The Letters of Queen Victoria, Volume 1 (of 3), 1837 to 1843)

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"None of the Royal Family or general visitors lived at the Royal
Lodge, but only the Conyngham family; all the rest at Cumberland
Lodge. Lady Maria Conyngham (now dead, first wife to Lord Athlumney,
daughter of Lord Conyngham), then quite young, and Lord Graves
(brother-in-law to Lord Anglesey and who afterwards shot himself on
account of his wife's conduct, who was a Lady of the Bedchamber), were
desired to take me a drive to amuse me. I went with them, and Baroness
(then Miss) Lehzen (my governess) in a pony carriage and 4, with 4
grey ponies (like my own), and was driven about the Park and taken to
Sandpit Gate where the King had a Menagerie--with wapitis, gazelles,
chamois, etc., etc. Then we went (I think the next day) to Virginia
Water, and met the King in his phaeton in which he was driving the
Duchess of Gloucester,--and he said 'Pop her in,' and I was lifted
in and placed between him and Aunt Gloucester, who held me round
the waist. (Mamma was much frightened.) I was greatly pleased, and
remember that I looked with great respect at the scarlet liveries,
etc. (the Royal Family had crimson and green liveries and only the
King scarlet and blue in those days). We drove round the nicest part
of Virginia Water and stopped at the Fishing Temple. Here there was
a large barge and every one went on board and fished, while a band
played in another! There were numbers of great people there, amongst
whom was the last Duke of Dorset, then Master of the Horse. The King
paid great attention to my Sister,[2] and some people fancied he
might marry her!! She was very lovely then--about 18--and had charming
manners, about which the King was extremely particular. I afterwards
went with Baroness Lehzen and Lady Maria C. to the Page Whiting's
cottage. Whiting had been at one time in my father's service. He lived
where Mr Walsh now does (and where he died years ago), in the small
cottage close by; and here I had some _fruit_ and amused myself by
cramming one of Whiting's children, a little girl, with peaches. I
came after dinner to hear the band play in the Conservatory, which
is still standing, and which was lit up by coloured lamps--the King,
Royal Family, etc., sitting in a corner of the large saloon, which
still stands.

[Footnote 2: The Princess Feodore of Leiningen, afterwards
Princess of Hohenlohe, Queen Victoria's half-sister.]

"On the second visit (I _think_) the following year, also in summer,
there was a great encampment of tents (the same which were used at
the Camp at Chobham in '53, and some single ones at the Breakfasts at
Buckingham Palace in '68-9), and which were quite like a house, made
into different compartments. It rained dreadfully on this occasion,
I well remember. The King and party dined there, Prince and Princess
Lieven, the Russian Ambassador and Ambassadress were there.

"I also remember going to see Aunt Augusta at Frogmore, where she
lived always in the summer.

"We lived in a very simple, plain manner; breakfast was at half-past
eight, luncheon at half-past one, dinner at seven--to which I came
generally (when it was no regular large dinner party)--eating my bread
and milk out of a small silver basin. Tea was only allowed as a great
treat in later years.

[Pageheading: DUCHESS OF SAXE-COBURG-SAALFELD]

