[Illustration: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
_From a Photograph by Mr. Walery, London_]
THE
LIFE AND TIMES
OF
QUEEN VICTORIA.
BY
ROBERT WILSON.
Illustrated.
VOL. I.
[Illustration]
CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED:
_LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE_.
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
EDITORIAL NOTE.
The first Eleven Chapters of this Work are from the pen of the late MR.
EDMUND OLLIER, to whom the Publishers originally entrusted the
commission to write it--a commission which he was compelled to resign by
the illness which terminated in his lamented death.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA. PAGE
A Remarkable Visit to Kensington Palace--Death of King William
IV.--Details of his Last Days--Parliamentary Eulogies on his
Character--Progress in the Last Half-Century--Ancestry of Queen
Victoria--Her Descent Traced to Odoacer, King of Italy--Saxon
Ancestors of her Majesty--Liberal Views of the Duke of Kent, Father
of the Queen--State of the Succession after the Death of the Princess
Charlotte--Marriage of the Duke of Kent, and Birth of the Princess
Victoria--Christening at Kensington Palace--The Name “Victoria,”
and its Associations--Death of the Duke of Kent--Kensington Palace
in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries--Early Training of
Victoria by her Mother--Child-Life of the Princess--False Rumours
of Ill-Health--Anecdotes of Juvenile Years--The Princess and George
IV.--Accession of William IV.--The Regency Bill--Prince Leopold
and the Throne of Belgium--Studies of the Princess--Her Life of
Retirement--Home Tours in Various Parts of England--Visit to the Cotton
Mills of the Messrs. Strutt at Belper--Reception at Oxford and at
Southampton--Benevolence to an Actress--Her Royal Highness Declared of
Age on the 24th of May, 1837 1
CHAPTER II.
EARLY EVENTS OF THE NEW REIGN.
First Council of the Queen--Her Address to the Assembled
Dignitaries--Admirable Demeanour of the Young Sovereign--Proclamation
of Queen Victoria--Condition of the Empire at the Time of her
Accession--Character of Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister--His
Training of the Queen in Constitutional Principles--Question of the
Royal Prerogative and the Choosing of the Ministry--Removal of the
Queen to Buckingham Palace--First Levee--Her Majesty’s Speech on the
Dissolution of Parliament--Amelioration of the Criminal Laws--Results
of the General Election--Meeting of the New Legislature--The Civil
List Fixed--Relations of the Queen towards the Duchess of Kent--Daily
Life of her Majesty--Royal Visit to the City--Insurrection in the Two
Canadas--Measures of the Government, and Suppression of the Revolt--The
Melbourne Administration and Lord Durham--Reform of the Canadian
Constitution 19
CHAPTER III.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF A YOUNG SOVEREIGN.
Decline in the Popularity of the Queen--Its Causes--Her Majesty
Accused of Encouraging the Papists--Alleged Design to Assassinate
the Monarch--Disloyal Toryism--Honourable Conduct of the
Queen--Fatal Riots at Canterbury, owing to the Pretensions of
John Nicholls Thom--Preparations for the Coronation--The Ceremony
at Westminster Abbey--Incidents of the Day--Mismanagement at
Coronations--Development of Steam Navigation and the Railway
System--Prorogation of Parliament in August, 1838--Difficult Position
of the Government--Rise of Chartism--Appearance of Mr. Gladstone
and Mr. Disraeli in the Political Arena--Failure of Mr. Disraeli’s
First Speech--“Conservatives” and “Liberals”--Capture of Aden, in
Southern Arabia--Wars with China, owing to the Smuggling of Opium
into that Country by the Anglo-Indians--Troubles in Jamaica--Bill
for Suspending the Constitution--Defeat and Resignation of the
Melbourne Government--Ineffectual Attempt of Sir Robert Peel to Form
a Cabinet--The Question of the Bedchamber Women--Reinstatement of the
Melbourne Administration 35
CHAPTER IV.
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.
