womanhood. Amongst the very earliest
notices of the infant Princess is the following, which we cite from a
letter written by Wilberforce to his friend, Hannah More, on the 21st
July, 1820. He says:--
In consequence of a very civil message from the Duchess of Kent, I
waited on her this morning. She received me with her fine animated
child on the floor by her side, with its playthings, of which I soon
became one. She was very civil; but, as she did not sit down, I did
not think it right to stay above a quarter of an hour; and there being
but a female attendant and footman present, I could not well get up
any topic, so as to carry on a continued discourse. She apologised for
not speaking English well enough to talk it; but intimated a hope that
she might talk it better and longer with me at some future time. She
spoke of her situation [this was, probably, in reference to the cold
treatment of her and hers by George IV.], and her manner was quite
delightful.
Four years later, the Duchess and the little Princess paid one of many
visits to Ramsgate: and it would appear that the Duchess of Kent had
already succeeded in being able to talk English "better and longer" with
Wilberforce "at some future time;" for an eye-witness, who was familiar
with all the group, witnessed the following scene. It was a fine summer
day: too warm anywhere but on the shore of the sea, the breeze from which
sufficiently moderated the temperature. A little girl, with a fair, light
form, was sporting on the sands in all the redolence of youth and health.
Her dress was simple--plain straw bonnet, with a white riband round the
crown, a coloured muslin frock, and "as pretty a pair of shoes, on as
pretty a pair of feet, as I ever remember to have seen from China to
Kamschatka"--so testifies the authority from whom we quote. The child had
two companions--her mother and William Wilberforce. The latter looked as
lovingly on the child as did her mother. His kindly eye followed with
tender interest her every footstep, and he was evidently meditating on the
great destiny which was in store for her, when her mother, less
meditative, more concerned with the affairs of the present, suddenly
observed that her daughter had got her shoe's wetted by a breaker. She
waved her hand, and Victoria, obedient to the signal, at once rejoined her
mother and her friend. Perhaps another motive might have been at work in
the mother's breast; for immediately the child had joined the elders,
Wilberforce took her hand in both of his, and addressed to her some kindly
words, doubtless of excellent counsel, for the blue eyes of the girl
looked fixedly at her venerable instructor, and the devoted mother glanced
from one to the other, evidently interested and affected by the contrast.
Wilberforce was no wearisome restrainer of the buoyancy of youth; a few
minutes later, he and his young companion were standing at the margin of
the tide, watching the encroachments of each new breaker, and the
dexterity with which a pet Newfoundland dog brought bits of stick out of
the waves.
[Sidenote: MORAL TRAINING.]
During the earliest years of her childhood, Victoria does not seem to have
been harassed with book-learning--a most wise and excellent omission. In
1823, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg wrote to her daughter--"Do not yet
tease your little puss with learning; she is so young still." The Queen's
mother followed the good advice; it was the cultivation of the heart of
her child at which she first strove. Above everything, any approach to
pride or hauteur was discouraged. The convictions equally with the natural
temperament of the Duchess, led her to regard such a quality as specially
to be avoided. She was trained to be courteous, affable, lively, and to
put social inferiors perfectly at their ease. In her juvenile sea-side and
other excursions, it was constantly observed by every one that the faces
of the bathing-women, and others of the same class, whose services were
needed, lighted up with genuine, unaffected gladness whenever the young
Princess appeared. The following little picture deserves to be reproduced,
without tampering with the colours of its portrayer:--"As she proceeded up
the High Street from the sands, there sat on the low step of a closed shop
an aged Irishwoman, pale, wan, dejected, sorrowful, her head bent forward,
and whilst all nature was gay, she looked sickly, sad, and famishing.
Whether she was too depressed to beg, or too exhausted at that moment to
make the effort, I cannot tell, but she asked for no alms, and even
looked not at the passers-by. The young Princess was attracted by her
appearance, and spoke to the Duchess: 'I think not,' were the only words I
heard from her mamma; and, 'Oh, yes, indeed!' was all I could catch of the
youthful reply. I have no doubt the Duchess thought the old woman was not
in need of relief, or would be offended by the offer of alms; but the
Princess had looked under her bonnet, and gained a better insight into her
condition. There was a momentary pause; the Princess ran back a few steps
most nimbly, and with a smile of heartfelt delight placed some silver in
the hands of the old Irishwoman. Tall and stately was the poor creature,
and as she rose slowly with clasped hands and riveted features, she
implored the blessing of Heaven on the 'English lady.' She was so taken by
surprise by this unexpected mark of beneficence on the part of she knew
not whom, that she turned over her sixpences again and again, thanked the
Virgin, as well as the 'young lady,' a thousand times, and related to
those who stopped to hear her exclamations, the 'good luck' that had come
upon her."
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD.]
While still not a year old, and ere her father's death, the intensity of
interest which the people took in the safety and welfare of the Princess
had been strongly displayed in the universal satisfaction which was
expressed at her providential escape from being wounded, if not killed, in
consequence of some boys shooting at birds near the temporary residence of
the Duke at Sidmouth. Some of the shots penetrated the window of the
nursery, and passed very near the child's head. This universal interest
became yet deeper, when, after the lapse of two or three years, both of
the daughters of the Duke of Clarence having died, and there being no
probability of any issue in the line of either the Dukes of York or
Clarence, she became the eventual successor to the throne, in the event of
the deaths of these two elder brothers of her father. It was now learned
with delight that she passed through the ordinary maladies of childhood
favourably, and that her recovery from them was speedy. The public had
ample opportunities afforded them of observing her growing and healthful
strength; and all commented with pleasure upon the circumstance that she
was not kept secluded from the view and observation of the people, that
her rides and walks were generally in public, that she was growing up
towards maturity in the sight of the nation, and as the child of the
country. It was further a matter of great general rejoicing that those who
were selected, even from the earliest period, to surround her person were
of the most irreproachable character, and that moral worth was sought for
in her preceptors even more than brilliant attainments.
It is especially worthy of notice that the Duke and Duchess of Clarence,
their hearts not being made in the slightest degree callous or soured by
their own melancholy bereavements and the disappointment of their fondest
hopes, formed and displayed for their niece a sincere and warm attachment.
They took from the very first the warmest interest in all her vicissitudes
and illnesses; and when they became King and Queen their elevated
positions only seemed to increase the warmth of their regard, and the
copious flow of their practical kindness. It was, therefore, no wonder
that when, under Providence, Victoria became Queen she treated the Queen
Dowager with most unequivocal respect and esteem, regarding her
suggestions with deference, and her wishes with loving compliance.
Spite of many sinister rumours, the Princess grew up strong and vigorous.
Her mother was especially careful to fortify her constitution, and so to
prepare it to encounter the hard work and manifold anxiety which are the
inevitable lot of a British sovereign. Many there were--some of them with
ends of their own to gain--who kept prophesying that "the daughter of the
Duke of Kent would never attain her legal majority;" or, that "she would
never marry;" again, that "she could never become the mother of a family."
Much alarm was caused by these prognostications. For one thing was above
all others ardently desired by the nation--that the Duke of Cumberland,
who stood next in succession after the Princess, should never become King
of England. Even if he had not been an object of something more than
suspicion, it was universally desired that England should never again
(after King William's death) be united with Hanover under one monarch. But
as facts became known by degrees about the Princess, as her healthy face
and agile frame became familiar in London, and in many parts of the land,
the apprehensions died away, and the "frail, delicate, sickly child,"
whose fabricated ailments had been made the subject of so much sham
sympathy, was looked upon as a fabulous invention.
[Sidenote: LEARNING TO READ.]
It soon became known that her physical and mental characteristics were of
a nature directly the opposite of what had been so industriously reported.
She was extremely active, and had a healthy love of sports and games. She
had an inquiring mind, not only restless in the pursuit, but clear in the
comprehension of knowledge. She soon developed, too, much decision of
character. Seemingly incapable of fatigue, she was the first to begin, and
the last to leave off, a study, a romp, a game, a new duty, and equally
eager to resume an old occupation. This peculiarity, it was gladly
observed, was an inheritance from her father; but her mother also set her
a congenial example of industry and perseverance. Such stories as the
following were gleefully passed throughout the land from lip to lip. While
she was learning her alphabet, she, doubtful of the utility of being so
tormented, ejaculated--"What good this?--what good this?" She was told
that "mamma could know all that was contained in the great book on the
table because she knew _her_ letters, whilst the little daughter could
not." This was quite enough, and the young acolyte of the alphabet cried
out, "I learn, too--I learn, too--very quick." And she did become rapidly
mistress of her letters. Her mother sought to teach her to be satisfied
with simple pleasures, and here she was a most apt pupil. Once, when she
was so young that she could not express what she felt, she dragged her
uncle Clarence to the window to observe a beautiful sunset. To her uncle
Leopold, too, she was constantly pointing out objects of natural beauty,
on which he invariably improved the opportunity by giving her prompt and
clear explanations of the phenomena which evoked her admiration. Her
engrossing passion, indeed--as was that of her future husband--was for
cabinets of natural history, menageries, museums, &c. For pictures she had
an equal love, and one of the first acquirements in which she became
proficient was sketching from nature.
Perhaps the greatest danger she incurred, and the one which her mother had
to take the greatest pains to avert, was the likelihood that her
independent decision of character, which she derived from the Hanoverian
half of her ancestry, might degenerate into stubbornness and self-will.
But her natural sense of justice, and ready openness to clear conviction,
proved an admirable counterpoise. With peculiar ingenuousness of
character, she unreservedly admitted an error the very instant she
perceived it. Once, for example, when on a visit to Earl Fitzwilliam, a
bosom friend of her father, the party were walking in the grounds, and she
had run on in advance. An under-gardener cautioned her not to go down a
certain walk, as, said he, in his provincial dialect, the rain had made
the ground "slape." "Slape! slape!" cried she, rapidly, and in the true
George III. style; "and pray, what is 'slape?'" "Very slippery, miss--your
Royal Highness--ma'am," replied he. "Oh! that's all," she replied; "thank
you," and at once proceeded. She had not advanced many yards, when she
came down heavily to the ground. The Earl had been observing all that had
passed, from a few yards' distance, and he cried out, "There! now your
Royal Highness has an explanation of the term 'slape,' both theoretically
and practically." "Yes, my lord," she somewhat meekly said, "I think I
have. I shall never forget the word 'slape.'" On a similar occasion, when
cautioned not to frolic with a dog whose temper was not very reliable, she
persisted in doing so, and he made a snap at her hand. Her cautioner ran
solicitously, believing that she had been bitten. "Oh, thank you! thank
you!" said she. "You're right, and I am wrong; but he didn't bite me--he
only warned me. I shall be careful in future."
[Sidenote: JUVENILE ANECDOTES.]
The following incident shows that at least on some occasions a keen spirit
of waggishness entered strongly into her self-will. When first she took
lessons on the piano, she objected strongly to the monotonous fingering,
as she had formerly done to A B C. She was, of course, informed that all
success as a musician depended upon her first becoming "mistress of the
piano."
"Oh, I am to be mistress of my piano, am I?" asked she. To that the reply
was a repetition of the statement.
"Then what would you think of me if I became mistress at once?"
"That would be impossible. There is no royal road to music. Experience and
great practice are essential."
"Oh, there is no royal road to music, eh? No royal road? And I am not
mistress of my pianoforte? But I will be, I assure you; and the royal road
is this"--at the same time closing the piano, locking it, and taking the
key--"There! that's being mistress of the piano! and the royal road to
learning is, never to take a lesson till you're in the humour to do it."
After the laugh which her joke had provoked in herself and others had
subsided, she at once volunteered to resume the lesson.
We cannot more fitly conclude this chapter, ere we proceed to travel an
important stage further in our attempt to trace the youthful days of the
Queen, than by presenting a picture of her, as she appeared at this period
of her life to the genial eyes of Leigh Hunt, to whom we have been
already indebted at the commencement of this chapter:--
We remember well the peculiar kind of personal pleasure which it gave
us to see the future Queen, the first time we ever did see her, coming
up a cross path from the Bayswater Gate, with a girl of her own age by
her side, whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her. It brought
to our mind the warmth of our own juvenile friendships, and made us
fancy that she loved everything else that we had loved in like
measure--books, trees, verses, Arabian tales, and the good mother who
had helped to make her so affectionate. A magnificent footman, in
scarlet, came behind her, with the splendidest pair of calves, in
white stockings, that we had ever beheld. He looked somehow like a
gigantic fairy, personating, for his little lady's sake, the grandest
footman he could think of; and his calves he seemed to have made out
of a couple of the biggest chaise-lamps in the possession of the
godmother of Cinderella. As the Princess grew up, the world seemed
never to hear of her except as it wished to hear--that is to say, in
connection with her mother; and now it never hears of her but in
connection with children of her own, and her husband, and her mother
still [this was written in 1855], and all good household pleasures and
hospitalities, and public virtues of a piece with them. May life ever
continue to appear to her what, indeed, it really is to all who have
eyes for seeing beyond the surface--namely, a wondrous fairy scene,
strange, beautiful, mournful too, yet hopeful of being "happy ever
after," when its story is over; and wise, meantime, in seeing much
where others see nothing, in shedding its tears patiently, and in
doing its best to diminish the tears around it.
CHAPTER V.
EDUCATION OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.
Additional Grant by Parliament for the Maintenance and Education of
the Princess--Wise Lessons learned at her Mother's Knees--A Visit to
George IV. at Windsor--Assiduous Pursuit of Knowledge--Accession of
William IV.--Victoria becomes next in succession to the Crown--Regency
Bill--Satisfaction of the good Grandmother at Coburg--Her Death--Joy
of Victoria at the Elevation of her Uncle to the Belgian
Throne--Parliamentary Inquiry into the Progress of her
Education--Satisfactory Report in Response--Presented at Court--Great
Ball on her Twelfth Birthday at St. James's Palace--Court Scandal and
Baseless Rumours--The Duchess of Northumberland appointed
Governess--The Princess and the Poet Southey.
The time had now arrived when, in the opinion, not only of the private
friends of the Duchess of Kent, but of the Ministers of the Crown, it was
held that a more liberal provision should be made for the increasing cost
of the training of the Princess, than the very moderate annual allowance
which the Duchess of Kent had as yet received. This matter was formally
brought before Parliament on the occasion of the Princess attaining her
sixth birthday. Up to this date, and for some little time subsequently to
it, King George IV. seems to have hardly paid the slightest heed to his
niece and ultimate successor. On her fifth birthday, Prince Leopold, who
throughout filled a true father's place, gave a banquet in her honour, at
which most of the members of the English Royal Family, and the Prince
Leiningen, son of the Duchess of Kent and half-brother of Victoria, were
present. On this occasion, the child was much admired for her frankness,
quickness, and talent, but especially for her deep attachment to her
mother. Her mother took occasion to impress upon her the consideration
that such attentions as those which were then shown her were rendered in
the hope that she would cultivate the qualities and graces which alone
could make her a worthy and acceptable ruler of the British empire. "It is
not you," said she, "but your future office and rank which are regarded by
the country; and you must so act as never to bring that office and that
rank into disgrace or disrespect." And when the Duchess took her child to
see for the first time the statue which had just been erected at the top
of Portland Place to her father's memory, she was careful to make her know
and feel that "dear papa's likeness was placed there, not merely because
he was a prince, but because he was a good man, was kind to the poor,
caused little boys and girls to be taught to read and write, helped to get
money from good people to cure the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf,
and did all he could to make bad people good."