"In 1826 (I think) my dear Grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, came to Claremont, in the summer. Mamma and my
sister went on part of the way to meet her, and Uncle Leopold I think
had been to fetch her as far as Dover. I recollect the excitement and
anxiety I was in, at this event,--going down the great flight of steps
to meet her when she got out of the carriage, and hearing her say,
when she sat down in her room, and fixed her fine clear blue eyes on
her little grand-daughter whom she called in her letters 'the flower
of May,' 'Ein schoenes Kind'--'a fine child.' She was very clever and
adored by her children but especially by her sons. She was a good deal
bent and walked with a stick, and frequently with her hands on her
back. She took long drives in an open carriage and I was frequently
sent out with her, which I am sorry to confess I did not like, as,
like most children of that age, I preferred running about. She was
excessively kind to children, but could not bear naughty ones--and I
shall never forget her coming into the room when I had been crying and
naughty at my lessons--from the next room but one, where she had
been with Mamma--and scolding me severely, which had a very salutary
effect. She dined early in the afternoon and Uncle Leopold asked many
of the neighbours and others to dinner to meet her. My brother Prince
Leiningen came over with her, and was at that time paying his court
to one of her ladies, Countess Klebelsberg, whom he afterwards
married--against the wish of his grandmother and mother--but which was
afterwards quite made up. In November (I think, or it may have been
at the end of October) she left, taking my sister with her back to
Coburg. I was very ill at that time, of dysentery, which illness
increased to an alarming degree; many children died of it in the
village of Esher. The Doctor lost his head, having lost his own child
from it, and almost every doctor in London was away. Mr Blagden came
down and showed much energy on the occasion. I recovered, and remember
well being very cross and screaming dreadfully at having to wear, for
a time, flannel next my skin. Up to my 5th year I had been very much
indulged by every one, and set pretty well _all_ at defiance. Old
Baroness de Spaeth, the devoted Lady of my Mother, my Nurse Mrs Brock,
dear old Mrs Louis--_all_ worshipped the poor little fatherless child
whose future then was still very uncertain; my Uncle the Duke of
Clarence's poor little child being alive, and the Duchess of Clarence
had one or two others later. At 5 years old, Miss Lehzen was placed
about me, and though she was most kind, she was very firm and I had
a proper respect for her. I was naturally very passionate, but always
most contrite afterwards. I was taught from the first to beg my maid's
pardon for any naughtiness or rudeness towards her; a feeling I have
ever retained, and think every one should _own_ their fault in a kind
way to any one, be he or she the lowest--if one has been rude to or
injured them by word or deed, especially those below you. People will
readily forget an insult or an injury when others _own_ their fault,
and express sorrow or regret at what they have done."

[Pageheading: THE EDUCATION OF THE PRINCESS]

In 1830 the Duchess of Kent wished to be satisfied that the system of
education then being pursued with the Princess was based on the right
lines, and that due moral and intellectual progress was being made.
A memorandum, carefully preserved among the archives, gives an
interesting account of the steps which she took to this end.

[Pageheading: LETTER TO THE BISHOPS]

[Pageheading: RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION]

The Duchess therefore brought the matter under the consideration
of those whom, from their eminent piety, great learning, and high
station, she considered best calculated to afford her valuable advice
upon so important a subject. She stated to the Bishops of London
and Lincoln[3] the particular course which had been followed in the
Princess's education, and requested their Lordships to test the
result by personal examination. The nature and objects of Her Royal
Highness's appeal to these eminent prelates will be best shown by the
following extracts from her letter to the Bishops:--

"'The Princess will be eleven years of age in May; by the
death of her revered father when she was but eight months old,
her sole care and charge devolved to me. Stranger as I then
was, I became deeply impressed with the absolute necessity of
bringing her up entirely in this country, that every feeling
should be that of Her native land, and proving thereby my
devotion to duty by rejecting all those feelings of home and
kindred that divided my heart.

"'When the Princess approached her fifth year I considered it
the proper time to begin in a moderate way her education--an
education that was to fit Her to be either the Sovereign of
these realms, or to fill a junior station in the Royal Family,
until the Will of Providence should shew at a later period
what Her destiny was to be.

"'A revision of the papers I send you herewith will best shew
your Lordships the system pursued, the progress made, etc. I
attend almost always myself every lesson, or a part; and as
the Lady about the Princess is a competent person, she assists
Her in preparing Her lessons for the various masters, as
I resolved to act in that manner so as to be Her Governess
myself. I naturally hope that I have pursued that course most
beneficial to all the great interests at stake. At the present
moment no concern can be more momentous, or in which the
consequences, the interests of the Country, can be more at
stake, than the education of its future Sovereign.

"'I feel the time to be now come that what has been done
should be put to some test, that if anything has been done in
error of judgment it may be corrected, and that the plan for
the future should be open to consideration and revision. I do
not presume to have an over-confidence in what I have done; on
the contrary, as a female, as a stranger (but only in birth,
as I feel that this is my country by the duties I fulfil, and
the support I receive), I naturally desire to have a candid
opinion from authorities competent to give one. In that view I
address your Lordships; I would propose to you that you advert
to all I have stated, to the papers I lay before you, and that
then you should personally examine the Princess with a view of
telling me--

"'1. If the course hitherto pursued in Her education has
been the best; if not, where it was erroneous.

"'2. If the Princess has made all the Progress she should
have made.

"'3. And if the course I am to follow is that you would
recommend, and if not in what respect you would
desire a change, and on what grounds.