English Chartism in the Summer of 1839--Riots in Birmingham--Principal
Leaders of the Chartist Party--Excesses of the Artisans in Various
Parts of Great Britain and Ireland--Chartist Rising at Newport,
Monmouthshire--Conviction of Frost, Williams, and Jones--The Queen and
Prince Albert--Early Life of the Prince--His Engaging Qualities--Desire
of King Leopold to Effect a Matrimonial Engagement between Prince
Albert and the Princess Victoria--First Visit of the Former to
England--His Studies in Germany--Informal Understanding between Prince
Albert and Queen Victoria--Difficulties of the Case--The Prince’s View
of the Matter in the Autumn of 1839--Second Visit to England, and
Formal Betrothal--Letter of Baron Stockmar on the Subject--Announcement
of the Royal Marriage to the Privy Council and to Parliament--The
Appointment of the Prince’s Household--Subjects of Difficulty and
Dissension--Question of the Prince’s Religion--Reduction of his Annuity
by a Vote of the House of Commons--Progress from Gotha to England, and
Reception at Buckingham Palace--Marriage of Prince Albert to the Queen
at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s 57
CHAPTER V.
THE FIRST YEAR OF MARRIED LIFE.
Difficulties of the Early Married Life of Prince Albert--His
Unpopularity in Certain Quarters--Attempt to Suppress Duelling
in the Army--Position of the Prince in the Royal Household--Want
of Supervision in the Management of the Palace--Introduction of
Reforms, on the Initiative of Prince Albert--Duties Assumed by the
Prince--Domestic Life--Post Office Reform--Defective State of the
Service previous to 1840--Rowland Hill and the Penny Post--Opposition
to the New Scheme--Introduction of the Lower Rate of Postage--General
Features and Effects of the Change--Measure for the Protection of
Children Employed in Chimney-Sweeping--Attempt of Edward Oxford to
Shoot the Queen--Appointment of Prince Albert as Regent under certain
Eventualities--Life and Studies at Windsor--Birth of the Princess
Royal--Devotion of the Prince to her Majesty--Christmas at Windsor
(1840)--Christening of the Princess--Accident to Prince Albert--The
Eastern Question: Turkey and Egypt--Removal of the Body of Napoleon I.
from St. Helena to Paris--Rise and Development of the Agitation for
Free Trade 71
CHAPTER VI.
TROUBLES IN THE STATE, AND HAPPINESS AT HOME. PAGE
Growing Unpopularity of the Melbourne Administration--The
Stockdale Case--Approaching Fall of the Government--Financial
Embarrassments--Lord John Russell’s Proposal with respect to the Corn
Laws--Defeat of the Ministry--General Election, and Conservative
Majority--Views of Prince Albert--Settlement of the “Bedchamber”
Question--Wise Counsel of the Prince and Baron Stockmar--Visits of
the Queen to Places of Interest--Troublesome Loyalty--Launch of the
_Trafalgar_--The Melbourne Government and Free Trade--Speech from
the Throne on the Meeting of the New Parliament--Vote of Want of
Confidence in the Government--Resignation of Ministers--Final Years
of Lord Melbourne--Formation and Chief Objects of Sir Robert Peels
Administration--The High Church Movement in England--Disruption of the
Church of Scotland--Lord Melbourne’s Opinion of Prince Albert--Sir
Robert Peel and the Prince--Public Appearances of the Latter in
Connection with Social and Artistic Questions--Birth and Christening
of the Prince of Wales--Meeting of Parliament for the Session of
1842--Splendid Festivities at Court--Attempts of Francis and Bean to
Shoot her Majesty 89
CHAPTER VII.
CONVULSIONS IN THE EAST.
Approaches to a Great Tragedy--State of Afghanistan--Position
of Dost Mahomed in 1836--Mission of Captain Burnes to Cabul in
1837--Afghanistan, England, and Russia--Determination of the
Governor-General of India to Restore Shah Soojah to the Afghan
Throne--Garbling of Burnes’s Despatches--Action of the Anglo-Indian
Government against the Russians before Herat--British Invasion of
Afghanistan in 1839--Difficulties, Dangers, and Successes of the
Campaign--Cold Reception of Shah Soojah at Cabul--Operations in
the Khyber Pass--Outbreak of Insurrections against the Restored
Power--Actions with the British--Surrender of Dost Mahomed--Increased
Turmoil among the Afghans--Massacre of November 2nd, 1841--Imbecility
of General Elphinstone--Murder of Sir William Macnaghten--Agreement
between the British Authorities and Akbar Khan--Retreat of the Army
of Occupation--Horrors of the March, and Complete Destruction of
the Army--Defence of Jelalabad by Sir Robert Sale--Operations of
Generals Nott, Pollock, and Sale--Capture of Cabul--Release of the
Prisoners, and Close of the War--Lord Ellenborough and the Gates of
Somnauth--Murder of Stoddart and Conolly in Bokhara--Disturbed State
of England in 1842--The Queen’s First Visit to Scotland--Receipt
of Good News from the East--Position of Prince Albert towards
the State--Discretion of his Private Life--Extent of his
Labours--Colonisation in New Zealand and New South Wales 111
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ROBERT PEEL.