In May, 1825, the sixth birthday of the Princess arrived. It became
desirable, not merely to extend the sphere of her knowledge, but to
introduce her to society at unavoidable expense; and, when she appeared in
public and took trips in the country, to surround her with some of the
splendour which properly belonged to her position. Accordingly, Lord
Liverpool, the Premier, presented a Message from the King, requesting that
some provision should be made for the Princess. His lordship spoke in the
highest terms of the Duchess of Kent; eulogised her for having supported
and educated her daughter without making any application to Parliament;
and demonstrated, that her education must, from that date, be much more
wide and costly. He proposed an additional grant of L6,000 per annum to
the Duchess, to continue throughout the minority of her daughter. The
House of Lords cordially acquiesced in the proposal. In the Lower House,
Mr. Brougham, although uniting mother and daughter in one common eulogy,
objected to the amount proposed. Mr. Hume supported him, suggesting an
annuity increasing from year to year; but, on a division, the original
proposal was carried by a majority of fifty.
[Sidenote: GEORGE IV. AND THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.]
Only after this formal act of national recognition does it appear that the
King deigned to turn his personal attention in the direction of his niece.
The year after, we find the Duchess of Coburg writing to her daughter, and
referring to the fact that she had seen by the English papers, that "His
Majesty, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and the Princess
Victoria, went on Virginia Water." "The little monkey," she writes, "must
have pleased him. She is such a pretty, clever child." It was reported at
the time that the King, on the occasion of this visit to Windsor, shared
the general delight at the intelligence and sprightliness of his charming
little niece. He caused her to dine in state with him, and when he asked
her what tune she would like the band to play during dinner, she
courteously and naively replied, "God save the King."
The years intervening until 1830 were passed in almost complete quietude
and seclusion by the Princess; her education being now most assiduously
pursued.
The year 1830 made an important difference in the position of the
Princess. By the death of George IV., the Duke of Clarence became King,
and--the Duke of York having died in 1827--she now stood next in direct
succession to the throne. In the last month of the year a Regency Bill was
passed, of which these were the chief provisions:--In the event of Queen
Adelaide bearing a posthumous child, Her Majesty should be guardian and
Regent during the minority. If that event should not occur, the Duchess of
Kent was to be guardian and Regent during the minority of her daughter,
the Princess Victoria, the heiress-presumptive. That Princess should not
marry while a minor, without the consent of the King; or, if he died,
without the consent of both Houses. When the Report of the Regency Bill
was brought up, Lord Lyndhurst moved and carried a clause to the effect
that in case the Duchess of Kent should marry a foreigner in the lifetime
of His Majesty, but without his consent, she should, by that act, forfeit
all pretensions to the Regency.
The Duke of Buckingham, in his "Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and
Victoria," thus remarked on this proviso:--
The position of the Princess attracted towards her Royal Highness the
solicitude and sympathy of all classes of the people. A proper
consideration of her chance of succeeding to the throne showed that
there was much at stake, and the bitter disappointment caused by the
untimely fate of the last female heiress presumptive, gave deeper
feeling to the interest with which she was regarded. It was desirable
that her youth should be, as much as possible, watched over to protect
it from all evil contingencies, and though there could not be a better
guardian for the Princess than the one nature had provided her with,
the anxiety of a nation demanded precautions that, under other
circumstances, would have been considered totally unnecessary. We can
now (1861) afford to smile on the jealous affection with which Her
Royal Highness was fenced round thirty years ago.
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN'S GRANDMOTHER.]
The satisfactory settlement of the Regency question gave great
satisfaction to the good grandmother at Coburg. She wrote to her daughter,
on receipt of the news--
I should have been sorry if the Regency had been given into other
hands than yours. It would not have been a just return for your
constant devotion and care to your child, if this had not been done.
May God give you wisdom and strength to do your duty, if called upon
to undertake it. May God bless and protect my little darling!--If I
could but once see her again! The print you have sent to me is not
like the dear picture I have; the quantity of curls hide the
well-shaped head, and make it look too large for the lovely little
figure.
It was not fated that the Duchess of Coburg should ever see her
granddaughter again; she died within a twelvemonth of writing the above.
Her latest letters to her daughter were characterised by a peculiar warmth
of affection for the Princess. Writing in the summer of 1830, on the
occasion of Victoria's birthday, she said--
My blessings and good wishes for the day which gave you the sweet
Blossom of May! May God preserve and protect the valuable life of that
lovely flower from all the dangers that will beset her mind and heart!
And when the news of the death of George IV. reached her, she wrote--
God bless Old England, where my beloved children live, and where the
sweet Blossom of May may one day reign! May God yet for many years
keep the weight of a crown from her young head, and let the
intelligent, clever child grow up to girlhood, before this dangerous
grandeur devolves upon her!
England owes a deep debt of gratitude to this excellent and intelligent
woman, for to her we are indebted for that training of her daughter, which
fitted that daughter to train in turn, for us and for our advantage, Queen
Victoria.
An event of considerable influence upon the well-being and happiness of
the Queen we must not omit to chronicle, ere we pass onwards in the course
of our narrative. Prince Leopold had been designated by the great
guaranteeing Powers as the ruler of the newly emancipated state of Greece.
He was prepared to accept the position. This distressed his niece, who had
been brought up under his kindly tutelage from her birth; but
circumstances which it does not concern our purpose to dwell upon, induced
Leopold to break off the Greek negotiation. Shortly after, to the great
delight of Victoria, he was nominated by the Powers, and accepted by his
future subjects, as King of the Belgians. This ensured his being
constantly comparatively near to his niece. How frequent were his visits
to England, as long as his life lasted, no resident in London needs to be
informed; up till within the last few years, his face was almost as
familiar in the parks as those of the members of the Queen's own family.
He often appeared in London suddenly, and without announcement, having
been summoned, it was generally believed, on such occasions, to consult
with the Queen on some point of imminent moment. Such summonses he always
responded to with instant alacrity.
[Sidenote: ABSURD RUMOURS.]
In the year 1831, the public became anxious to know how the education of
the heiress-presumptive to the throne progressed; what was the nature of
her studies, and which she preferred and most diligently pursued. Prompt,
responsive, and satisfactory statements were rendered. It appeared that
since the accession of King William, her tuition had been almost entirely
entrusted to English teachers. Mr. Amos instructed her in the principles
of the English Constitution, Mr. Westall in drawing; she had made
considerable progress in Latin, and could read Horace with fluency. It was
further stated that her love of music was enthusiastic, and that it was
the orchestral rather than the dramatic attraction that caused her to
frequent the theatres so much as she did. It was remarked that, on the
occasion of the coronation of William IV., which took place on the 8th of
September, neither the Princess nor her mother were present. Their absence
was explained by the announcement, that the health of the Princess
rendered a sojourn in the Isle of Wight necessary. Prudent persons held
that, even had it been otherwise, her tender years and peculiar position
rendered her absence preferable to her presence. She was but twelve years
old, and it was commonly stated that only a year before had it been deemed
wise _fully_ to make her aware of the regal destiny which was before her.
Gossip-mongers--a whole host of whom circulated the most absurd rumours
about the Princess from her most tender years until long after she had
become Queen--alleged that the real reason of her absence was the fact
that her proper place in the ceremony was not assigned to her. The real
truth we believe to have been as follows. Since the accession of her uncle
Clarence, Victoria had been plunged into a round of gaiety which did not
at all comport either with her years or a certain fragility of health,
which now for a short time succeeded the fine animal power and spirits of
the years preceding. She had been presented at the first drawing-room held
by Queen Adelaide, the most magnificent that had been held since the
presentation of Charlotte, Princess of Wales, on the occasion of her
marriage. This was her first appearance in state. She arrived with her
mother, attended by the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte St.
Maur, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, the Honourable Mrs. Cust, Lady Conroy, the
Baroness Lehzen, Sir J. Conroy, and General Wetherall. Her dress was made
entirely of articles manufactured in Great Britain, and consisted of a
simple, modest, and becoming blonde frock. She was the great object of
interest present, stood on the left of the King, and contemplated the
_elite_ of her future subjects with a dignified amiability which charmed
every one. On her twelfth birthday, in the same year, she was overwhelmed
with presents; amongst others, two beautiful ponies, presented by the
Duchess of Gordon, which became especial pets. The Queen gave a juvenile
ball in her honour, which Queen Victoria has often talked of in later
times, as the scene which of all others made the deepest impression on her
childish imagination. Spite of all this, and of the notorious and profuse
kindness with which the King and Queen Adelaide had always treated her,
many were found to believe that they were jealous of, and meant to slight
her. The truth was, that the Duchess of Northumberland, who, at the
suggestion of the King himself, had been appointed to the high and
important office of governess to the Princess, began to be alarmed at the
consequences of so much festivity and excitement. She objected to her
frequent attendance at drawing-rooms, and also recommended absence from
the fatiguing coronation ceremony.
[Sidenote: THE PRINCESS AND SOUTHEY.]
The selection of this lady for the important office which she filled was a
wise one, and the public judgment approved it. She possessed great
personal attractions, mental powers of unusual range, and the highest
rank. The appointment was by no means a nominal one, or one merely of
state. Her visits to Kensington Palace were constant, and she frequently
remained there all day. On one occasion, while her Grace was instructing
her pupil, Southey called, and was greeted by the Princess and the
_gouvernante_ very warmly. He conversed for some time with the ladies;
first on poetry, then on history. He afterwards used to state with pride,
that the Princess told him that she read his prose and poetical
compositions with equal delight. The "Life of Nelson" especially charmed
her. "That," she said, "is a delightful book indeed; and I am sure I could
read it half a dozen times over." The gossip-mongers also alleged that the
Duchess endeavoured to give a political bias to the education of the
Princess. Some uneasiness was created at this. But when the matter was
properly inquired into, it was ascertained that, neither in the selection
of books to be studied, nor in the remarks made upon their text, was the
slightest party colour given to the education of the royal pupil of the
Duchess. It was while under the care of this lady that the Princess
acquired her well-known admirable horsemanship. To Fozard, the best
riding-master of the day, was entrusted her tuition in riding. She soon
became distinguished by the ease of her carriage, and her truly royal air
and demeanour. This was a common subject of admiring remark by
distinguished foreigners; amongst others, by Count Orloff, to whom, in
1832, the Duchess of Kent gave a splendid banquet. The Princess, after she
was removed from the active care of the Duchess of Northumberland, gave
the best proof of her gratitude and sense of the services she had rendered
her, by keeping up with her Grace a constant epistolary correspondence.
Wherever she went, in the many tours through England which she made while
passing through her teens, she wrote letters to the Duchess describing
whatever interested and instructed her in what she saw. This
correspondence was really a voluntary continuation of her education.
CHAPTER VI
THE PRINCESS IN HER TEENS.
Visits paid to many parts of England--Love of Cathedrals and Church
Music--Trip to North Wales and the Midland Counties--Visit to a Cotton
Mill--To Oxford--Gala Day at Southampton--Interview with the Young
Queen of Portugal--Confirmation of the Princess--Tour to the
North--York Musical Festival--At Ramsgate with the King of the
Belgians--A Noble Deed at Tunbridge Wells.
In the year subsequent to the coronation of King William, the Duchess of
Kent and her daughter spent much time in making visits to various parts of
England. We have already seen that they were in the Isle of Wight at the
date of the coronation. The same year, they spent some time at Worthing,
and visited Lord Liverpool and his daughters at Buxted Park, whence they
proceeded to Malvern, where their liberal relief of distress caused them
to be much beloved. While at Malvern, they visited the cathedral at
Worcester. Cathedrals were especial favourites with the Princess, and
Church music gratified her as much as ecclesiastical architecture. To the
public institutions of the cathedral cities which she visited she was an
invariable benefactress, and willingly beggared herself of all her
pocket-money that she might be the better able to meet the demands of art,
science, literature, and poverty upon her benevolence. This year they also
visited Hereford and Bath, and were magnificently entertained by the Earls
Somers and Beauchamp, at Eastnor Castle and Maddresfield Court.
[Sidenote: AN AUTUMNAL TOUR.]
In 1831, they sojourned for a time at Claremont, in the Isle of Wight, and
at Weymouth. The next year chronicled a more extensive autumnal tour than
any hitherto undertaken. To North Wales they repaired first. Having seen
its romantic beauties, they reached the ancient city of Chester on the
17th of October and on entering the cathedral were respectfully received
and courteously addressed by the Bishop. The Duchess of Kent thus replied
to the welcome of the Prelate:--"I cannot better allude to your good
feeling towards the Princess than by joining fervently in the wish that
she may set an example in her conduct of that piety towards God, and
charity towards man, which is the only sure foundation either of
individual happiness or national prosperity." From Chester they proceeded
to Eaton Hall, the palatial residence of the Grosvenors and thence to
Chatsworth, the still more splendid abode of the Cavendish family. From
Chatsworth they went to Belper, where they examined the cotton mills of
the Messrs. Strutt, and were most cordially received by the numerous
factory hands. Mr. James Strutt, by means of a model, explained to the
Princess the several processes of cotton-spinning, which she listened to
with keen attention and ready apprehension. The Queen retained a lively
and fragrant recollection of this visit; and, years after, she created the
son of her _cicerone_ a peer, by the title of Lord Belper. The week
following they visited Hardwicke Hall, Chesterfield, and Matlock. Thence
they proceeded to Shugborough, the seat of the Earl of Lichfield. Their
next honoured entertainer was the Earl of Shrewsbury, at Alton Towers.
