State Visit to England
However the young Empress may have been regarded in other countries, it
was generally agreed that she understood better than any of her
predecessors how to hold the favor of the fickle Parisians. It was not
public homage, however, that Eugénie craved so much as recognition from
those princes and princesses who had scorned Mlle. Montijo, the
_parvenue_. It rankled deeply in her mind that she was not of royal
birth; and the most insignificant princess who could lay claim to the
sovereignty which she adored became an object of envy to her. Since she
could never hope to attain this or escape a past that must always serve
as a weapon against her, she centred all her desires on being accepted
as an equal by other reigning sovereigns and received as a guest in
their palaces. Thus for a short time, at least, her origin might be
forgotten.
To achieve this was by no means an easy task. All the crowned heads
carefully avoided Paris, nor with all her efforts could she even win
over the old aristocracy of France. Unable to comprehend that the
devotion of the Legitimists to _le Roy_ and his heir was a sacred
principle, linked with precious memories of the old kingly race, she
nevertheless admired their loyalty and resorted to every possible device
to lure the _grandes dames_ of the Faubourg St. Germain to her newly
established court. But willingly as they had borne the yoke of the
Bourbons, they were too proud to bend the knee before the Spaniard, and
made it plain that any overtures from the usurper of their rightful
sovereign’s throne would be rejected with contempt.
Compared with the sorrows of her after life, these humiliations were a
small matter; but galling as they were to her vanity, they were one of
the sharpest thorns in her new crown. In spite of her failure to win
over the old French nobility, she was not long in earning the respect of
the sovereigns of Europe. Her first opportunity was unexpectedly offered
by the Crimean War (1854-56) in which France’s victories restored the
country to its old place as foremost military power of Europe, and
greatly increased the importance of Napoleon. England had reaped
material advantage from the war and was loud in praise of the new
Empire, and Victoria was finally forced to invite the usurper and his
wife to visit her at Windsor. A personal acquaintance with the Queen of
England had long been Eugénie’s most ardent wish, and this invitation
afforded her the greatest satisfaction. Victoria had hitherto ignored
her in a very marked manner, while at the time of her marriage the
English journals had not only cast slurs upon her origin, but boldly
criticised her life and conduct. Thus it was doubly desirable for her to
be received at the court of England and to make a good impression there,
for could she but accomplish this, her position among other sovereigns
would be greatly strengthened. By no means certain as to the reception
that awaited her, she persuaded Napoleon to send over one of his
ministers in advance, ostensibly to arrange articles of peace with the
other powers, but charged at the same time to settle all questions of
etiquette concerning the impending visit.
The event itself, however, was of a kind to gratify the most susceptible
vanity and the most aspiring ambition. Toward evening of the sixteenth
of April, 1855, Napoleon and Eugénie with their suite landed on the
shores of England, and on the following day set out on their journey to
London, accompanied by the Prince Consort. Every town and village on
their route was gaily decorated. They were greeted everywhere with the
greatest enthusiasm. As they passed through Hyde Park, a long line of
aristocratic equipages and equestrians was drawn up on either side. At
Windsor triumphal arches had been erected. Shops were closed, houses
decorated, and the whole town was on foot to greet Their Majesties. Amid
the shouts and cheers of the populace they entered the old castle, where
Victoria welcomed them most cordially, having personally seen to all the
arrangements for her guests’ comfort.
The day after their arrival the Queen bestowed the Order of the Garter
on Napoleon. Following this impressive ceremony was a state banquet at
which the famous Windsor gold service made its appearance; and at the
gala performance in the court theatre that evening a verse in honor of
Napoleon was interpolated in the English National hymn. The next day
London held a grand celebration. The Emperor and Empress were lauded in
the most flattering songs and speeches; and the people who had been the
deadly enemies of Napoleon the First, the country in which Prince Louis
Napoleon had lived as a refugee, ill, friendless, often in dire need,
now hailed Napoleon the Third as its friend and ally.
The results of this visit to Great Britain were most gratifying to the
imperial pair. The enthusiasm of the British made an excellent
impression in France and strengthened public confidence in Napoleon’s
wisdom and prudence, while the friendship of the English royal family
added importance to the young dynasty in Germany, and left no excuse for
other sovereign houses to hold aloof from the Tuileries. Lastly, not
only were Eugénie’s fondest hopes realized, but she had also made a
life-long friend. At their very first meeting Eugénie’s charm completely
won the Queen’s heart. This beautiful woman with her ease and dignity of
manner bore little resemblance to the notorious belle of gay resorts as
she had been described; and forgetting all these unpleasant rumors, she
succumbed at once to the Empress’s attractions. The friendship thus
begun grew closer with subsequent meetings and continued unbroken for
many years.
A few months later, the Queen of England with her husband and two eldest
children came to Paris to return her new friend’s visit. For more than
four hundred years no English sovereign had visited the French capital,
so it was an event of great importance. The Queen, who writes with
enthusiasm in her diary of the journey to France, describes their
reception as follows:
“On the eighteenth of August we left Osborne about five o’clock in the
morning on our yacht, the Victoria and Albert, reaching Boulogne about
two, where we were greeted with shouts of welcome from the people and
troops drawn up along the shore. The Emperor, with his staff, stood
waiting in the sun till the gangplank was thrown out, when he stepped
aboard. I went forward to meet him, and he kissed my hand. We four, that
is, the Prince, the Prince of Wales, Princess Victoria, and myself, then
entered a coach and drove through the streets, everywhere crowded with
people and beautifully decorated with flags, to the railway station, the
Emperor accompanying us on horseback.”
In the capital great preparations had been made for their reception,
Napoleon having ridden about everywhere in person to see that all was
complete. At the railway station, which was covered with floral
decorations, eighty beautiful young girls were waiting to present the
Queen with bouquets. Through a sea of light from lamps and torches, amid
the strains of music, the rolling of drums, and incessant cheering, the
royal party made its way through the Bois to St. Cloud, where the
Empress, Princess Mathilde, and all the ladies of the court were waiting
to receive it.
The World’s Exposition had just been opened in Paris at that time, and
the week spent by the English guests at the French court was devoted to
seeing that, as well as the sights of the city itself. Besides this, a
number of state entertainments were given in their honor, concluding
with a ball at Versailles that exceeded in magnificence any given since
the time of Louis the Fourteenth. Three thousand invitations were issued
for this, and all the _élite_ of France were present, with many
distinguished foreigners. The gay uniforms and court dresses of the men
and the gorgeous costumes of the ladies, who vied with one another in
their display of jewels, laces, and brocades, made a scene of surpassing
brilliancy.
The Empress, who appeared at this ball in all her radiant loveliness,
was taken ill during the supper and obliged to retire to her own
apartments. On several other occasions also she was indisposed and
forced to excuse herself. Yet though unable to take an active part in
public festivities, Eugénie and Victoria became all the more intimate in
their own private circle. Napoleon and the Prince Consort sang duets
together. Victoria made several sketches of the country about St. Cloud
and often visited Eugénie in her own apartments where the two princesses
sat for hours together in confidential talk. A friendship so close and
lasting between such widely different natures must have been founded on
more than physical attraction. A mutual appreciation of each other’s
best qualities drew them together. Eugénie was bolder and more
independent than her friend, and freer from prejudice; but Victoria had
the strength and repose that come from an inherited consciousness of
power, while they were united by a common devotion to their own
families, and pride in the nations over which they ruled.