Renewed Popularity of the Queen--Services of Prince Albert--A
Volunteer Poet Laureate--Birth of the Princess Alice--The Whig
Deficit, and how Sir Robert Peel Dealt with It--The Income Tax,
and Reduction of Duties--The Sliding Scale--Advance of Free Trade
Principles--Assassination of Mr. Drummond--The Question of Criminal
Insanity--Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Cobden--Disturbances in South
Wales: “Rebecca” and her Daughters--Condition of Women in Mines and
Collieries--Lord Ashley and the Factories Act--Opinion of the Queen
and Prince Albert on the Qualities of Sir Robert Peel--Levees held by
the Prince--The Frescoes for the Houses of Parliament--Encouragement
of Fresco-Painting by the Queen and Prince Albert--The Summer House in
the Gardens of Buckingham Palace--Visit of her Majesty and the Prince
to Louis Philippe at the Château d’Eu--The Duke of Wellington on the
Necessity for a Council of Regency--Designs of France on the Succession
to the Spanish Throne--Dishonest Engagement of the French King--English
Opinion completely Misled--Royal Visits to Belgium, to Cambridge, and
to the Midlands--The Prince as a Fox-hunter--Model Farming--Events in
India: Wars in Scinde and Gwalior 131
CHAPTER IX.
IRELAND, RUSSIA, AND FRANCE.
O’Connell and the Agitation for Repeal of the Union--Early Life of the
Agitator--Character of his Oratory--Question as to the Purity of his
Motives--The “Repeal Year” (1843)--Methods by which O’Connell worked on
Irish Opinion--Open-air Gatherings on the Repeal Question--Extravagant
Speeches of O’Connell--Crowning of the Liberator on the Hill of
Tara--Prohibition of a Proposed Meeting at Clontarf--Arrest of the
Chief Agitators--Trial, Condemnation, and Sentences--The Convictions
Annulled by the House of Lords--Release of O’Connell, and Final Years
of his Life--Effect of the Prosecution on the Government of Sir
Robert Peel--Death of Prince Albert’s Father--Visit of the Prince
to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha--His Presents to the Queen on her Birthday
(1844)--Visits of the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Russia to
England--Appearance and Manners of the Emperor--Political Objects of
Nicholas in Visiting London--His Designs on Turkey--Memorandum of
Agreement between the Czar and the English Government--Jealousy on the
Part of the French--Ministerial Crisis in the Summer of 1844--Sir James
Graham and the Opening of Letters at the Post Office--Disagreement
with France with Respect to the Island of Tahiti--The Pritchard
Affair--Queen Pomare and Queen Victoria--Anxieties of the English Court
as to the Maintenance of Peace--The Ashburton Treaty with the United
States 151
CHAPTER X.
DAYS OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS.
Visit of the Prince of Prussia to England--Christening of Prince Alfred
at Windsor Castle--Second Visit to the Highlands in the Autumn of
1844--Louis Philippe in England--His Reception at Windsor--Interchange
of Courtesies between English and French Officers--Opening of the
New Royal Exchange by the Queen--Letters of her Majesty and Prince
Albert on the Occasion--Scientific Progress: the Electric Telegraph,
Photography, Lord Rosse’s Telescope, the Thames Tunnel, and Arctic
Exploration--Tractarian Difficulties in the Church--Purchase of
Osborne by the Queen--Visits of her Majesty and the Prince to Stowe
and Strathfieldsaye--Opening of Parliament by the Queen (Feb. 4th,
1845)--Financial Statement of Sir Robert Peel--Reduction and Abolition
of Duties--Acrimonious Debates on the Proposed Queen’s Colleges
in Ireland, and the Increase of the Maynooth Grant--Retirement of
Mr. Gladstone from the Ministry--Admission of Jews to Municipal
Offices--Results of Sir Robert Peel’s Financial Policy--Economy in the
Royal Household--Project for Making Prince Albert King Consort--The
Chief Command of the Army 170
CHAPTER XI.
ENGLAND IN 1845.