While there, they visited Lichfield Cathedral and graciously received
congratulatory addresses from the clergy and corporation. Their next stage
was the seat of Lord Liverpool, who was one of the staunchest friends of
the Duchess of Kent, of whom his daughter, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, was
one of the Ladies-in-waiting. Proceeding homewards, they honoured with
successive visits Earl Powis, the Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P., the Earls of
Plymouth and Abingdon. From the seat of the latter they went to Oxford,
which city they entered with an escort of yeomanry. The Vice-Chancellor
presented an appropriate address in the Theatre, which was crowded with
the celebrities of the University. The Duchess of Kent made the following
answer:--
We close a most interesting journey by a visit to this University,
that the Princess may see, as far as her years will allow, all that is
interesting in it. The history of our country has taught her to know
its importance by the many distinguished persons who, by their
character and talents, have been raised to eminence by the education
they have received in it. Your loyalty to the King, and recollection
of the favour you have enjoyed under the paternal sway of his house,
could not fail, I was sure, to lead you to receive his niece with all
the disposition you evince to make this visit agreeable and
instructive to her. It is my object to insure, by all means in my
power, her being so educated as to meet the just expectation of all
classes in this great and free country.
Their Royal Highnesses returned to Kensington on the 9th of November.
In 1833, the rambles of mother and daughter did not extend beyond the
south coast; Portsmouth, Weymouth, and the Isle of Wight being the
respective halting-places. While residing at Norris, East Cowes, they
attended the ceremony of opening the new landing-pier at the fast rising
port of Southampton. A steamer towed the Royal yacht from Cowes into
Southampton Water, where were waiting a deputation, representing the
corporation of the town, in an eight-oared barge, with one of the
town-sergeants standing with the silver oar in the leads. The deputation
having stated the object of the day's ceremonial, the Duchess of Kent
replied to the effect that she desired her daughter early to become
attached to works of utility. They were then rowed ashore, amid the cheers
of 25,000 spectators, and entertained at luncheon; subsequently, being
requested to name the pier, the Duchess designated it the "Royal Pier."
Countless festivities followed in the evening, and "the townspeople were
almost as proud of the presence of the Princess, as of the completion of
their pier."
[Sidenote: THE PRINCESS AND A WIDOWED ACTRESS.]
The year 1834 was that in which the Princess was confirmed. This holy rite
was administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal, St.
James's, in July. Next month, mother and daughter visited Tunbridge Wells;
the month following they went northwards, visited the Archbishop of York
at Bishopsthorpe, and attended the grand musical festival in his
cathedral. On their homeward route, they were entertained by the Earls of
Harewood and Fitzwilliam, and the Duke of Rutland; passed some time with
the King and Queen of the Belgians, at Ramsgate, and finally visited the
Duke of Wellington at Walmer Castle. An incident which occurred during
their stay at Tunbridge, must not be omitted from our biography. The
husband of one of the actresses in the small theatre of the place died,
leaving an impoverished wife, who was just about to become a mother. The
fact came to the knowledge of the Princess, and she applied to her mother
for aid. She at once gave L10 to her daughter, who added an equal sum from
her own purse; she became her own almoner, hastened to the afflicted
woman, conversed with her, and continued to make inquiries about her
condition. Nor did this end her care. When she came to the throne, three
years later, she at once sent to the poor woman a kindly intimation that
an annuity of L40 would be paid to her for life.
Another series of visits, and renewed intercourse with the much-loved
uncle and his young Orleanist wife at Ramsgate, filled the autumnal months
of 1835.
CHAPTER VII.
EARLY DAYS OF PRINCE ALBERT.
Birth--Melancholy Story of his Mother--Brought up under the Care of
his two Excellent Grandmothers--His Winning Ways as a Child--His
Tutor, Florschuetz--The Brothers, Ernest and Albert--Visit to Brussels,
and its Beneficial Effects--Hard Study--Tour through Germany,
&c.--First Visit to England, and Meeting with Victoria--Studies at
Brussels--Enters the University of Bonn--Tour to Switzerland and
Italy--Public Announcement of Betrothal--Leaves Coburg and Gotha for
his Marriage.
[Sidenote: THE INFANT COUSINS VICTORIA AND ALBERT.]
Albert, the second son of Duke Ernest I. of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his
wife, the Princess Louise, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg,
was born at the Rosenau, a charming summer residence belonging to the
Duke, about four miles from Coburg, on the 26th of August, 1819. His
mother is described as handsome, though of very diminutive proportions,
fair, with blue eyes; and her son Albert, whom she idolised, closely
resembled her. She was clever and entertaining; yet her marriage was an
unhappy one, and a separation took place by mutual consent in 1824, after
which date the Duchess never saw her children. Two years later the
separation was turned into a divorce. The Prince never forgot her, but
spoke of her to his dying day with much tenderness, and the very first
gift which he ever made to the Princess Victoria was a little pin which
his mother had given him. Not until the Prince was almost a young man did
his mother die. When she died her race became extinct, save in the
persons of her two sons. Many years later, her remains were brought to
Coburg, and laid in the family mausoleum beside the Duke and his second
wife. This mausoleum was not completed until 1860, in which year Queen
Victoria deposited a votive wreath on the tomb of the mother of her
husband. Prince Albert's paternal grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of
Coburg, in writing to her daughter, the Duchess of Kent, announcing
Albert's birth, lauded his beauty, and--little thinking how the fortunes
of the two infant cousins were to be intertwined hereafter--thus concluded
her communication:--"How pretty the _May Flower_ (the Princess Victoria,
born the preceding May) will be when I see it in a year's time. Siebold
cannot sufficiently describe what a dear little love it is. Une bonne
fois, adieu! Kiss your husband and children." Siebold was an accoucheuse
who had attended at the births of both the children. On the 19th of
September the Prince was christened, and thus named:--Francis Charles
Augustus Albert Emmanuel.
The young Prince seems to have been adored as a child by all, whether
relatives or others, who came in contact with him. "He leads captive,"
said his fond mother, when he was two years old, "all hearts by his beauty
and gentle grace." After the sad separation of his father from his mother,
the Prince was brought up largely under the care of his father's mother,
whom the Queen describes, from personal recollection, as "a most
remarkable woman, with a most powerful, energetic, almost masculine mind,
accompanied with great tenderness of heart, and extreme love for nature."
Of an evening she used to tell to her two grandchildren, Ernest and
Albert, the stories of Sir Walter Scott's novels, and, when they were old
enough, employed them in writing letters to her dictation. She fondly
described Albert, when he was not yet two years old, by the pet,
diminutive name, "Alberinchen." And she says--"With his large blue eyes
and dimpled cheeks, he is bewitching, forward, and quick as a weasel. He
can already say everything." The step-maternal grandmother of the Prince
too, second wife of his maternal grandfather, was sensible, kindly, and
good, and took an interest in the children by no means inferior to that
displayed by their own grandmother. With the former lady they spent very
much of their time in their early years, at Gotha, and at her mansion in
the vicinity of that town.
When Albert was not yet four years old he, with his brother, was removed
to the care of a tutor, Herr Florschuetz, who most admirably discharged his
duties, which he continued to fulfil until his pupils had become young
men. With the assistance of masters for special subjects, he conducted the
whole of their early educational training, and continued to control their
studies until they left the University of Bonn. The two brothers, spite of
the difference of about a twelvemonth in their ages, pursued all studies
in common, and the closest brotherly love and amity united them from first
to last.
[Sidenote: BOYHOOD OF PRINCE ALBERT]
The younger Prince was not nearly so robust as his brother, but his
intellect was more vigorous, and his force of will decidedly greater; "he
always held," said his uncle Leopold, "accordingly, a certain sway over
his elder brother, who rather kindly submitted to it." The Princes were
not much, in their early years, with their father, who was much from home,
especially when settling the junction of the duchy of Gotha with his own
of Coburg. The former he succeeded to partly in right of his wife, and
partly by a mutual compact of exchange of territory, entered into with
other reigning princes of the old Saxon stock. This period was passed by
the Princes at Rosenau, with their tutor, varied by visits to the mansions
of the two grandmothers.
In a memorandum drawn up by Count Arthur Mensdorff, cousin of the Prince,
he describes the young Albert when about ten years of age, at which period
the cousins contracted a friendship which lasted unimpaired until the
Prince's death. His disposition was mild and benevolent; nothing could
make him angry, except anything unjust or dishonest. He was never wild or
noisy, and his favourite study was natural history. He was a good mimic,
and had a keen sense of the ludicrous; but he never pushed a joke to the
extent of hurting one's feelings. His moral purity was as conspicuous as
the meekness of his disposition.
In November of 1831, the Princes suffered a great bereavement in the death
of their admirable grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of Coburg; she died in
the arms of her two eldest sons. She had, from an early period, formed the
wish that a marriage should be contracted between her two grandchildren,
Albert and Victoria.
In 1832, the young Princes, in their turn, accompanied their father in a
journey to visit their uncle, King Leopold. This was a most important
event in the Prince's life; for, though the visit was of but short
duration, the spectacle which he then saw, of a nation which had freed
itself, and worked out its own destiny, had the strongest effect upon his
mind and conscience, which thence grew in attachment to liberal
principles. His deeply-rooted love of art, too, received a strong stimulus
from the splendid architectural and artistic treasures of the old Belgian
city. On his return from Brussels, being now about thirteen years old, he
became remarkably studious, and vigorously set himself to the pursuit of
an unusually comprehensive circle of subjects.
The only recreation which he pursued with vigour was deer-stalking, and
this most beneficially promoted the robustness of a frame as yet
distinguished by delicacy. On Palm Sunday, 1835, he was confirmed, and his
heart seems, at and from this period, to have come under the influence of
religious convictions of peculiar depth and sincerity, though of singular
freedom from all traces of bigotry.
The confirmation of the Princes was immediately followed by a series of
visits to various of their imperial, regal, princely, and noble relatives
and friends throughout Germany and the provinces on the Danube. They
visited in succession Mecklenburg, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Pesth,
and Ofen. In May, 1836, the Princes came to England, on a visit to their
aunt Kent. It was on this occasion that Albert and Victoria first met.
On his return to the Continent from this his first and most gratifying
visit to England, the Duke of Coburg placed Albert and his elder brother
for a time under the care of their uncle at Brussels. A private house was
taken for them, in which they pursued their studies under Dr. Drury, an
English clergyman, who had been appointed their tutor. This gentleman
recorded this testimony of his pupil, when, shortly afterwards, he was
removed from his tutelage, and before any idea was entertained about his
distinguished future position:--"His attainments are various, and solid
too; his abilities are superior; his disposition amiable; his conduct
unexceptionable; and, above all, his belief in, and his attachment to, the
Protestant religion is sincere."
[Sidenote: PRINCE ALBERT AT COLLEGE.]
In the summer following (1837) the two brothers were entered as students
of law, or, more correctly, of jurisprudence (_juris studiosi_), at the
University of Bonn, the Oxford of Germany in respect to the high rank of
some of its students, and standing in the very first place in point of
intrinsic efficiency. The tutor Florschuetz still accompanied the young
men; and they benefited by the prelections of such men as Fichte, Perthes,
and Augustus Schlegel. Prince Albert studied classics, mathematics, mental
philosophy, political economy, history, and statistical science. In the
last subject he had been well grounded at Brussels by the distinguished M.
Quetelet, who formed the highest opinion of his pupil's powers and
assiduity. He had, besides, private tutors for music and drawing, in both
of which arts he was already well advanced. In the second stage of his
curriculum his studies were specially devoted to jurisprudence and civil
history. While at Bonn he displayed at once a talent for poetry and a
benevolent heart, by the publication for the benefit of the poor of a
collection of songs, which his brother set to meritorious musical
accompaniments. He visited only among his princely fellow-students, and at
the houses of the professors. His brother and he, though they occasionally
gave courtly entertainments to their friends, lived in private a
temperate and frugal life. He assiduously sought out the society of
_savans_ and men of letters, especially loving to associate with
Professors Welcker and Schlegel. The latter, though he detested the
ordinary run of "princelings," was quite charmed by Albert, of whom he
thought and spoke most highly. The Prince kept only three academical
terms, and finally left the University, in September, 1838, leaving golden
opinions everywhere behind him. Not the least hearty of his eulogists in
after years was Peter Stamm, an hotel-keeper, who acted as gamekeeper to
him on his shooting excursions, and who for years after pointed to English
visitors the portrait of Prince Albert in his sitting-room, his eyes the
while brimming over with glad tears. The University, after his marriage,
conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, and in the
diploma pointed reference was made to his "summae fortunae magnitudinem ac
gravitatem, summa comitate, amabilique morum suavitate et humanitate."
The winter of 1838-9 was passed by the Prince in a tour through
Switzerland and Italy. After pursuing his journey as far as Naples, and
omitting no locality of interest on the way, he came home by way of
Vienna, and returned to the Castle of Ehrenberg in the summer of 1839. It
has been stated that he found, on the wall of his room, a miniature of
Queen Victoria, by Chalon, which she had sent to him as a gift in his
absence; but we have not discovered any very reliable authority for the
anecdote. In August, having completed his twentieth year, he was formally
declared of age. He inherited from his mother landed estates amounting to
L2,400 yearly value. These lands, we have reason to believe, he
transferred to his brother upon the formal announcement of his engagement
to Queen Victoria, subject only to pensions and allowances to certain
persons who had belonged to his modest household.
[Sidenote: PRINCE ALBERT'S BETROTHAL.]
On the 8th of December, 1839, his betrothal was formally and publicly
announced at Coburg. In the morning the Ducal family, with the Court
officials, attended Divine service in the chapel of the Castle; in the
afternoon, in the presence of the same dignitaries, with the deputies of
the Duchies of Coburg and Gotha, the Chief Minister formally read the
announcement of the betrothal; the while the booming of cannon from the
fortress announced the tidings to the people of the town and the
neighbouring country. About three hundred persons in all were present at
the ceremony within the Castle, including bearers of congratulatory
addresses, not only from the two duchies, but from Austria, Prussia,
Hesse, Saxony, and other German states. From the report of an English
gentleman of high social position, who was present on this important
occasion, we extract, in conclusion, these fuller details:--
When the Minister (Baron de Carlowitz) had read the proclamation, the
Duke embraced his son, and the Duchess next imprinted a kiss upon his
forehead, while in every eye might be read the heartfelt wish that all
the parents' fondest, proudest hopes might be fully realised. More
than one hundred and sixty persons partook of the hospitalities of the
Duke's table, in the "Riesen Saal," or "Giant's Hall," and a more
sumptuous or splendid entertainment could not be imagined. The loud
and cordial cheers which the health of England's Queen called forth,
and which burst out with an enthusiasm which all the forms of
etiquette and courtly ceremony could not restrain, were almost too
affecting; and when the band struck up "God save the Queen," the tears
of joy flowed freely. I must not omit to mention a circumstance
characteristic of the Prince. By his order, the people were admitted
into the "Riesen Saal," to see the assembled company. Peasants from
the hills, old and young, walked about without the smallest restraint,
to their evident enjoyment; and their hearty exclamations--the
blessings they invoked on their beloved Prince and his august
parents--were a more eloquent and stirring panegyric than volumes
could express. To describe the universal attachment of all classes to
the Prince were impossible. I have never heard other than the most
enthusiastic praise--not one dissenting voice from one end of
Thuringia to the other. If I have remarked the personal beauty of the
Prince, the general reply has been, "Ah! yes, he is certainly
handsome, but so good; he is truly a most amiable prince, as good as
he is handsome." Persons attached to his suite, and the older members
of the Court, cannot speak of him without tears, and are quite
distressed at the thought of his leaving his native land.... On the
28th of December the Prince, accompanied by his father, quitted his
paternal residence for a short sojourn at Gotha; and as he bade a last
adieu to the stately castle of Ehrenberg, the abode of his fathers,
and the happy scene of his infancy, the tenderest emotions of his
nature for a moment almost overwhelmed him. A few days prior to his
departure, a ball was given him by the nobles, at which he was
received by twelve young ladies, attired in white, and wearing
fresh-gathered roses; the Philosophic Society gave him a serenade, and
all classes joined in affectionate expression of sympathy in their
young Prince's feelings on this momentous occasion.