"'Mr Davys[4] will explain to you the nature of the Princess's
religious education, which I have confided to him, that
she should be brought up in the Church of England as by
Law established. When she was at a proper age she commenced
attending Divine Service regularly with me, and I have every
feeling, that she has religion at Her heart, that she is
morally impressed with it to that degree, that she is less
liable to error by its application to Her feelings as a Child
capable of reflection. The general bent of Her character
is strength of intellect, capable of receiving with ease,
information, and with a peculiar readiness in coming to a very
just and benignant decision on any point Her opinion is asked
on. Her adherence to truth is of so marked a character that I
feel no apprehension of that Bulwark being broken down by any
circumstance.

"'I must conclude by observing that as yet the Princess is not
aware of the station that she is likely to fill. She is aware
of its duties, and that a Sovereign should live for others;
so that when Her innocent mind receives the impression of Her
future fate, she receives it with a mind formed to be sensible
of what is to be expected from Her, and it is to be hoped, she
will be too well grounded in Her principles to be dazzled with
the station she is to look to.'"

[Footnote 3: Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London,
1828-1853, and John Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln, 1827-1853.]

[Footnote 4: The Rev. George Davys, the Princess's instructor,
afterwards successively Dean of Chester and Bishop of
Peterborough.]

The examination was undertaken by the Bishops, with highly
satisfactory results. Their report says:

"The result of the examination has been such as in our opinion
amply to justify the plan of instruction which has been
adopted. In answering a great variety of questions proposed to
her, the Princess displayed an accurate knowledge of the most
important features of Scripture History, and of the leading
truths and precepts of the Christian Religion as taught by
the Church of England, as well as an acquaintance with the
Chronology and principal facts of English History remarkable
in so young a person. To questions in Geography, the use of
the Globes, Arithmetic, and Latin Grammar, the answers which
the Princess returned were equally satisfactory.

"Upon the whole, we feel no hesitation in stating our opinion
that the Princess should continue, for some time to come, to
pursue her studies upon the same plan which has been hitherto
followed, and under the same superintendence. Nor do we
apprehend that any other alterations in the plan will be
required than those which will be gradually made by the
judicious director of Her Highness's studies, as the mind
expands, and her faculties are strengthened."

[Pageheading: RESULT OF EXAMINATION]

The Duchess of Kent referred all this correspondence to the Archbishop
of Canterbury.[5] His memorandum is preserved; it states he has
considered the Report, and further, has himself personally examined
the Princess. He continues:

"I feel it my duty to say that in my judgment the plan of Her
Highness's studies, as detailed in the papers transmitted to me by
command of your Royal Highness, is very judicious, and particularly
suitable to Her Highness's exalted station; and that from the
proficiency exhibited by the Princess in the examination at which
I was present, and the general correctness and pertinency of her
answers, I am perfectly satisfied that Her Highness's education
in regard to cultivation of intellect, improvement of talent, and
religious and moral principle, is conducted with so much care and
success as to render any alteration of the system undesirable."

[Footnote 5: Dr William Howley.]

The Princess was gradually and watchfully introduced to public life,
and was never allowed to lose sight of the fact that her exalted
position carried with it definite and obvious duties. The following
speech, delivered at Plymouth in 1832, in answer to a complimentary
deputation, may stand as an instance of the view which the Duchess of
Kent took of her own and her daughter's responsibilities:--

"It is very agreeable to the Princess and myself to hear the
sentiments you convey to us. It is also gratifying to us to be assured
that we owe all these kind feelings to the attachment you bear the
King, as well as to his Predecessors of the House of Brunswick, from
recollections of their paternal sway. The object of my life is
to render the Princess worthy of the affectionate solicitude she
inspires, and if it be the Will of Providence she should fill a higher
station (I trust most fervently at a very distant day), I shall
be fully repaid for my anxious care, if she is found competent to
discharge the sacred trust; for communicating as the Princess does
with all classes of Society, she cannot but perceive that the greater
the diffusion of Religion, Knowledge, and the love of freedom in a
country, the more orderly, industrious, and wealthy is its population,
and that with the desire to preserve the constitutional Prerogatives
of the Crown ought to be co-ordinate the protection of the liberties
of the people."