Borneo and Sir James Brooke--Cession of Labuan to Great
Britain--“Constitutionalism” in the Sandwich Islands--State of the
Colonies--Unsuccessful Attack on Madagascar--Commencement of the
Overland Route to India--Decline in the Popularity of Sir Robert
Peel--Rise of Mr. Disraeli and the “Young England” Party--Generous
Support of Peel by the Queen and Prince Albert--Offer of the Garter
to Sir Robert, which he Declines--Position of the Premier towards
the Aristocracy--Increasing Weakness of the Government--Dangerous
State of Ireland--Prince Albert on the Political Situation--Visit of
the Queen to Belgium and Prussia--Splendid Reception in the latter
Country--Speech of the King of Prussia at Bonn--The Illuminations
at Cologne--Prince Albert and Baron von Humboldt--Reception of
the Royal Visitors in Bavaria, at Coburg, and at Gotha--The Queen
at the Native Place of her Husband--Excursion to the Thuringian
Forest--Other Incidents of the German Visit--Second Visit of the Queen
and Prince Albert to Louis Philippe at the Château d’Eu--Duplicity
of the King--Return of the Royal Party to England--Spread of
Railway Enterprise in Great Britain--The Railway Mania and Panic of
1845-6--Increasing Strength of the Free Trade Movement--The Potato
Disease in Ireland--Threatenings of Famine--Sir Robert Peel and Free
Trade--Letter of Lord John Russell to the Electors of the City of
London--Ministerial Crisis--Return of Sir Robert Peel to Power 187
CHAPTER XII.
THE MINISTRY OF RENUNCIATION.
The _Times_ Reveals a Secret of State--Mr. Sidney Herbert and Mrs.
Norton and the _Times_--A Court Scandal--Peel’s Resignation--Lord
John Russell’s Failure to Form a Ministry--Peel Resumes Office--The
Ministry and the Queen--The Duke of Wellington and Peel--Disintegration
of the Tory Party--Croker’s Correspondence with Wellington--Peel’s
Instructions to the _Quarterly Review_--A Betrayed Editor--Peel
and the Princess Lieven--Guizot’s Defence of Peel--The Queen’s
Conduct in the Great Crisis--How she Strengthened the Position of
the Crown--Her Popular Sympathies--Why Peel Changed his Policy--The
Potato Rot--Impending Famine--Distress in England--The Campaign of the
Free Traders--Scenes at their Meetings--The Protectionist Agitation
and the Agricultural Labourers--Sufferings of the Poor--The Duke of
Norfolk’s Curry Powder--Meeting at Wootton Bassett--The Queen and the
Sufferers 205
CHAPTER XIII.
THE FREE TRADE PARLIAMENT.
Opening of Parliament in 1846--The Queen’s Speech--The Debate on the
Address--Sir Robert Peel’s Statement--Mr. Disraeli’s Philippics--Bishop
Wilberforce on Peel’s Reception by the House of Commons--Peel’s
Mistake--Lord George Bentinck’s Attack on Prince Albert--The Queen’s
Explanations--The Court and the Peelites--The Corn Bill in the House of
Lords--Lord Stanley’s Political Dinner-Party--The Duke of Wellington
and the Peers--Triumph in the Lords and Defeat in the Commons--Peel’s
Coercion Bill for Ireland--A Factious Opposition--Fall of the
Government--Their Policy in India--War in the Punjab--Victories over
the Sikhs--The Oregon Controversy and its Settlement--Lord Aberdeen’s
Adroit Diplomacy--Resignation of the Ministry--The Queen’s Farewell
to Peel--Her Suggestion of a Coalition--Wellington and Cobden Advise
Peel to Dissolve--Reasons for his Refusal--The Queen and the Duke of
Wellington--The Duke’s Letter to Lord John Russell--Lyndhurst and
Reconstruction--Disintegration of the Tory Party--The Peelites in
Opposition--A Hint from Aristophanes--Tory Persecution of Peel 220
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FIRST RUSSELL ADMINISTRATION.