Lord Viscount Torrington and Colonel the Honourable Charles Grey, who were
charged with the two-fold mission of investing the Prince with the
insignia of the Order of the Garter, and escorting him and his suite to
England, arrived at Gotha early in January, 1840, and the investiture took
place on the 24th, with imposing ceremony. The jewels, which were of
diamonds and of rare workmanship, were a present from the Queen. After a
series of hospitable festivities in honour of the English envoys, Prince
Albert set out for England on the 28th of the month.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES QUEEN REGNANT.
First Meeting of the Princess Victoria and Prince Albert--Coming of
Age--Festivities on the Occasion--Death of William IV., and Accession
of Victoria--The Queen holds her First Privy Council--Her
Address--Proclamation as Queen at St. James's Palace--Beautiful Traits
of Character displayed by the Queen--Stirring and Gorgeous
Scene--Delight of the People at the Queen's Accession.
The marriage of Prince Albert with the Princess Victoria was desired, if
not planned, by certain of their common relatives, especially the Duchess
Dowager of Coburg and her son Prince Leopold, almost from the period when
the cousins were in their cradles. After his betrothal, the Prince himself
told the Queen that his mother, who died in 1831, wished earnestly that he
should marry her. He first saw his future wife in the month of May, 1836,
when he and his brother came to England on a visit to their aunt. He
greatly enjoyed this visit to England, and the youthful guests were
treated by the authorities and the inhabitants of the metropolis with the
utmost courtesy and attention. They were sumptuously entertained at
Windsor by the King and Queen Adelaide, and were conducted to all the
great sights of the town by their aunt and cousin.
On the 24th of May, 1837, the Princess Victoria having attained her
eighteenth year, was declared legally of age, according to the provisions
of a recent Act of Parliament. Amongst the first to congratulate her on
the happy event was Prince Albert. This happy day was kept as a general
holiday, and the night made brilliant by an illumination. It was
celebrated with demonstrations of excessive joy at Kensington. At six
o'clock in the morning the union-jack was hoisted on the steeple of the
old church, as also on the green sward opposite the Palace. That edifice
was surmounted by a splendid flag of pure white silk, on which was
inscribed, in letters of ethereal blue, the single word "Victoria." From
the houses of the principal inhabitants in the High Street waved a
profusion of other flags. The gates of the Gardens were thrown open at six
o'clock for the admission of the public; and it having got wind the
previous evening that a serenade would be performed at seven o'clock, at
which hour Victoria first drew breath eighteen years before, the portion
of the Gardens next the Palace was thronged by an assemblage of
well-dressed persons, including several ladies. Congratulatory addresses
and innumerable presents--amongst the latter, a splendid piano from the
King--poured in from all quarters. At night a magnificent ball in honour
of the occasion was given at St. James's Palace.
During these festivities, although it was known that the King's health was
seriously enfeebled, no one imagined that within a month from the
attainment of her majority the young Princess would become Queen of
England. The anniversary of Waterloo was always a great day with King
William. The Duke of Wellington, in consideration of the declining state
of the King's health, proposed not to have the usual banquet at Apsley
House; but, the day before, William, sent a message desiring that the
banquet should take place, and wishing the host and guests a pleasant day.
By two o'clock on the morning of the 20th he was no more.
[Sidenote: ACCESSION TO THE THRONE.]
Shortly after the demise of the Sovereign, three carriages, conveying the
Primate, the Earl of Albemarle and Sir Henry Halford, the Royal physician,
started from Windsor, and arrived at Kensington Palace shortly before five
o'clock. The doors were thrown open before them, and in the early morning
sunshine stood the Queen of England and her mother, prepared for the news,
and ready to receive them. At nine o'clock, Lord Melbourne, the Premier,
arrived at the Palace, and had an interview of half an hour with his new
mistress. Before noon came the Lord Mayor and other members of the
Corporation. Next to appear was the Duke of Cumberland. Miss Martineau
thus describes the quick succession of incidents which now crowded one
upon the other with rapid haste:--
On the meeting of the princes, peers, and other councillors, they
signed the oath of allegiance; and the first name on the list was that
of Ernest, King of Hanover. The Queen caused them all to be sworn in
Members of the Council, and then addressed them; after which they
issued orders for the Proclamation of Her Majesty. If the millions who
longed to know how the young Sovereign looked and felt could have
heard her first address, it would have gone far to satisfy them. The
address was, of course, prepared for her; but the manner and voice
were her own, and they told much. Her manner was composed, modest, and
dignified; her voice firm and sweet; her reading, as usual, beautiful.
She took the necessary oaths, and received the eager homage of the
thronging nobility without agitation or any awkwardness. The
declaration contained an affectionate reference to the deceased King;
an assertion of her attachment to the constitution of the country, and
of her intention to rule in accordance with it; a grateful allusion to
her mother's educational care of her; an avowal that, under
circumstances of such eminent responsibility as hers, she relied for
support and guidance in Divine Providence, and a pledge that her life
should be devoted to the happiness of her people. The Ministers
returned into her hands, and received again, the seals of their
respective offices; the stamps in official use were ordered to be
altered, as also the prayers of the Church which related to the Royal
Family; the Proclamation was prepared and signed by the Privy
Councillors, and the Queen appointed the next day, Wednesday, for the
ceremony. The first use of the Great Seal, under the new reign, was to
authenticate the official Proclamation, which was gazetted the same
evening. During the whole morning, carriages were driving up rapidly,
bringing visitors eager to offer their homage. What a day of whirl and
fatigue for one in a position so lonely, at such tender years. How
welcome must have been the night, and the quiet of her pillow,
whatever might be the thoughts that rested upon it. The next morning
she appeared "extremely pale and fatigued," and no wonder, for she had
passed through a day which could never be paralleled.
The following is the text of her Majesty's speech delivered on this
occasion to the Privy Council:--
The severe and afflicting loss which the nation has sustained by the
death of His Majesty, my beloved uncle, has devolved upon me the duty
of administering the Government of this empire. This awful
responsibility is imposed upon me so suddenly, and at so early a
period, that I should feel myself utterly oppressed by the burden,
were I not sustained by the hope that Divine Providence, which has
called me to this work, will give me strength for the performance of
it, and that I shall find, in the purity of my intentions, and in my
zeal for the public welfare, that support and those resources which
usually belong to a more mature age and longer experience. I place my
firm reliance upon the wisdom of Parliament, and upon the loyalty and
affection of my people. I esteem it also a peculiar advantage that I
succeed to a sovereign whose constant regard for the rights and
liberties of his subjects, and whose desire to promote the
amelioration of the laws and institutions of the country, have
rendered his name the object of general attachment and veneration.
Educated in England, under the tender and affectionate care of a most
affectionate mother, I have learned from my infancy to respect and
love the constitution of my native country. It will be my unceasing
study to maintain the reformed religion as by law established,
securing, at the same time, to all the full enjoyment of religious
liberty; and I shall steadily protect the rights, and promote to the
utmost of my power the happiness and welfare of all classes of my
subjects.
[Sidenote: PROCLAMATION AS QUEEN.]
The next day, the 21st of June, the Queen was publicly proclaimed, under
the title of Alexandrina Victoria I.; but since that day she has disused
the Russian name bestowed upon her by her Muscovite godfather, preferring
to retain simply "Victoria." The Queen arrived at the Palace at ten
o'clock, where she was received by most of the members of the Royal
Family, the Officers of the Household, and Ministers of State. Long before
ten all the avenues to the Palace were crowded, every balcony, window, and
housetop being crammed with the better class of spectators. The space in
the quadrangle in front of the window where Her Majesty was to appear, was
crowded with ladies and gentlemen, and even the parapets above were filled
with people.
At ten o'clock the guns in the Park fired a salute, and immediately after
the Queen made her appearance at the window of the tapestried ante-room
adjoining the audience chamber, and was received with deafening
cheers--cheers all the more hearty that her appearance was a surprise, for
few had known that she was to be there present. She was dressed in deep
mourning, with a white tippet, white cuffs, and a border of white lace
under a small black bonnet, which was placed far back on her head,
exhibiting her light brown hair simply parted in front. She viewed the
proceedings with intense interest, standing during the whole rehearsal of
the Proclamation; and although she looked pale and fatigued, she returned
the repeated rounds of cheers with great grace and dignity. All were
touched to very tenderness of soul by the pale face, wet with tears, calm
and simply grave, the gravity being enhanced by the plain black dress and
bands of brown hair, giving an aspect of Quaker-like neatness. On either
side stood Lords Melbourne and Lansdowne, in their state dresses and blue
ribbons, and close to her was her mother, who was dressed similarly to the
Queen.
In the court-yard were Garter King-at-Arms, with Heralds and Pursuivants
in their robes of office, and eight Officers-of-Arms on horseback, bearing
massive silver maces; Sergeants-at-Arms, with their maces and collars; the
Sergeant-Trumpeter, with his mace and collar; the trumpets, drum-major and
drums, and Knights Marshal and men. On Her Majesty showing herself at the
Presence Chamber window, Garter Principal King-at-Arms, having taken his
station in the court-yard under the window, accompanied by the Duke of
Norfolk as Earl Marshal of England, read the Proclamation, containing the
formal and official announcement of the demise of King William IV., and of
the consequent accession of Queen Alexandrina Victoria to the rule of
these realms. The Proclamation was brief, and to the point:--
Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His mercy our late
Sovereign Lord, King William IV., of blessed memory, by whose decease
the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess
Alexandrina Victoria, we therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal
of this Realm, being here assisted with these of his late Majesty's
Privy Council, with numbers of other principal gentlemen of quality,
the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and citizens of London, do now hereby with
one voice and consent of tongue, proclaim that the High and Mighty
Princess Alexandrina Victoria is now, by the death of our late
Sovereign William IV., of happy memory, become our only lawful and
rightful Liege Lady, Alexandrina Victoria I., Queen of Great Britain
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, ... to whom we acknowledge all
faith and constant obedience, with all humble and hearty affection,
beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal
Princess Alexandrina Victoria with long and happy years to reign. God
Save the Queen.
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF SUSSEX.]
At the termination of this Proclamation, the band struck up the National
Anthem, and a signal was given for the Park and Tower guns to fire, in
order to announce the fact of the Proclamation being made. Amid the
booming of the guns, the air was rent with cheers by those within the
area, which were taken up by the tens of thousands outside. The enthusiasm
of the comparative few who could see Victoria rose to rapture when, the
moment she was proclaimed Queen, she turned round, threw her arms round
her mother's neck, and wept without restraint. And when her loved uncle,
the Duke of Sussex, presented himself, the day before, to take the oath of
allegiance, and was about to kneel in her presence to kiss her hand, she
gracefully prevented him, kissed his cheek affectionately, and said, "Do
not kneel, my uncle, for I am still Victoria, your niece."
The feelings of gratification with which the people welcomed the accession
of Victoria cannot be depicted in terms too strong. To most, the course of
years seemed very short during which they had been eagerly watching the
growth and training of the Princess. It seemed--at least, to all but the
young--but a matter of yesterday that the newspapers had informed them of
the birth of the Royal babe; of the Duke of Kent's illness: how he had
come home from a walk with wet boots, and, "beguiled by the smiles of his
infant Princess," had played with her, instead of changing his clothes,
and thus caught the cold of which he died. And here she was now, a woman,
and the sovereign ruler of a hundred million of souls. All they had heard
of her was favourable. Sinister rumours and alarms there had been, but
they had been dissipated and dispersed like the morning's mist before the
rising god of day. Her morals were pure, her conduct spotless, and in all
arts and accomplishments she had been carefully trained. From her earliest
days she had been abroad in all weathers; having been often seen, when it
was stormy, on a windy common, with a warm cloak and thick boots. She kept
early hours, and was so exactly and proverbially punctual, that it was
mentioned as a marvel that she once had to apologise for being half a
minute late in an appointment. She had never been known to exceed her
pocket-money in her personal expenditure, or to be sixpence in debt--an
extraordinary novelty in a descendant of George III.
In the first year of her reign the people were delighted to find that she
had paid her father's debts, including considerable sums advanced by his
warm friends, Lords Fitzwilliam and Dundas. Next she paid her mother's
debts--debts unavoidably contracted, as she knew and acknowledged, on her
account. She provided with royal munificence for the whole family of the
late sovereign, and honoured them with courtesies and kindnesses, which
almost obliterated the pain arising from their dubious position. Yet she
lived within her income, and paid as she purchased.
CHAPTER IX.
THE MAIDEN QUEEN.
Removal to Buckingham Palace--First Levee--Dissolves
Parliament--Beauty of her Elocution--Splendid Reception by the City of
London--Settlement of the Queen's Income--Her Daily Life--Her
admirable Knowledge of, and Devotion to, the Business of the
State--Reverence for the Lord's Day.
Greatly to the regret of the inhabitants of Kensington, the Queen, with
her mother, took her final departure from the abode where she was born,
and in which she had spent so many happy days, and proceeded to Buckingham
Palace, on July 13th. The Queen, on this occasion, looked pale, and her
countenance had a very natural, and easily accounted for, aspect of deep
regret. Immediately afterwards she held a Court Levee. It was, of course,
thronged by her loyal subjects who had the privilege of entree; but there
was no appearance of fatigue in her face, voice, or manner, and the day
passed off with spirit and brilliancy. She seemed to have acquired (so say
the court chroniclers of the period), if possible, increased grace and
dignity. She wore a rich lama dress, her head glittered with diamonds, and
her breast was covered with the insignia of the Garter and other orders. A
pair of embroidered velvet slippers covered feet which, resting on the
cushion, were observed and admired by all as "exquisitely small."