[Pageheading: CLAREMONT]

The strictness of the _regime_ under which the Princess was brought
up is remarkable; and it is possible that her later zest for simple
social pleasures is partly to be accounted for by the austere routine
of her early days. In an interesting letter of 1843 to the Queen,
recalling the days of their childhood, Princess Feodore, the Queen's
half-sister, wrote--

"Many, many thanks, dearest Victoria, for your kind letter of the
7th from dear Claremont. Oh I understand how you like being there.
Claremont is a dear quiet place; to me also the recollection of the
few pleasant days I spent during my youth. I always left Claremont
with tears for Kensington Palace. When I look back upon those years,
which ought to have been the happiest in my life, from fourteen
to twenty, I cannot help pitying myself. Not to have enjoyed the
pleasures of youth is nothing, but to have been deprived of all
intercourse, and not one cheerful thought in that dismal existence of
ours, was very hard. My only happy time was going or driving out with
you and Lehzen; then I could speak and look as I liked. I escaped
some years of imprisonment, which you, my poor darling sister, had
to endure after I was married. But God Almighty has changed both
our destinies most mercifully, and has made us _so_ happy in our
homes--which is the only real happiness in this life; and those years
of trial were, I am sure, very useful to us both, though certainly not
pleasant. Thank God they are over!... I was much amused in your last
letter at your tracing the _quickness_ of our tempers in the female
line up to Grandmamma,[6] but I must own that you are _quite right_!"

[Footnote 6: Augusta Caroline Sophia, Dowager-Duchess
of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a Princess of Reuss Ebersdorf
(1757-1831).]

But if there was little amusement, there was, on the other hand, great
devotion; the Princess, as a child, had that peculiar combination
of self-will and warm-heartedness which is apt to win for a child a
special love from its elders. The Princess Feodore wrote to the Queen,
in 1843--

"... Spaeth[7] wished _me_ to thank you for the coronation print, as
she could not write to you or Albert _now_, she says! why, I don't
see. There certainly never was such devotedness as hers, to all our
family, although it sometimes shows itself rather foolishly--with you
it always was a sort of idolatry, when she used to go upon her knees
before you, when you were a child. She and poor old Louis did all
they could to spoil you, if Lehzen had not prevented and scolded them
nicely sometimes; it was quite amusing."

[Footnote 7: Baroness Spaeth, Lady-in-Waiting to the Duchess of
Kent.]

[Pageheading: WILLIAM IV.]

The Princess was brought up with exemplary simplicity at Kensington
Palace, where her mother had a set of apartments. She was often at
Claremont, which belonged to her uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians;
holidays were spent at Ramsgate, Tunbridge Wells, Broadstairs, and
elsewhere.

In June 1830 George IV. died, and William IV. succeeded to the Throne.
He had no legitimate offspring living; and it consequently became
practically certain that if the Princess outlived her uncle she would
succeed him on the Throne. The Duchess of Kent's Parliamentary Grant
was increased, and she took advantage of her improved resources to
familiarise the Princess with the social life of the nation. They paid
visits to historic houses and important towns, and received addresses.
This was a wise and prudent course, but the King spoke with ill-humour
of his niece's "royal progresses." The chief cause of offence was that
the Princess was not allowed by the Duchess of Kent to make her public
appearances under his own auspices, as he not unnaturally desired.
He also began to suspect that the Princess was deliberately kept
away from Court; a painful controversy arose, and the Duchess
became gradually estranged from her brother-in-law, in spite of the
affectionate attempts of Queen Adelaide to smooth matters over. His
resentment culminated in a painful scene, in 1836, when the King, at
a State banquet at Windsor, made a speech of a preposterous character;
speaking of the Duchess, who sat next him, as "that person," hinting
that she was surrounded with evil advisers, and adding that he should
insist on the Princess being more at Court. The Princess burst into
tears; the Duchess sate in silence: when the banquet was over, the
Duchess ordered her carriage, and was with difficulty prevailed upon
to remain at Windsor for the night. The King went so far in May 1837
as to offer the Princess an independent income, and the acceptance of
this by the Princess caused the Duchess considerable vexation; but the
project dropped. The King died in the following month, soon after the
Princess had attained her legal majority; he had always hoped that the
Duchess would not be Regent, and his wish was thus fulfilled.