The Transfer of Ministerial Offices--The Whigs Patronise Mr. Cobden--A
Radical in the New Cabinet--The Peelites Refuse to Take Office--Lord
Campbell as Chancellor of the Duchy--Anecdote of his Installation--Lord
John Russell’s Deportment to the Queen--His Modest Programme--The
Abolition of the Sugar Duties--Bishop Wilberforce and Slave-grown
Sugar--Outrages in Ireland--The Whigs become Coercionists--Their Arms
Act--Mutiny among Ministerialists--The Bill Dropped--The Alternative
Policy--Relief Works for Ireland--A Military Scandal--Indiscretion in
the Country--Abuse of Corporal Punishment in the Army--“The Cat” in the
House of Commons--The Queen’s Views on Military Punishment--The Queen
and a Deserter’s Death-Warrant--Captain Layard’s Motion--The Duke of
Wellington’s Interference--Restrictions on the Use of the Lash--England
and the Colonies--Canada and Free Trade--Nova Scotia and the Potato
Famine--The Halifax, Quebec, and Montreal Railway--The New Zealand
War--The Caffre War--The Expedition to Borneo--End of the Anglo-Chinese
Difficulty--The “Spanish Marriages” and the Treaty of Utrecht--Louis
Philippe’s Intrigues with the Queen Dowager Christina--Secret History
of the Conspiracy--M. Guizot’s Pretext--How the English Minister
at Madrid was Deceived--Lord Palmerston’s Indiscreet Despatch--The
Queen’s Cutting Letter to the Queen Marie Amélie--Metternich’s Caustic
Epigram--Prince Albert’s Resentment against the King of the French--End
of the Anglo French Alliance--Fall of the Republic of Cracow 244
CHAPTER XV.
HOME LIFE AND SOCIAL EVENTS IN 1846.
Prince Albert and the Home Farm--Royalty and the Windsor Vestry--The
New Home at Osborne--The Birth of the Princess Helena--The Visit of
Ibrahim Pasha--A Royal Christening--The Queen’s Loneliness--Visitors
at Osborne--A Cruise in Summer Seas--The “Lop” of the Channel--In the
Channel Islands--The Duke of Cornwall in his Duchy--Exploring the
South Coast--The Queen Acts as the Family Tutor--Her Majesty among the
Iron-miners--The House-warming at Osborne--Baron Stockmar’s Impressions
of the Queen--Some German Visitors--A Dinner-Party at Windsor--The
Baroness Bunsen’s Picture of the Scene--The Royal Visits to Hatfield
and Arundel--Social Movements in 1846--Origin of Secularism--Dr.
Hook’s Pamphlet on Education--The Triumphs of Science--Faraday’s
Researches--The Use of Ether in Surgery--Laying of the First Submarine
Cable at Portsmouth--Evil Tidings from Starving Ireland 259
CHAPTER XVI.
A DISTRESSFUL COUNTRY.
The Irish Crisis--Famine and Free Trade--Evictions and Imports--Fiscal
Policy and Small Holdings--Shocking Scenes among the Irish People--The
Mistake of the Government--Lord John Russell’s Relief Measure
Rejected by his Colleagues--An Autumnal Cabinet Meeting--Opening of
Parliament--The Queen and the Distress--The Remedial Measures of
the Government--Rival Schemes of the Protectionists--Lord George
Bentinck’s Railway Subsidies Bill--A Rival Ministerial Scheme--The
Attack on the Bank Act of 1844--The Currency Controversy--Peel on a
Convertible Currency--The Effect of the Railway Mania--Blaming the
Bank--The Education Question--Opposition of Dissenters--Colonisation
and Emigration--Lord Lincoln’s Motion--Is Emigration a Remedy
for a Redundant Population?--The Cabinet and the Ten Hours
Bill--Mr. Fielden’s Victory--Opposition of Manufacturers--Evading
the Act--The Budget--The Queen and the Duchy of Lancaster--Lord
Campbell and the Queen--A Famous Duchy Dinner--Privy Councillors
at “High Jinks”--Death of Lord Bessborough--Lord Clarendon
Appointed Irish Viceroy--Death of O’Connell--Growing Weakness of
the Cabinet--Prorogation of Parliament--Dissolution--The General
Election--The State of Parties--Appalling Outrages in Ireland--Another
Commercial Panic--Suspension of the Bank Act--The Queen and Sir Robert
Peel--Parliament Summoned--A Coercion Bill for Ireland--Ireland
and the Vatican--Lord Palmerston’s Correspondence with Lord
Minto--Denunciations of the Queen’s Colleges--Projected Renewal of
Diplomatic Relations with Rome--Lord Palmerston’s Objections--The
Jews in Parliament--New Bishops--The Hampden Controversy--Baffled
Heresy-hunters 272
CHAPTER XVII.