On the 17th of July she went in state to the House of Lords to dissolve
the Parliament, in accordance with constitutional usage and enactment on
the demise of the Crown. After thanking both Houses for their expressions
of condolence on the death of her uncle, and for the zeal and assiduity
with which they had discharged their duties, especially for their efforts
to mitigate the severity of the penal code, she concluded by saying:--
I ascend the throne with a deep sense of the responsibility which is
imposed upon me; but I am supported by the consciousness of my own
right intentions, and by my dependence upon the protection of Almighty
God. It will be my care to strengthen our institutions, civil and
ecclesiastical, by discreet improvement wherever improvement is
required, and to do all in my power to compose and allay animosity and
discord. Acting upon these principles, I shall, upon all occasions,
look with confidence to the wisdom of Parliament and the affections of
my people, which form the true support of the dignity of the Crown,
and ensure the stability of the Constitution.
The admirable manner in which the speech was read--her singularly musical
voice being heard, without the slightest appearance of effort, in every
corner of the House of Lords--was the subject of the admiration of all who
heard it. It was, indeed, known that she was a fine singer, and frequently
entertained her mother's guests by singing to them, her mother
accompanying her on the piano; nevertheless, the lucidity of her tones,
and the entire absence of any discomposure to disturb them, surprised
every one, and no one more so than her mother.
[Sidenote: STATE VISIT TO THE CITY.]
The Queen went in great state to the City on Lord Mayor's Day, November 9.
This royal entry was one of the greatest sights which had ever been beheld
in the City. The Queen, looking remarkably well, magnificently attired in
pink satin shot with silver, was greeted with deafening cheers from a
crowd far denser than any she had ever seen, along her whole route from
Marlborough House (her temporary residence until Buckingham Palace was
completed for her occupation) to the Guildhall. The houses along the
thoroughfares by which the cavalcade passed were hung with bright-coloured
cloths, with green boughs, and with what flowers the earth could afford at
the late season of the year. Flags and heraldic banners darkened the dim
November light across the Strand, Fleet Street, and Cheapside; and every
pedestal that could be improvised supported a bust of Queen Victoria. At
Temple Bar the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, mounted on artillery horses from
Woolwich, each of the steeds being held by the head by the soldier who was
accustomed to bestride him, awaited their distinguished guest. The Lord
Mayor, dismounting and taking the City Sword in his hand, delivered the
keys, which were graciously returned, while more vociferous cheers than
ever rent the air. On which, the Lord Mayor, re-mounting and holding the
City Sword aloft, rode before Her Majesty through the City, the cortege of
mounted Aldermen following her carriage. The open space before St. Paul's
was occupied by hustings, crowded by the Liverymen of the City Companies
and the Christ's Hospital boys. One of these, in conformity with an old
usage, having presented an address to the Queen, and the whole of the boys
having sung "God save the Queen," the procession went on its way. At the
Guildhall, which, with all its adjacent chambers, was sumptuously fitted
up, a loyal address was read by the Recorder, and suitably acknowledged.
After this came a sumptuous banquet, from which Her Majesty retired, to
see on her way back the whole line of the route brilliantly illuminated.
The first message which the Queen sent to Parliament when it re-assembled,
was a truly characteristic one: it asked for a suitable provision for her
royal mother. This provision was loyally made, and in the same short
winter session her own civil list was settled. William IV. had enjoyed a
civil list amounting to L510,000, while, from the accession of George III.
to the death of his eldest son, it had been fixed at L1,030,000. Her
Majesty's civil list was fixed at L385,000 per annum, and her privy purse,
being the only sum over which she had complete personal control, and from
which her private charities had to be disbursed, was fixed at L60,000. Out
of the L385,000 the calculation, based by order of Parliament upon the
accounts of the late reign, was that L131,260 would go for salaries of the
Household, from the Master of the Horse and Mistress of the Robes, down to
the humblest scullion and stable-helper; and L172,500 in tradesmen's
bills.
During the early days of her maiden reign, the Queen rose at eight,
occupied a remarkably short time in dressing, and then discharged such
routine business as signing despatches until the breakfast hour, which was
invariably a quarter before ten. At that hour, she without fail sent one
of her attendants to _invite_ the Duchess of Kent to breakfast. From the
day of her ascending the throne, to remove the slightest ground for
suspicion as to any undue influence, the strictest etiquette was preserved
between mother and daughter; the former never approaching the latter
unless specially summoned, and carefully abstaining from conversing about
the business of the State. Twelve o'clock was the time appointed for
conferences with her Ministers. After the usual complimentary salutation,
she at once proceeded to the business of the day. If a document were
handed to her, she read it without comment, and no remark passed her own
lips or those of the Ministers present, until its perusal was concluded.
After retiring from the Council-room, the interval was passed until dinner
in riding or walking. At dinner, the first Lord-in-waiting took the head
of the table; opposite to him, the chief Equerry-in-waiting. Her Majesty's
chair was half way down on the right, the various guests being seated
according to their ranks. Next to Her Majesty, on the right hand, was the
nobleman of highest degree; next to him, the Duchess of Kent, and so on.
On Her Majesty's left, the same rule was observed, the Baroness Lehzen,
who acted as Secretary to the Queen, being always near her. The Queen left
the table early for the drawing-room, where her musical tastes were
regaled almost invariably, and her own proficiency very frequently
displayed.
[Sidenote: REVERENCE FOR SUNDAY.]
The following incident, which was made public during the first year of the
Queen's reign, made a very pleasing impression upon the well-conditioned
portion of the public. A certain noble Minister arrived at Windsor at a
late hour on Saturday night. On being introduced, he said, "I have brought
down for your Majesty's inspection some documents of great importance;
but, as I shall be obliged to trouble you to examine them in detail, I
will not encroach on the time of your Majesty to-night, but will request
your attention to-morrow morning." "To-morrow morning?" repeated the
Queen; "to-morrow is Sunday, my lord." "True, your Majesty, but business
of the State will not admit of delay." "I am aware of that," replied the
Queen, "and, as your lordship could not have arrived earlier at the Palace
to-night, I will, if those papers are of such pressing importance, attend
to their contents after church to-morrow morning." So to church went the
Queen and the Court, and to church went the noble lord; when, much to his
surprise, the discourse was on the duties and obligations of the Christian
Sabbath. "How did your lordship like the sermon?" asked the Queen. "Very
much indeed, your Majesty," replied the nobleman. "Well, then," retorted
Her Majesty, "I will not conceal from you that, last night, I sent the
clergyman the text from which he preached. I hope we shall all be improved
by the sermon." The Sunday passed without a single word being said
relative to the State papers, and at night, when Her Majesty was about to
withdraw--"To-morrow morning, my lord, at any hour you please," said the
Queen, turning to the nobleman--"as early as seven, my lord, if you like,
we will look into the papers." The nobleman said that he could not think
of intruding on Her Majesty at so early an hour; he thought nine o'clock
would be quite soon enough. "No, no, my lord," said the Queen; "as the
papers are of importance, I wish them to be attended to very early.
However, if you wish it to be nine, be it so." And accordingly, the next
morning at nine, Her Majesty was seated ready to receive the nobleman and
his papers.
CHAPTER X.
THE QUEEN CROWNED.
Novel Features in the Coronation--Its Cost--Large Amount of Money
Circulated--Splendour of the Procession--Enormous Crowds--The Scene
within the Abbey--Arrival of the Queen--The Regalia and Sacred
Vessels--Costume of the Queen--Astonishment of the Turkish Ambassador
at the Scene--The Coronation Ceremony--The Queen's Oath--The
Anointing--The Crown placed on her Head--The Homage--An Aged Peer--The
Queen's Crown--The Illuminations and general Festivities--Fair in Hyde
Park--The Duke of Wellington and Marshal Soult at the Guildhall.
The great event of the year 1838 was the Coronation, which took place on
the 28th of June. It was conducted after the abridged model of that of the
Queen's immediate predecessor. The Coronation of George IV. had cost
L243,000; that of William IV., L50,000. The charges on the occasion of the
crowning of Queen Victoria amounted to about L70,000. This slight excess
over the cost of the last Sovereign's solemn investiture with regal power
was explained by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as having been in no
sense occasioned by any part of the ceremonial peculiarly connected with
the Sovereign, but it had been incurred with a view of enabling the great
mass of the people to participate in this national festivity. The great
novelty on the occasion was the omission of the walking procession of all
the estates of the realm, and the banquet in Westminster Hall, with the
feudal services attendant thereon. Many of the upper classes grumbled not
a little at these omissions; but the general public were more than
proportionately gratified. For in lieu of the disused ceremonies, a public
procession through the streets was substituted. This enabled all to
witness the splendid pageant, and induced a very large private expenditure
and circulation of money. It was estimated that no less than L200,000 were
paid for the use of windows and other positions of vantage in the line of
the procession. The price of single seats ranged from five shillings to
ten guineas; and the Duke of Buckingham, in his "Courts and Cabinets of
William IV. and Victoria," alleges that single windows in Pall Mall and
St. James's Street produced no less than L200. Persons of distinction
behaved with a becoming liberality and splendour. Marshal Soult, the old
opponent of Wellington, who specially represented on the occasion the
Court of the Tuileries, and who was received by the crowds with great
enthusiasm, appeared in a splendid state carriage that had been used by
the Prince of Conde. The Russian Ambassador purchased for L1,600 a similar
chariot, which had already done the same duty for the Duke of Devonshire,
at St. Petersburg, on a like occasion. Another diplomat gave L250 for the
loan for the day of a vehicle befitting his rank; while many more had to
content themselves with carriages whose normal function it was to minister
to the state of the civic magnates, and which were hastily repainted and
decorated for the auspicious occasion.
The day was one of the brightest on which the Queen, with her proverbial
good fortune in this respect, has ever appeared amongst her subjects. At
early morn, the first rays of the blazing Midsummer sun slanted down
through the windows of Westminster Abbey upon the jewels of whole rows of
peeresses, and the illuminations which turned night into day remained in
full magnificence until the dawn of the succeeding morning. At dawn, a
salvo of artillery from the Tower caused all the population to be astir,
and the population was on this day increased by the importation of four
hundred thousand visitors. The behaviour of the enormous multitude which
first lined the streets and then spread itself over the town, was beyond
all praise. Courtesy and mutual forbearance were conspicuous, and no
accident or offence occurred to mar the pleasing impressions of the
ceremonial.
[Sidenote: ORDER OF THE PROCESSION.]
The route of the procession was as follows:--From Buckingham Palace, up
Constitution Hill, along Piccadilly, St. James's Street, Pall Mall,
Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, Whitehall, and Parliament Street, to the
great west door of Westminster Abbey. The most novel feature of the
procession was the carriages of the Foreign Ambassadors, to which we have
already alluded, with their jaegers in gorgeous or grotesque uniforms.
These came in the order in which they had arrived on their special
missions to this country; the carriages of the regular resident
Ambassadors came in their ordinary order of precedence. Next followed the
members of the Royal Family, the Duchess of Kent preceding the carriages
of the surviving sons of George III. To the Queen's Barge Master, with
forty-eight watermen, succeeded twelve of the Royal carriages, containing
the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Household. Next came mounted, three and
three, the high functionaries of the Army. And after Royal huntsmen,
yeomen, prickers, marshalmen, foresters, and a host of other minor
functionaries--the whole of the mounted Household Troops being here and
there interspersed at intervals in the cavalcade--came the grand state
coach, containing Her Majesty the Queen, with the Duchess of Sutherland,
Mistress of the Robes. On either side of the carriage rode Lord
Combermere, Gold Stick in Waiting, and the Earl of Ilchester, Captain of
the Yeomen of the Guard. The Earl of Albemarle, as Master of the Horse,
and the Duke of Buccleuch, as Captain-General of the Royal Scottish
Archers, rode behind. A squadron of Life Guards brought up the rear.
Meanwhile, within the Abbey, a painful sleepiness had oppressed those who
had sat so many hours in cramped positions; many of them in galleries
perched up high under the roofs of the aisles. Suddenly, a burst of music,
rushing among the arches and ringing from the roof, aroused and entranced
all, who peered eagerly down upon the procession of small figures; the
central one looking the slightest and most fragile of all. At half-past
eleven, the Queen reached the door of the Abbey, where she was received by
the great officers of State, the noblemen bearing the Regalia, and the
bishops carrying Patina, Chalice, and Bible. Having retired to her
Robing-room, the procession formed and proceeded towards the altar, which
was laden with magnificent gold plate, and beside which stood St. Edward's
Chair. Besides the elements which are common to all great English regal
processions, and which it is, therefore, not requisite to recapitulate,
the Regalia, which only appear on such occasions, were thus
distributed:--St. Edward's Staff, the Golden Spurs, the Sceptre with the
Cross, the Curtana, and two Swords of Investiture, were borne respectively
by the Duke of Roxburgh, Lord Byron, Duke of Cleveland, Duke of
Devonshire, Marquis of Westminster, and Duke of Sutherland. The coronets
of the princes of the blood were borne by noblemen; their trains by
knights or peers' sons. Next came the Earl Marshal, Duke of Norfolk, with
his staff, Lord Melbourne with the Sword of State, and the Duke of
Wellington, with his staff, as Lord High Constable; the Dukes of Richmond,
Hamilton, and Somerset bore the Sceptre and Dove, St. Edward's Crown, and
the Orb; the Bishops of Bangor, Winchester, and London carried the Patina,
Chalice, and Bible. The Queen, who was supported on one side by the Bishop
of Bath and Wells, on the other by the Bishop of Durham, wore a royal robe
of crimson velvet, furred with ermine and broidered with gold lace. She
wore the collars of her orders, and on her head a circlet of gold. Eight
peers' daughters bore her train, most, if not all of them, old friends of
her happy childish tours to the mansions of the aristocracy, and
distinguished by their personal attractions. About fifty ladies of rank,
occupying various positions in the household, succeeded, and the
procession was concluded by Officers of State and Yeomen of the Guard.
[Sidenote: THE CORONATION.]
The chief and most picturesque incidents in the Coronation ceremony must
be briefly narrated. The Queen looked extremely well, and "had a very
animated countenance;" but perhaps the splendid attire of some of the
foreign ambassadors attracted more attention than even the Sovereign to
whose court they were accredited. The costume of the Prince Esterhazy was
by far the most gorgeous; his dress, even to his boot-heels, sparkled with
diamonds. The Turkish Ambassador seemed specially bewildered at the
general splendour of the scene: for some moments he stopped in
astonishment, and had to be courteously admonished to move to his allotted
place.