It is no exaggeration to say that the accession of the Princess
Victoria reinstated the English monarchy in the affections of the
people. George IV. had made the Throne unpopular; William IV. had
restored its popularity, but not its dignity. Both of these kings were
men of decided ability, but of unbalanced temperament. In politics
both kings had followed a somewhat similar course. George IV. had
begun life as a strong Whig, and had been a close friend of Fox. Later
in life his political position resolved itself into a strong dislike
of Roman Catholic Relief. William IV. had begun his reign favourably
inclined to Parliamentary Reform; but though gratified by the personal
popularity which his attitude brought him in the country, he became
alarmed at the national temper displayed. It illustrates the tension
of the King's mind on the subject that, when he was told that if the
Reform Bill did not pass it would bring about a rebellion, he replied
that if it did bring about a rebellion he did not care: he should
defend London and raise the Royal Standard at Weedon (where there
was a military depot); and that the Duchess of Kent and the Princess
Victoria might come in if they could.

[Pageheading: CHARACTER AND TEMPERAMENT]

[Pageheading: SYMPATHY WITH MIDDLE CLASSES]

The reign of William IV. had witnessed the zenith of Whig efficiency.
It had seen the establishment of Parliamentary and Municipal Reform,
the Abolition of Slavery, the new Poor Law, and other important
measures. But, towards the end of the reign, the Whig party began
steadily to lose ground, and the Tories to consolidate themselves.
Lord Melbourne had succeeded Lord Grey at the head of the Whigs, and
the difference of administration was becoming every month more and
more apparent. The King indeed went so far as abruptly to dismiss his
Ministers, but Parliament was too strong for him. Lord Melbourne's
principles were fully as liberal as Lord Grey's, but he lacked
practical initiative, with the result that the Whigs gradually
forfeited popular estimation and became discredited. The new reign,
however, brought them a decided increase of strength. The Princess had
been brought up with strong Whig leanings, and, as is clear from
her letters, with an equally strong mistrust of Tory principles and
politicians.

A word may here be given to the Princess's own character and
temperament. She was high-spirited and wilful, but devotedly
affectionate, and almost typically feminine. She had a strong sense
of duty and dignity, and strong personal prejudices. Confident, in a
sense, as she was, she had the feminine instinct strongly developed of
dependence upon some manly adviser. She was full of high spirits, and
enjoyed excitement and life to the full. She liked the stir of London,
was fond of dancing, of concerts, plays, and operas, and devoted to
open-air exercise. Another important trait in her character must be
noted. She had strong monarchical views and dynastic sympathies,
but she had no aristocratic preferences; at the same time she had no
democratic principles, but believed firmly in the due subordination
of classes. The result of the parliamentary and municipal reforms of
William IV.'s reign had been to give the middle classes a share in
the government of the country, and it was supremely fortunate that the
Queen, by a providential gift of temperament, thoroughly understood
the middle-class point of view. The two qualities that are most
characteristic of British middle-class life are common sense and
family affection; and on these particular virtues the Queen's
character was based; so that by a happy intuition she was able to
interpret and express the spirit and temper of that class which,
throughout her reign, was destined to hold the balance of political
power in its hands. Behind lay a deep sense of religion, the religion
which centres in the belief in the Fatherhood of God, and is impatient
of dogmatic distinctions and subtleties.

CHAPTER III

QUEEN VICTORIA'S RELATIONS AND FRIENDS

It may be held to have been one of the chief blessings of Queen
Victoria's girlhood that she was brought closely under the influence
of an enlightened and large-minded Prince, Leopold, her maternal
uncle, afterwards King of the Belgians. He was born in 1790, being the
youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his youth
was spent in the Russian military service. He had shown talent and
courage in the field, and had commanded a battalion at Luetzen and
Leipsic. He had married, in 1816, the Princess Charlotte, only child
of George IV. For many years his home was at Claremont, where the
Princess Charlotte had died; there the Princess Victoria spent many
happy holidays, and grew to regard her uncle with the most devoted
affection, almost, indeed, in the light of a father. It is said that
Prince Leopold had hoped to be named Regent, if a Regency should be
necessary.[1] He was offered, and accepted, the throne of Greece in
1830, but shrank from the difficulties of the position, and withdrew
his acceptance upon the plea that Lord Aberdeen, who was then Foreign
Secretary, was not prepared to make such financial arrangements as he
considered satisfactory.[2]