THE COURT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Lord George Bentinck’s Imprudence--French Intrigues in
Portugal--England and the Junta--A Vulgar Suspicion--The Duke
of Wellington and National Defences--The Duke’s Threatened
Resignation--The Queen Soothes Him--Famine in the Queen’s
Kitchen--Royal Hospitalities--The Queen’s Country Dance--A German
Impostor--Discovery of Chloroform--The Royal Visit to Cambridge--Prince
Albert’s Installation as Chancellor of the University--Awkward
Dons--Anecdotes of the Queen at Cambridge--Royalty and Heraldry--The
Visit to Scotland--Highland Loyalty--A Desolate Retreat--Politics and
Sport at Ardverikie--A New Departure in Foreign Policy--Lord Minto’s
Mission--The Queen’s Views--Prince Albert’s Caution to Lord John
Russell--The Queen’s Amusements at Ardverikie--A Regretful Adieu--Home
Again 301
CHAPTER XVIII.
REVOLUTION.
At Osborne--Beginnings of Revolution--The Reform Banquets in
Paris--Lola Montes and the King of Bavaria--Downfall of Louis
Philippe’s Government--Flight of the King--Establishment of the
Second Republic--The Queen and the Orleans Family--The Chartist
Movement--Its Secret History--Its Leaders--The Queen Retreats to
Osborne--The Chartist Meeting at Kennington--London in Terror--The
Duke of Wellington’s Precautions--Abortive Risings at Bonner’s
Fields and in Seven Dials--Riots in the Large Towns--Collapse of
Chartism--Ireland and the “Young Irelanders”--The Rebellion of
“’48”--The Battle of the Cabbage Garden--Arrest of Smith O’Brien and
the “Young Ireland” Leaders--Austria and Prussia in Anarchy--Flight
of Metternich--The Berlin Mob and the King--Anxiety of the English
Court--The Queen’s Correspondence with her Half-Sister--The
Anglo-Spanish Quarrel--Sir H. Bulwer Expelled from Madrid--The Queen’s
Indignation at Lord Palmerston--Conversation between the Queen and Lord
John Russell--Palmerston’s Victory--The “Three Budget” Session--The
Anti-Income-Tax Agitation--Blundering in Finance--“Scenes” in
Parliament--Irish and Colonial Controversies--The Encumbered Estates
Act--Repressive Legislation--Dawn of the Reform Agitation 322
CHAPTER XIX.
AT WORK AND PLAY.
The Queen’s Administrative Work--The Condition-of-England Question--The
Court and the Working Classes--Royal Plans for Ameliorating the Lot
of Labour--Threatened Attacks on the Queen--The Demagogues Abashed--A
Royal-Hearted Speech--The Queen’s Private Correspondence--A Pension
Fund for the Working Classes--Pauperism among Domestic Servants--Prince
Albert’s Relief Plan--The Court at Osborne--Birth and Christening of
the Princess Louise--Removal to Balmoral--The Queen at Kirk--A Royal
Geologist--Sir Charles Lyell’s Anecdotes of the Royal Family--An
Accident in the Solent--Prince Albert as a University Reformer--Death
of Lord Melbourne and Lord George Bentinck 357
CHAPTER XX.
DISCONTENTED DEPENDENCIES.