As the Queen advanced slowly to the centre of the choir, she was received
with hearty plaudits, and the musicians sang the anthem, "I was glad." At
its close, the boys of Westminster School, privileged of old to occupy a
special gallery, chanted "Vivat Victoria Regina." On this the Queen moved
to a chair, midway between the Chair of Homage and the altar; and there,
after a few moments' private devotion, kneeling on a fald-stool, she sat
down, and the ceremony proper began. First came the "recognition." The
Archbishop of Canterbury, accompanied by some half-dozen of the greatest
civil dignitaries, advanced and said, "Sirs, I here present unto you Queen
Victoria, the undoubted Queen of this realm; wherefore, all you who have
come this day to do your homage, are you willing to do the same?" On this,
all Her Majesty's subjects present shouted, "God Save Queen Victoria!" the
Archbishop turning in succession to the north, south, and west sides of
the Abbey, and the Queen doing the same. The bishops who bore them, then
placed the Patina, Chalice, and Bible on the altar; the Queen, kneeling,
made her first offering, a pall, or altar-cloth, of gold. The Archbishop
having offered a prayer, the Regalia were laid on the altar; the Litany
and Communion services were read, and a brief sermon preached, by various
prelates. The preacher was the Bishop of London, and his text was from the
Second Book of Chronicles, chapter xxxiv., verse 31--"And the king stood
in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord,
and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with
all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant
which are written in this book."
After the sermon, the Queen swore--the Archbishop of Canterbury putting
the oath--that she would maintain the law and the established religion.
Then Her Majesty--the Sword of State being carried before her--went to the
altar, and laying her right hand upon the Gospel, said, kneeling, "The
things which I have here-before promised, I will perform and keep. So help
me, God!" Having kissed the book, and signed a transcript of the oath
presented to her by the Archbishop, she knelt upon her fald-stool, while
the choir sang, "Veni, Creator, Dominus."
[Sidenote: THE HOMAGE OF THE PEERS.]
Now, sitting in King Edward's Chair, four Knights of the Garter holding
the while over her head a canopy of cloth of gold, her head and hands were
anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury; after which he said his prayer,
or blessing, over her. In quick succession followed the delivery of the
Spurs, Sword of State, &c. The Dean of Westminster, having taken the crown
from the altar, handed it to the Archbishop, who reverently placed it on
the Queen's head. This was no sooner done, than there arose from every
part of the edifice a tremendous shout--"God save the Queen!" accompanied
with lusty cheers and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs. At the same
moment, the Peers and Peeresses put on their coronets, the Bishops their
caps, and the Kings of Arms their crowns; the trumpets sounded, the drums
were beat, and volleys fired from the Tower and Park guns. After the
Benediction and Te Deum, the Queen was "enthroned," or "lifted," as the
formulary has it, from the chair in which she had first sat into the Chair
of Homage, where she delivered the sceptre, &c., to noblemen, while she
received fealty of her more distinguished subjects. The Archbishop first
knelt and did homage for himself and all the spiritual peers; next came
the Princes of the blood, who merely touched the crown, kissed her left
cheek, swore the oath of homage, and retired without kneeling; then the
Peers in succession came--seventeen dukes, twenty-two marquises,
ninety-four earls, twenty viscounts, and ninety-two barons. Each Peer
knelt bareheaded, and kissed Her Majesty's hand. Lord Rolle, who was
upwards of eighty, stumbled and fell in going up the steps; the Queen at
once stepped forward, and held out her hand to assist him. While the Peers
were doing homage, the Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of the Household, threw
silver coronation medals about the choir and lower galleries; and when the
homage was completed the Members of the House of Commons, who occupied a
special gallery, indicated their loyalty by giving nine lusty cheers. It
was almost a quarter to four when the procession came back along the nave.
The return cavalcade along the streets was even more attractive than that
of the morning, for the royal and noble personages now wore their
coronets, and the Queen her crown. The crown was especially admired. That
which had been made for George IV. weighed upwards of seven pounds, and as
it was considered too heavy for the Queen, a new one was constructed by
Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, of less than half the weight. It was formed of
hoops of silver, covered with precious stones, over a cap of rich blue
velvet, surmounted with a ball enriched by diamonds. Amongst its other
gems was a large heart-shaped ruby, which had been worn by the Black
Prince; this was set in front.
[Sidenote: CORONATION FESTIVITIES.]
In the evening the Queen entertained a hundred guests to dinner at
Buckingham Palace, and at a late hour witnessed from the roof the
fireworks in the Green Park. At Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington gave
a ball, to which two thousand guests were invited. All the Cabinet
Ministers gave state dinners. A fair was held in Hyde Park on the day of
the coronation--Thursday--and until the end of the week. The area allotted
comprised nearly one-third of the Park. On Friday, the Queen visited the
fair, which was studded with theatres, refreshment booths, and stalls for
the sale of fancy articles. The illuminations and fireworks gave great
satisfaction, as did the fact that the whole of the theatres were opened
gratuitously at the Queen's express desire. Among other festivities, at
home and abroad, which succeeded and were held in honour of the coronation
of Victoria, may be mentioned a grand review by Her Majesty in Hyde Park;
a magnificent banquet at the Guildhall, at which the old Waterloo
antagonists, Wellington and Soult, were toasted in combination; the
feasting of 13,000 persons on one spot at Cambridge; the laying of the
first stone of the St. George's Hall, at Liverpool, and at Leghorn of an
English Protestant Church; and a great public dinner, in Paris, presided
over by Sir Sidney Smith, the hero of St. Jean d'Acre.
CHAPTER XI.
THE BEDCHAMBER PLOT.
Resignation of Lord Melbourne's Cabinet--Sir Robert Peel sent
for--Fails to Form a Cabinet--His Explanation--The Queen Refuses to
Dismiss her Ladies of the Bedchamber--Supported by her late
Ministers--Sir Robert Peel's Objections--The Queen will not give
way--The Whigs recalled to Power--Public Opinion on the Dispute--The
Whig Ministers blamed, but the Queen exculpated.
In April, 1839, Lord Melbourne's administration, which had been rapidly
losing its once great popularity, obtained only the small and nominal
majority of five, in a very important matter connected with the government
of Jamaica. The Ministers accordingly tendered their resignations early in
May, and Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept them. As usual under
such circumstances, the Parliament was prorogued for a few days. After the
lapse of a week, the Houses re-assembled, and Lord John Russell, who had
been the Whig leader of the House, immediately rose and said that since he
had last addressed them, Sir Robert Peel had received authority from Her
Majesty to form a new Administration, and that the attempt of the Right
Honourable Baronet having failed, Her Majesty had been graciously pleased
to permit that gentleman to state the circumstances which had led to that
failure.
On her accession, the Queen had left the selection of the Ladies of the
Household entirely to her uncle Sussex, and Lord Melbourne--the one of
whom had been a Whig all his life, and the other, though but a
comparatively recent convert, was the head of the Whig party. They had
somewhat indiscreetly selected at least all the important female members
of the Household, those to whom a young girl would be likely to look up
confidingly for information and guidance, from the ranks of the Whig
aristocracy. On Tuesday, the 29th of May, the resignations of the
Melbourne Cabinet were announced to Parliament. The next day, at two
o'clock, in answer to her summons, Sir Robert Peel waited upon the Queen.
She had first sent for the Duke of Wellington, but he recommended his
former lieutenant and future leader as premier. The Queen, with
characteristic truthfulness, which was none the less admirable that it was
too girlishly outspoken to be judicious, or at all in accordance with the
spirit of the constitution, at once greeted Sir Robert with an avowal that
she was much grieved to part with her late Ministers, whose conduct she
entirely approved. This was rather an awkward beginning. Nevertheless, he
proceeded with the formation of his Cabinet, and the next day submitted a
list of names to the Queen, including the Duke of Wellington, Lords
Lyndhurst, Aberdeen, Ellenborough, Stanley, Sir James Graham, and Mr.
Goulburn. As to the Household, he had hardly thought about it, and indeed
he said he did not know who constituted the female part of it. He took the
Red Book to learn who they were, and was at once struck with the
completeness of the arrangements for surrounding the Queen with the
nearest relations of the Whig Ministers. For example, he afterwards put
this point most strongly to the House:--
Sir, let me take that particular question on which my difficulty would
arise. Who can conceal from himself that my difficulties were not
Canada; that my difficulties were not Jamaica; that my difficulties
were Ireland? (ironical cheers). I admit it freely, and thank you for
the confirmation of my argument which these cheers afford. And what is
the fact? I, undertaking to be a Minister of the Crown, and wishing to
carry on public affairs through the intervention of the present House
of Commons, in order that I might exempt the country from the
agitation, and, possibly, the peril of a dissolution--I, upon that
very question in a minority of upwards of twenty members. A majority
of twenty-two had decided in favour of the policy of the Irish
Government [that is, of the Irish policy of Lord Melbourne]. The chief
members of the Irish Government, whose policy was so approved of, were
the Marquis of Normanby, and the noble lord opposite, the member for
Yorkshire [Lord Morpeth, afterwards the Earl of Carlisle]. By whom are
the chief offices in the Household at this moment held? By the sister
of Lord Morpeth [the Duchess of Sutherland], and the wife of the
Marquis of Normanby. But the question is--Would it be considered by
the public that a Minister had the confidence of the Crown, when the
relatives of his immediate political opponents held the highest
offices about the person of the Sovereign? My impression decidedly was
that I should not appear to the country to be in possession of that
confidence; and that impression I could not overcome; and upon that
impression I resolved to act. Who were my political opponents? Why, of
the two I have named, one, the Marquis of Normanby, was publicly
stated to be a candidate for the very same office which it was
proposed I should fill--namely, the office of Prime Minister. The
other noble lord has been designated as the leader of this House; and
I know not why his talents might not justify his appointment, in case
of the retirement of his predecessor. Is it possible--I ask you to go
back to other times; take Pitt, or Fox, or any other Minister of this
proud country, and answer for yourselves this question--is it fitting
that one man shall be the Minister, responsible for the most arduous
charge that can fall to the lot of man, and that the wife of the
other--that other his most formidable political enemy--shall, with his
express consent, hold office in immediate attendance on the
Sovereign? Oh no! I felt it was impossible--I could not consent to
this. Yes, feelings more powerful than reasoning on those precedents
told me that it was not for my own honour or the public interests that
I should consent to be Minister of England. The public interests may
suffer nothing by my abandonment of that high trust; the public
interests may suffer nothing by my eternal exclusion from power; but
the public interests would suffer, and I should be abandoning my duty
to myself, my country, and, above all, to the Queen my sovereign, if I
were to consent to hold power on conditions which I felt to be--which
I had the strongest conviction were--incompatible with the authority
and with the duty of a Prime Minister.
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN AND SIR ROBERT PEEL.]
Sir Robert had informed Her Majesty that he did not propose any change in
the offices in question below the grade of Ladies of the Bedchamber. He
took it for granted that the ladies who held higher offices would save him
any appearance of want of courtesy by voluntarily resigning. Ere this,
however, had been stated, the Queen having expressed a desire that her own
and her mother's old friend, Lord Liverpool (who, it may be remarked, was
of the Tory party), should be appointed to some office, Sir Robert at once
requested the Queen's permission to offer him the office of Lord Steward,
or any other which he might select. The only other names which he
submitted to her were those of Lords Ashley (now Shaftesbury), and Sydney.
So far all was well. But when he went on to say that he was most ready to
apply a similar principle to, and consult Her Majesty's wishes in, the
selection of her ladies, the Queen remarked that she should reserve all
these appointments, and indeed did not intend to make any present change.
In a subsequent interview with the Duke of Wellington, the Queen
reiterated the same desire and intention. Meanwhile, after her interviews
with Peel and Wellington, Her Majesty sent for Lord John Russell, and put
the direct question to him, Was she right in her determination? He at once
replied that she was right; on which she naively asked him to support her
now, as she had supported the Cabinet of which he had been a member. Lord
John having consulted Lord Melbourne, they called their ex-colleagues
together, and advised the Queen to send the following note to Sir Robert
Peel, which she did:--
Buckingham Palace, May 10, 1839.
The Queen, having considered the proposal made to her yesterday by Sir
Robert Peel, to remove the Ladies of her Bedchamber, cannot consent to
adopt a course which she conceives to be contrary to usage and
repugnant to her feelings.
On receipt of this, Sir Robert Peel, acting in perfect concert with the
Duke of Wellington, communicated with Her Majesty in a remarkably
courteous letter, of which this was the concluding and decisive
paragraph:--
Having had the opportunity, through your Majesty's gracious
consideration, of reflecting upon this point, he humbly submits to
your Majesty that he is reluctantly compelled, by a sense of public
duty and of the interest of your Majesty's service, to adhere to the
opinion which he ventured to express to your Majesty. He trusts he may
be permitted, at the same time, to express to your Majesty his
grateful acknowledgments for the distinction which your Majesty
conferred upon him, by requiring his advice and assistance in the
attempt to form an Administration, and his earnest prayers that
whatever arrangements your Majesty may be enabled to make for that
purpose, may be most conducive to your Majesty's personal comfort and
happiness, and to the promotion of the public welfare.
[Sidenote: WELLINGTON AND LORD MELBOURNE.]
It was generally believed at the time, as Sir Archibald Alison himself
confesses, that Peel did not regret this royal rebuff; for "he was by no
means sanguine," says the Tory historiographer, "as to the success of his
mission, nor annoyed at the failure of the attempt to fulfil it." The
_pro_ and _con_ were put with equal terseness and skill by Lord Melbourne
and the Duke of Wellington. The words of the latter were:--"It is
essential that the Minister should possess the entire confidence of Her
Majesty, and with that view should exercise the usual control permitted to
the Minister by the Sovereign in the construction of the Household. There
is the greatest possible difference between the _Household of the Queen
Consort and the Household of the Queen Regnant_--that of the former, who
is not a political personage, being comparatively of little importance."
Lord Melbourne, on the other hand, thus justified the advice which his
Royal Mistress had received from him and adopted:--"I frankly declare that
I resume office unequivocally and solely for this reason, that I will not
abandon my Sovereign in a situation of difficulty and distress, and
especially when a demand is made upon Her Majesty with which, I think, she
ought not to comply--a demand inconsistent with her personal honour, and
which, if acquiesced in, would render her reign liable to all the changes
and variations of political parties, and render her domestic life one
constant scene of unhappiness and discomfort."
The public at large, even those who thought her _action_ wrong, accorded
to the Queen sympathy rather than blame. It was well known that she had
been dexterously surrounded by the wives and sisters and daughters of the
great Whigs, and that on these ladies all her ardent and girlish
affections were bestowed. This made the people all the more angry that
the male heads of the Whig houses now gave her unconstitutional advice.
Not only her youth and inexperience, but the very warmth of the affection
which she had displayed, and, above all, the fact that she was the chief
sufferer on the occasion, all pleaded for her. Indeed, it may be said that
the quickly-forgotten "Bedchamber Plot" rather endeared the Sovereign to
her subjects than otherwise. Both of her uncles who preceded her on the
throne had been exceedingly capricious and disloyal to their ministers.
Under these reigns there was a constant sense, in the breasts of ministers
and in the breasts of the people, of the precariousness of the existence
of even the most popular cabinets. It certainly cannot be said that in the
early summer of 1839 Lord Melbourne's cabinet was popular. Nevertheless,
though the ministers were blamed, the people were charmed by the Queen's
ingenuousness, bravery, and steadiness of attachment. It is but just to
state that on every future occasion of the change of an Administration,
the Queen has, without the slightest demur, conceded the point, the
consideration of which we now dismiss. And with the transparent candour of
her nature, Her Majesty has caused it to be made known that the Prince
Consort had much to do with producing this result.
CHAPTER XII.
COURTSHIP AND BETROTHAL.
Desire of the Coburg Relatives for a Marriage between Victoria and
Albert--Favourable Impressions mutually made by Victoria and
Albert--Prince Albert's Letter on the Queen's Accession--Opposition of
King William IV. to the Marriage--Correspondence between the
Cousins--King Leopold urges on the Marriage--The Queen's Reluctance to
become Betrothed--Her subsequent Regret at this--The Prince craves a
definite Determination--His Second Visit to England--Betrothed at
last--Returns to Germany to say Farewell.
We have already seen that the marriage of Prince Albert with his cousin
was strongly desired by their common relatives from a very early period of
their lives. It was the "ardent wish" of their grandmother, and she freely
communicated that wish to her son and daughter, Prince Leopold and the
Duchess of Kent. There are strong indications that the astute King Leopold
never lost sight of this end from the date of his mother's death in 1831.
Soon after the visit of the brothers to their "aunt Kent" in 1836, the
rumour began to prevail in England that Prince Albert was the _fiance_ of
the future Queen. The idea, however, was premature. So we know on the
Queen's authority, who has caused it to be stated that "nothing was then
settled."
In the letters which the Prince sent to his father and others, during his
stay at Brussels and elsewhere, immediately after his first visit to
England, he made frequent reference to the general impressions thence
derived, and especially to his young cousin. Of such allusions, this is a
fair specimen:--"A few days ago I received a letter from aunt Kent,
enclosing one from our cousin. She told me I was to communicate its
contents to you, so I send it on with a translation of the English. The
day before yesterday I received a second and yet kinder letter from my
cousin, in which she thanks me for my good wishes on her birth-day. You
may easily imagine that both these letters gave me great pleasure." And
when the news of the death of King William and the accession of Victoria
arrived, he informed his father, on the authority of his uncle Leopold,
that the new reign had commenced most successfully (this, perhaps, in
allusion to the anticipated attempt at a _coup d'etat_ by the Duke of
Cumberland), that his cousin Victoria had shown astonishing
self-possession, although English parties were violently excited, and that
the Duchess of Kent had found strenuous support against "violent attacks
in the newspapers." This last statement we have, however, good reasons for
saying had reached the young Prince in a somewhat exaggerated form; we
mean, so far as the "violence" of the attacks was concerned.
To the Queen herself the Prince wrote a letter, consolatory in her
bereavement, and congratulatory on her accession. This was the first
letter which he sent her written in English. He prayed Heaven to assist
her now that she was "Queen of the mightiest land in Europe," with the
happiness of millions in her hand, and asked her "to think sometimes of
her cousins in Bonn [where they were then pursuing their University
studies], and to continue that kindness you favoured them with till now."
[Sidenote: RUMOURS ABOUT MARRIAGE.]
On the accession of the Queen, the rumour of her marriage with Prince
Albert became ten times more prevalent. The judicious King Leopold thought
it wise, for a time at least, to discourage this expectation, and to
withdraw the attention of the English from the Prince. Hence it was that
he counselled those journeys into Austria, South Germany, Switzerland, and
Italy, in which we have already traced the steps of the Prince. This was
chiefly dictated by the distracted state of parties in England, which the
King of the Belgians thought it better to permit time to allay ere the
matrimonial project was brought specifically forward. "United as all
parties are," wrote Prince Albert to his father, from the inspiration of
his uncle, "in high praise of the young Queen, the more do they seem to
manoeuvre and intrigue with and against each other. On every side there is
nothing but a network of cabals and intrigues, and parties are arrayed
against each other in a most inexplicable manner."
Whilst making his "grand tour," the Prince kept up an occasional
correspondence with his cousin. From Switzerland he sent her an album of
the places which he visited, from the top of the Rigi a dried Alpine rose,
and from Ferney an autographic scrap of Voltaire, which he received from
an old servant of the great philosopher.
By the early part of 1839, the tour was concluded, and we find the Prince
once more at Brussels with his uncle. Leopold now spoke to him more fully
and definitely than he had hitherto done about his prospects in life and
the state of his affections. It very clearly appears that the marriage
with the Queen had been gradually becoming more and more an understood
thing. It appears equally clear that the Queen was averse, as yet, to
committing herself to a distinct and final engagement. She was willing to
marry, but wished to defer the contraction of the union. She thought both
herself and her cousin too young; and the interests of her people, rather
than any personal backwardness, influenced her wish that both she and her
husband should be older ere they became man and wife. She regretted
afterwards this delay, and felt that the harassments of the Bedchamber
Plot and other still more painful incidents which we have thought it
preferable not to rake up and reproduce in these pages, would have been
borne by her with more equanimity had she had the natural protection of a
husband six months or a year ere the date of her marriage. It was probably
this postponement of any definite settlement that occasioned Prince
Albert's absence from England at the Coronation, in June, 1838. His father
was invited, and received at the hands of his niece the honour of the
Order of the Garter. The Dowager Duchess of Gotha was very proud of this,
and proud also to recollect that her son-in-law possessed the noblest
knightly order of Christendom, which her own father of Hesse-Cassel, and
her father-in-law of Gotha, had also worn and treasured.
[Sidenote: OBJECTIONS TO THE MARRIAGE.]
In more than one quarter the marriage, which all members of the Coburg
family felt to be so eligible, and in which their feelings were so much
involved, met with a considerable amount of opposition. By a curious
coincidence, a Prince of Orange had been the suitor favoured by George IV.
for the hand of his daughter; but she selected the man of her own
choice--Leopold, a Coburg Prince. And a Prince of Orange (nephew of the
rejected aspirant to the hand of the Princess Charlotte) was the man
thought by William IV., as long as he lived, to be the best future husband
of his niece and successor; and his niece, too, selected, like her cousin
Charlotte, as the man of her choice, a Prince of the House of Coburg. King
William did all in his power to discourage the attachment between Victoria
and Albert. He was so strongly set against this match that he did all that
he could even to prevent Prince Albert's visit to England in 1836; and
although he never spoke to his young niece on the subject himself, she
afterwards learned that he had devised no fewer than five matrimonial
alternatives for her selection--that of the late Prince Alexander of the
Netherlands always having the preference and priority. In justice to the
memory of King William it must, however, be stated that the Dowager Queen
Adelaide afterwards told her niece that her uncle would never have striven
to control or restrain her affections if he had had any idea that they had
been strongly bestowed in any particular quarter.
It was in the early part of 1839, that King Leopold first wrote seriously
to his niece on the subject--about the same time that we have seen that he
made a similar verbal communication to his nephew. He received a
favourable response from both, but with this difference, that the lady
craved an indefinite delay. This idea of delay the Prince dealt with in a
very honest and manly manner. He had, he said, no objections to
postponement; but, nevertheless, thought he had a fair right, if he were
to keep himself free, and thereby be compelled to decline any other career
or line of life which might open itself out to him, to have some definite
assurance or understanding that the engagement would be without doubt
contracted. This concession, however, the equally natural bashfulness of
the Queen would not suffer her to make. However, all came right in the
end, and the Queen has very candidly confessed in her riper years, that if
she had known as a girl what she afterwards learned as a woman, that she
even seemed to be _playing_ with her somewhat undemonstrative but not the
less devoted lover, she would not have exacted the semi-sacrifice which
the Prince's self-respect caused him to feel uneasy at, but to which the
true courtesy of his nature induced him to submit. He _did_ wait till
1839, but the Queen afterwards learned that he came to England in that
year prepared to declare that, in the case of further postponement, he
must decline to consider himself bound in any way for the future.
[Sidenote: FIRST MEETING WITH PRINCE ALBERT.]
In October, 1839, Prince Albert, with his brother, set out from Brussels
to England, to urge his final suit. Ere leaving Germany, he had spent a
very pleasant time with his cousin, Count Albert Mensdorff, who was doing
military duty with the garrison of Mayence. They then made a short journey
together, in the course of which the one cousin confided the great secret
to the other. "During our journey," writes the Count, "Albert confided to
me, under the seal of the strictest confidence, that he was going to
England to make your acquaintance, and that if you liked each other you
were to be engaged. He spoke very seriously about the difficulties of the
position he would have to occupy in England, but hoped that dear uncle
Leopold would assist him with his advice." The Princes--Albert bearing
with him a shrewd and significant letter to the Queen from King
Leopold--arrived at Windsor on the 10th of October, where they were
cordially received by their cousin and aunt. The Queen was much struck
with the greatly improved appearance of the Prince, in the interval of
three years since she had last seen him. Gay and festive entertainments
had been arranged in their honour immediately upon their arrival. The
Queen became more and more charmed with her cousin, and within a week
after his arrival, she informed her Premier, Lord Melbourne, that she had
made up her mind to the marriage. In reply, he indicated his own perfect
satisfaction, and added that the nation was getting anxious that its
sovereign should be married; and then he said, in a kindly way, "You will
be much more comfortable; for a woman cannot stand alone for any time, in
whatever position she may be."
The following we present, without professing either to confirm or question
its accuracy, but simply as being the commonly-received report, at the
time, of the manner in which the engagement was finally effected between
the parties directly interested:--
The Prince, in his turn, played the part of a royal lover with all the
grace peculiar to his house. He never willingly absented himself from
the Queen's society and presence, and her every wish was anticipated
with the alacrity of an unfeigned attachment. At length Her Majesty,
having wholly made up her mind as to the issue of this visit, found
herself in some measure embarrassed as to the fit and proper means of
indicating her preference to the Prince. This was a perplexing task,
but the Queen acquitted herself of it with equal delicacy and tact. At
one of the Palace balls she took occasion to present her bouquet to
the Prince at the conclusion of a dance, and the hint was not lost
upon the polite and gallant German. His close uniform, buttoned up to
the throat, did not admit of his placing the Persian-like gift where
it would be most honoured; so he immediately drew his penknife and cut
a slit in his dress in the neighbourhood of his heart, where he
gracefully deposited the happy omen. Again, to announce to the Privy
Council her intended union was an easy duty in comparison to that of
intimating her wishes to the principal party concerned; and here, too,
it is said that our Sovereign Lady displayed unusual presence of mind
and female ingenuity. The Prince was expressing the grateful sense
which he entertained of his reception in England, and the delight
which he experienced during his stay from the kind attentions of
royalty, when the Queen, very naturally and very pointedly, put to him
the question upon which their future fates depended: "If, indeed, your
Highness is so much pleased with this country, perhaps you would not
object to remaining in it, and making it your home?" No one can doubt
the reply.
[Sidenote: THE BETROTHAL.]
The day after the Queen's communication to her Premier, she caused an
intimation to be conveyed to her lover that she desired to see him in
private. The Prince at once waited upon her, and after a few minutes'
general conversation, the Queen told him why she had sent for him, and
modestly but plainly said that she was quite willing now to undertake the
bond of betrothal. Of course, there was only one possible response, and
the Prince joyously wrote the next day to his trusty friend and tried
counsellor, Baron Stockmar, "on one of the happiest days of his life, to
give him the most welcome news." The betrothal was at once communicated to
Prince Ernest, to King Leopold, and to the Duke of Coburg. From these and
other relatives to whom the news, as yet to be kept a family secret, was
sent, the warmest felicitations quickly poured in. Leopold wrote,
commending Albert in the highest terms, and emphatically congratulating
Victoria on having secured an unmistakably good husband, concluding with
the prayer, "May Albert be able to strew roses without thorns on the
pathway of life of our good Victoria!"
The Queen had intended to make her first formal announcement of her
intended marriage to her Parliament; but on second thoughts, she altered
her resolve, and selected her Privy Council as the first official
recipients of the tidings. Of course, the Ministers had been already
confidentially informed of the Queen's purpose; and they strongly
counselled an early union, and both Queen and Prince acquiesced in the
proposal. After happy and rapturous days of undoubted and now
freely-acknowledged attachment, the Princes returned to Germany, on the
14th of November, after a visit lasting just five weeks; Ernest to return
to his military duties, Albert to say farewell to friends and fatherland,
ere finally returning to the region of his new life and love.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE QUEEN WEDDED.
Announcement of the intended Marriage to the Privy Council and
Parliament--Parliamentary Settlement of the Prince's Rank,
&c.--Annoying Circumstances--The Prince's Protestantism--His
Income--Arrival of the Bridegroom--Receives a National Welcome--The
Wedding--Honeymoon spent at Windsor.
On the day after the departure of the Princes, the Queen wrote letters to
the Queen Dowager, and the other members of the Royal Family, informing
them of her intended marriage, and received kind letters in return from
all. A few days later she and her mother came from Windsor to Buckingham
Palace, where Lord Melbourne submitted the draft of the proposed
Declaration to the Privy Council. His Lordship told the Queen that the
Cabinet had unanimously agreed that L50,000 would be an appropriate annual
allowance for the Prince, and that they anticipated no Parliamentary
opposition to that amount. He also stated that there had been a stupid
attempt to make it out that he was a Roman Catholic, and that "he was
afraid to say anything about his religion," and accordingly had not
touched upon it in the Declaration. This turned out, as we shall see, a
very unwise omission; it actually gave colour and consistency to the
absurd report.
[Sidenote: ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE BETROTHAL.]
On the 23rd of November, eighty-three members of the Privy Council met in
Buckingham Palace. Precisely at two the Queen entered. She evinced much
natural agitation, but was considerably reassured by a kindly and paternal
look from her staunch friend, Lord Melbourne; whereupon she read the
Declaration, which ran thus:--
I have caused you to be summoned at the present time in order that I
may acquaint you with my resolution in a matter which deeply concerns
the welfare of my people, and the happiness of my future life. It is
my intention to ally myself in marriage with the Prince Albert of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the
engagement which I am about to contract, I have not come to this
decision without mature consideration, nor without feeling a strong
assurance that, with the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once
secure my domestic felicity and serve the interests of my country. I
have thought fit to make this resolution known to you at the earliest
period, in order that you may be apprised of a matter so highly
important to me and to my kingdom, and which, I persuade myself, will
be most acceptable to all my loving subjects.