Reaction in England in 1849--Attacks in Parliament on the Queen’s
Speech--Gagging Parliament--The Last Dying Struggle of the
Protectionists--Repeal of the Navigation Laws--The Tory Attack on the
Bishops--Protectionist Plans for Reducing Local Taxation--Coercion for
Ireland--Peel’s Generosity to the Whigs Explained--Irish Mendicity and
English Grants in Aid--A Policy of Pauperism and Doles--Small Minds in
a Great Crisis--Peel’s Comprehensive Plan for Relieving Ireland--The
Break-down of the Poor Law--The Queen and the Irish Landlords--Prince
Albert’s Project for Reforming the Irish Poor Rate--Scandals at the
Colonial Office--Ceylon--Demerara and Canada--The Loyal Rebels of
Canada--Riots in Montreal--Attacks on Lord Elgin--An Examination
and Defence of his Policy--The Test of Results--“Be Just and Fear
Not” 371
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Portrait of the Queen (Woodbury Process) _Frontispiece_
Distant View of Windsor Castle 1
The Royal Arms _ib._
West Front of Kensington Palace 4
King William IV. 5
Claremont 8
Death of the Duke of Kent: Presenting the Commons’
Address of Condolence to the Duchess
at Kensington Palace 9
Queen Caroline’s Drawing-Room, Kensington
Palace 12
Queen Adelaide 13
The Duke of Kent 16
The Queen’s First Council (_After the Painting by
Sir David Wilkie._) 17
Cowes Harbour 18
Gateway of St. James’s Palace 20
Queen Victoria at the Time of her Accession 21
Lord Melbourne 24
Proclamation of the Queen at St. James’s Palace 25
Banquet to the Queen in the Guildhall (November
9, 1837) 29
President Van Buren 33
The Earl of Durham 36
The Throne-Room, Buckingham Palace 37
The Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey 40
The Coronation of the Queen (_After the Painting
by Sir George Hayter_) 41
The Queen Receiving the Sacrament at her Coronation
(_After the Painting by C. R. Leslie,
R.A._) _To face_ 44
The Duchess of Kent 45
Newark Castle 48
Mr. Disraeli in his Youth (_After the Portrait by
Maclise_) 49
The Council Chamber, St. James’s Palace 53
Coburg (_After a Sketch by Prince Albert_) 57
Prince Albert 61
The Marquis of Lansdowne 64
Interior of the Chapel Royal, St. James’s 65
Courtyard of St. James’s Palace 68
Duke Ernest, of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Albert’s
Brother 69
Marriage of Queen Victoria (_After the Painting
by Sir George Hayter, R.A._) _To face_ 70
Buckingham Palace: Garden Front 73
Prince Albert’s Music-Room, Buckingham Palace 76
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Rowland Hill 77
Reception of the Queen in Hyde Park after the
News of Oxford’s Attempt on her Life 81
Christening of the Princess Royal (_After the Painting
by C. R. Leslie, R.A._) 85
Richard Cobden 88
Hatfield House 92
The Queen at the Launch of the _Trafalgar_ 93
Sir Robert Peel 96
Magdalen College, Oxford, from the Cherwell 97
John Keble 100
John Henry Newman _ib._
St. Mary’s, from the High Street, Oxford 101
King Leopold 104
St. George’s Chapel, Windsor 105
Ambassadors’ Court, St. James’s Palace 108
Costume Ball in Buckingham Palace 109
Eldred Pottinger at Herat 113
The Khyber Pass 116
Sir Robert and Lady Sale 117
The Remnant of an Army: Arrival of Dr. Brydon
at Jelalabad (_Sketch of the Picture by Mrs.
Butler_) 120
Dost Mahomed 121
Akbar Khan _ib._
Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh 124
The Queen’s Entry into Edinburgh 125
Lord John Russell (_From the Statue by J. E.
Boehm, R.A._) 129
Lobby of the House of Commons 133
“Rebecca” Riot in South Wales 136
Lord Ashley (afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury) 137
Westminster Hall 141
The Queen’s Visit to France 144
The Earl of Aberdeen 145
Prince Albert Hunting near Belvoir Castle _To face_ 147
Chatsworth House, from the South-West 148
Lord Gough (_After the Portrait by Sir Francis
Grant, P.R.A._) 149
Daniel O’Connell 153
The Four Courts, Dublin 156
Old Parliament House, Dublin 157
The Emperor Nicholas 161
Cathedral of St. Isaac, St. Petersburg 164
Joseph Mazzini 165
The Marble Hall, Buckingham Palace 168
The Queen and the Reapers at Blair Castle 169
Reception of Louis Philippe at Windsor Castle 173
Burleigh House, Stamford 176
Osborne, Isle of Wight 180
The Duke of Wellington at Windsor Castle 181
Maynooth College 184
Lord Lyndhurst 185
Favourite Dogs (_After Etchings by the Queen_) 186