The moment the Queen had read the Declaration, Lord Lansdowne rose and
asked, in the name of the Council, that "this most gracious and most
welcome communication might be printed." Leave was granted, and Her
Majesty left the room, the whole ceremony having occupied only two or
three minutes. The Duke of Cambridge followed his niece into the
ante-room, and warmly congratulated her. The Declaration appeared in the
next _Gazette_, whence it was copied into all the newspapers, and was
joyfully read and received over the whole land.
There were now important questions to be settled, in Parliament, in the
Council, and by the exercise of the Royal prerogative, as to the future
rank and station of the Prince. Such were--Should he be made a peer? as
had been the last consort of an English Queen, Prince George of Denmark,
the husband of Queen Anne, of whom the only good thing that can be said
is, that he accidentally made Arbuthnot, Pope's great friend and
fellow-labourer, his Court physician. The idea of being made a peer was
strenuously, sensibly, and successfully resisted by the Prince. Then there
were the practical questions of his naturalisation, the selection of his
Household, his position in the scale of precedence, and his income. So far
as the Prince legitimately could and did meddle with the solution of these
knotty points, he showed, when necessary, great sagacity, and a firmness
very wondrous in one so young. From the very moment of his betrothal, he
regarded himself as the custodian and guardian of his future wife's,
rather than his own, independent position and unfettered dignity. It was
not himself, but the husband of the Queen on behalf of whom he took a firm
line.
The Queen wished to give her husband precedence next after herself. Some
difficulty was experienced in procuring the consent of the Royal Dukes,
but at last their scruples were removed. Only the King of Hanover
stubbornly held out, and the Duke of Wellington, in the House of Peers,
declined on behalf of his party to consent. The proposal was, therefore,
withdrawn from Parliament, but shortly after the Queen conferred a patent
of precedence by the exercise of her own prerogative. On a similar matter
of dispute, it was not until the Prince himself had pointed out the
unaccountably overlooked precedent of the privilege as enjoyed by Prince
Leopold in the life-time of the Princess Charlotte, that Garter
King-at-Arms could be induced to withdraw his opinion adverse to Prince
Albert quartering the Royal Arms of England with his own.
In the matter of his Household, the Prince's own admirable judgment solved
the difficulty with the clear adroitness of honest simplicity. He
stipulated that considerations of party should have nothing to do with
these appointments; that they should be filled by men of undoubted probity
and purity of character; and he indicated his decided wish that they
should be men of some kind of eminence; either very rich, very clever, or
men who had deserved well of their country in the field of science or of
arms. These wishes, to the Prince's considerable annoyance, were not all
closely followed out.
[Sidenote: ANNOUNCEMENT TO PARLIAMENT.]
The Queen was tremendously cheered when, in January, 1840, she went to
open Parliament, and no doubt was left in her mind as to the thorough
popularity of the proposed union. The announcement of her intention
contained in the Speech was a virtual repetition of that already made to
the Council. From both sides of both Houses she was personally
congratulated, and her choice approved, but the Duke of Wellington
strongly objected to the omission of the statement that the Prince was a
Protestant, with some shrewdness attributing its absence to Melbourne's
reluctance to irritate his Irish Catholic supporters. The Duke at the same
time repeated again and again his own perfect personal conviction in the
thorough fidelity of the Prince to the historic and heroic Protestantism
of his race. Lord Brougham spoke on this point, and very pertinently: "I
may remark," he said, "that my noble friend (Lord Melbourne) is mistaken
as to the law. There is no prohibition as to marriage with a Catholic. It
is only attended with a penalty, and that penalty _is merely the
forfeiture of the Crown_." In spite of this, a sentence asserting the fact
of the Prince's Protestantism was, at the Duke of Wellington's instance,
inserted in the Address agreed to in answer to the Speech from the Throne.
There remained only the question of the Prince's annuity. Ministers
proposed L50,000. A very large majority negatived a proposal by Mr. Hume
to reduce it to L20,000. But the Tory leaders supported a proposal of
Colonel Sibthorpe's to reduce it to L30,000, and by a considerable
majority this was carried. The Queen, and her uncle Leopold, were
extremely angry at the time at what they conceived to be the personal
slight conveyed in this fact. But the Queen, under the wise and placable
guidance of the Prince, afterwards learned to attribute it to the then
heat of party rancour, still unallayed after the Bedchamber dispute; and
the Prince at an early period of his residence in England contracted warm
and abiding friendships with many of the men who had most strongly
resisted Ministers on each of the above contested points.
On the 28th of January, Prince Albert, accompanied by Lord Torrington and
Colonel (now General) Grey, who had been sent to invest him with the
insignia of the Garter and conduct him in due state to England, set out
from Gotha, as we have already seen at a previous page. He was also
accompanied by his father and brother. After a passing visit to King
Leopold at Brussels, they were met at Calais by Lord Clarence Paget, who
commanded the _Firebrand_, and escorted the distinguished visitors to the
shores of England, at which they arrived on the 6th of February. After
magnificent and most hearty receptions at Dover and Canterbury, they
reached Buckingham Palace in the afternoon of Saturday, the 8th of
February, where the Prince found his bride standing with her mother at
the door, ready to be the first to meet and to greet him. Half an hour
later, the Lord Chancellor administered the oath of naturalisation, and
the Prince became a subject of Queen Victoria. A grand dinner to the
Prince, the Ministers, and the great officers of State succeeded in the
evening. The next day the Prince drove out, amid the cheers of immense
crowds, to pay formal visits to all the members of the Royal Family.
[Sidenote: THE WEDDING.]
Monday, the 10th, was the day appointed for the wedding, which was
magnificently celebrated in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace. On the
morning of that day a larger crowd assembled in St. James's Park and its
approaches than had been collected together in the metropolis since the
rejoicings at the visit of the Allied Sovereigns in 1814. Not even the
extreme inclemency of the weather abated either the patience or enthusiasm
of the multitude. After the ladies and gentlemen of the Households of the
Queen and the Prince had been driven along the Mall from the palace of
residence to the palace of state, and the carriages which conveyed them
had returned, the bridegroom was notified that all was in readiness for
his departure. He set out, dressed as a British field-marshal, and with
all the insignia of the Garter, the jewels of which had been a personal
present from the Queen, having on one side his father and on the other his
brother, both in military uniforms. He entered his carriage amid
tremendous cheers, and the enthusiastic waving of handkerchiefs by a bevy
of ladies privileged to stand in the grand lobbies of the palace, and was
escorted to the chapel by a squadron of the Life Guards. On the return of
the carriages which carried the Prince and his company, Her Majesty was
in turn apprised that all was in readiness for her departure. She, too,
was enthusiastically received, "but her eye was bent principally upon the
ground." In the same carriage with the Queen rode the Duchesses of Kent
and Sutherland. It was noticed as she drove along that she was extremely
pale, and looked very anxious, though two or three incidents in the crowd
caused her to smile.
On her arrival at her palace of St. James's, the Queen was conducted to
the Presence Chamber, where she remained with her maids-of-honour and
trainbearers, awaiting the Lord Chamberlain's summons to the altar.
Meanwhile, the colonnade within the palace, along which the bridal
procession had to pass and repass, had been filled since early morn by the
elite of England's rank and beauty. Each side of the way was a parterre of
white robes, white relieved with blue, white and green, amber, crimson,
purple, fawn, and stone colour. All wore wedding favours of lace,
orange-flower blossoms, or silver bullion, some of great size, and many in
most exquisite taste. Most of the gentlemen were in court dress; and the
scene during the patient hours of waiting was made picturesque by the
passing to and fro in various garbs of burly yeomen of the guard, armed
with their massive halberts, slight-built gentlemen-at-arms, with
partisans of equal slightness; elderly pages of state, and pretty pages of
honour; officers of the Lord Chamberlain, and officers of the Woods and
Forests; heralds all embroidery, and cuirassiers in polished steel;
prelates in their rochets, and priests in their stoles, and singing boys
in their surplices of virgin white.
Within the chapel, in which the altar was magnificently decorated and
laden with a profusion of gold plate, four state chairs were set, varying
in splendour according to the rank of the destined occupants, respectively
for Her Majesty, Prince Albert, the Queen Dowager, and the Duchess of
Kent. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishop of London,
having taken their places within the altar-rails, a flourish of trumpets
announced the procession of the bridegroom. As the Prince passed along,
the gentlemen greeted him with loud clapping of the hands, and the ladies
waved their handkerchiefs with at least equal enthusiasm.
[Sidenote: THE BRIDESMAIDS.]
In a few minutes the procession of the bride was announced by trumpets and
drums. It was of six or seven times the numerical strength of the
bridegroom's, and the beauty of the twelve bridesmaids, all daughters of
peers of the three highest grades, was specially commended. The Duchess of
Cambridge led by the hand her then child-daughter, the Princess Mary, "and
the mother of so beautiful a child was certainly not to be seen without
much interest." The Duchess of Kent appeared "disconsolate and
distressed;" while the Duke of Sussex, who was to give away the bride, was
"in excellent spirits." The Queen herself looked "anxious and excited, and
paler even than usual." She was dressed in a rich white satin, trimmed
with orange-flower blossoms. She wore a wreath of the same, over which was
a veil of rich Honiton lace, worn so as not to conceal her face. She wore
as jewels the Collar of the Order of the Garter, with a diamond necklace
and earrings. The bridesmaids were the Ladies Adelaide Paget, Sarah
Villiers, Frances Cowper, Elizabeth West, Mary Grimston, Eleanor Paget,
Caroline Lennox, Elizabeth Howard, Ida Hay, Catherine Stanhope, Jane
Bouverie, and Mary Howard.
After the conclusion of the marriage rite, the Queen hastily crossed to
the opposite side of the altar, and kissed the Queen Dowager, who was
standing there. She then took Prince Albert's hand, and passed down the
aisle. On the return to Buckingham Palace, it was observed that the
Prince, still retaining the Queen's hand in his own, whether by accident
or design, held it in such a way as to display the wedding-ring, which was
more solid than is usual in ordinary weddings. When the Queen had been led
into the palace by her husband, it was observed that her morning paleness
had entirely passed off, and that she entered her own halls with an open,
joyous, and slightly flushed countenance.
After the wedding breakfast the young couple departed, at a quarter before
four, for Windsor, amid the cheers of the undiminished multitude. Her
Majesty's travelling dress was a white satin pelisse, trimmed with
swansdown, with a white satin bonnet and feather. As the cortege passed
rapidly up Constitution Hill, the Queen bowed in return to the cheers of
her applauding subjects with much earnestness of manner. When the Queen
and Prince arrived at Windsor, they found the whole town illuminated, and
received a rapturous welcome from the citizens and the Eton boys, all
wearing favours.
[Sidenote: THE WEDDING-CAKE.]
We shall conclude this chapter, which we shall not desecrate by devoting
to any other deity than Hymen, by a brief description of the Queen's
wedding-cake, which, fortunately for our enterprise, we have succeeded in
disinterring from the contemporary records. It was described by an
eye-witness as consisting of all the most exquisite compounds of all the
rich things with which the most expensive cakes can be composed, mingled
and mixed together with delightful harmony by the most elaborate science
of the confectioner. It weighed 300 pounds, was three yards in
circumference, and fourteen inches in depth. On the top was a device of
Britannia blessing the bride and bridegroom, who were dressed, somewhat
incongruously, in the costume of ancient Rome. At the foot of the
bridegroom was the figure of a dog, intended to denote fidelity; at the
feet of the Queen a pair of turtle-doves. A host of gamboling Cupids, one
of them registering the marriage in a book, and bouquets of white flowers
tied with true-lovers' knots, completed the decorations.
CHAPTER XIV.
EARLY YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE.
Difficulties and Delicacy of Prince Albert's Position--Early Married
Life--Studies continued--Attempts on the Queen's Life--Courage of the
Queen--Birth of the Princess Royal--Parting from the Whig Ladies of
the Bedchamber--Dark Days for England--Birth of the Prince of
Wales--The Queen described by M. Guizot--A Dinner at Buckingham
Palace--State Dinner at Windsor.
The Queen was now married to the husband of her choice. "It is that," said
Lord Melbourne to her, "which makes your Majesty's marriage so popular, as
they know it is not for state reasons." A few months after the
wedding-day, the Prince wrote to an old college associate--"I am very
happy and contented." After the wedding, the young couple stayed for four
days at Windsor, reading, riding, walking together, and giving small
dinner parties in the evening. They then returned to Buckingham Palace,
where a large crowd had collected to welcome them, and fairly commenced
the common duties of their married life. At first it would appear that
jealousies, in quarters which need not be specified, prevented the Prince
taking his proper position as the head of his home and household. He wrote
to his friend, Prince Loewenstein, in May, 1840--"I am only the husband,
not the master in the house." But the common sense of the Queen, and the
dignity of the Prince, soon set this matter to rights. When urged that
she, as being Sovereign, must be the head of the house, she quietly
rejoined that she had sworn to obey, as well as love and honour, her
husband, and that she was determined to keep all her bridal troth. She
communicated all foreign despatches to him, and frequently he made
annotations on them, which were communicated to the Minister whose
department they affected. He had often the satisfaction of discovering
that the Minister, though he might say nothing on the subject,
nevertheless acted upon his suggestions. His correspondence to Germany
soon bore a very different tone and complexion. To use his own words, and
slightly expand them, he "endeavoured to be of as much use to Victoria as
possible." The Queen now, having received the approval of the Duke of
Wellington, whom she consulted as a confidential friend, for the first
time put her husband in his proper place, by giving him, by Royal Letters
Patent, to which Parliamentary sanction is not required, rank and
precedence next to herself, except in Parliament and the Privy Council.
[Sidenote: EARLY MARRIED DAYS.]
Frequent levees, and "dinners followed by little dances," formed the chief
amusements of the young couple in the earliest stage of their married
life. They went much, too, to the play, both having an especial relish for
and admiration of Shakespeare. The Queen, although now a married woman, by
no means neglected useful or solacing and refining studies. She took
singing lessons from Lablache, and frequently sang and played with the
Prince, sometimes using the piano, sometimes the organ as accompaniment.
They went to Claremont, the Queen's favourite youthful haunt, to celebrate
her birthday, and continued to do so, even after the purchase of Osborne,
until 1848, when Claremont was given as a residence to the ex-Queen of the
French. Both Queen and Prince were extremely glad to get away from the
smoke and grime of London. In fact, these constituted a peculiar source of
physical oppression to both; and they were always glad to retire to the
rural quiet and seclusion of Claremont.
[Sidenote: THE QUEEN SHOT AT.]
The first alarming incident of the Queen's wedded life occurred on the
10th of June, 1840. In her first early days of maiden queenhood, she had
been annoyed by madmen wanting to marry her. On more than one occasion her
saddle-horse was attempted to be stopped in the Park by one of such
maniacs, as she was attended by an equerry; and in two instances similar
attempts were made by innocent lunatic
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