The Overland Route: Scene at Boulak 189
View in Malines 193
The Queen and Prince Albert at the Children’s
Fête in Coburg on St. Gregory’s Day 196
The Castle of the Wartburg 200
George Wilson, Chairman of the Anti-Corn-Law
League 201
The Houses of Parliament 205
The Irish Famine: Starving Peasants at a Work-house
Gate 208
Lord George Bentinck 209
The Deputation from London and Dublin Corporations
before the Queen 213
Meeting of Agricultural Labourers at Wootton
Bassett 217
Dog’s Head (_Drawn and Etched by the Prince
Consort_) 219
The Queen Opening Parliament in 1846 _To face_ 220
Opening of Parliament in 1846: Arrival of the
Royal Procession at the House of Lords 221
St. Stephen’s Cloisters, Westminster Hall 224
Lord Stanley (afterwards Earl of Derby) 225
Sir James Graham 228
View in Oregon: the Columbia River and Mount
Hood 229
The British Army Crossing the Sutlej 232
The Battle of Ferozeshah 233
Sir Henry Hardinge 236
The Rival Pages (_Reduced Facsimile after
Punch_) 237
Lord Campbell 240
The Horseguards, from the Parade Ground 241
Lord Macaulay 245
Pardoned: the Queen and the Deserter’s Death-Warrant 249
View in New Zealand: New Plymouth and Mount
Egmont 252
View in Canton: the British Consulate 253
The Royal Palace, Madrid 257
Windsor Castle 261
The Queen Visiting a Cornish Iron Mine 264
On the Cornish Coast: Pradanack Point 265
The Municipal Dignitaries of Penryn introduced
to the Prince of Wales _To face_ 266
Arundel (_After the Picture by Vicat Cole, R.A._) 268
Professor Faraday 269
The Lakes of Killarney 272
Glendalough Valley, Co. Wicklow: View in Glendalough 273
The Irish Famine: Interior of a Peasant’s Hut 276
Lord Brougham (1850) 277
The Bank of England 280
The Queen in the Royal Gallery, St George’s Chapel,
1846 (_After the Portrait by G. E. Dawe_) 281
Joseph Hume 284
The Woods Before the Emigrant: Virgin Forest in
Canada 285
The Lower Ward, Windsor Castle 288
Lord Campbell’s Audience of the Queen 289
The Custom House, Dublin 292
The Grand Staircase, Buckingham Palace 293
Lord Palmerston 296
Queen’s College, Belfast 297
Prince Metternich 304
King’s College, Cambridge, from the “Backs” 305
St John’s College, Cambridge 308
The Prince-Chancellor of Cambridge University
Presenting an Address to the Queen 309
Dr Whewell 312
The Queen in the Woodwardian Museum 313
Falmouth Harbour 316
The Royal Visit to Fingal’s Cave 317
Highland Cottages in Lochaber 321
The Revolution in Paris: Crowds Singing “Mourir
pour la Patrie” 324
Landing of Louis Philippe at Newhaven 325
Bridge and Cattle, Newport, Mon. 328
Joseph Sturge 329
Feargus O’Connor 332
The Chartist Demonstration on Kennington Common 333
Chartist Agitation: the Police Force on Bonner’s
Fields 336
William Smith O’Brien 337
Charles Gavan Duffy (1848) 340
The Irish Rebellion of 1848: Forging Pikes 341
The Exchange and Frederick’s Bridge, Berlin 344
The King of Prussia Addressing the Berliners 345
The Fountain of Cybele, Madrid 348
Baron Stockmar 349
Sir George Grey 353
From an Etching by the Queen 356
The South-East Corridor, Windsor Castle 357
Thomas Carlyle (_After the Medallion by T. Woolner,
1855_) 360
Christening of the Princess Louise in Buckingham
Palace Chapel 361
View in Lochnagar 364
Professor Anderson at Balmoral 365
Prince Albert Deer-Stalking in the Highlands _To face_ 320
The Old Bridge, Invercauld 368
The Victoria Tower, Westminster Palace 369
Demonstration of Sailors in Favour of the Navigation
Laws 372
The Earl of Clarendon, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 373
Interior of the House of Commons 376
Lord Elgin, Governor-General of Canada 377
Riots in Montreal: Lord Elgin Stoned by the Mob 380
Riots in Montreal: Burning of the House of
Assembly 381
Old French House, Quebec 384
[Illustration: DISTANT VIEW OF WINDSOR CASTLE.]
THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.
A Remarkable Visit to Kensington Palace--Death of King William
IV.--Details of his Last Days--Parliamentary Eulogies on his
Character--Progress in the Last Half-Century--Ancestry of Queen
Victoria--Her Descent traced to Odoacer, King of Italy--Saxon
Ancestors of her Majesty--Liberal Views of the Duke of Kent, Father
of the Queen--State of the Succession after the Death of the
Princess Charlotte--Marriage of the Duke of Kent, and Birth of the
Princess Victoria--Christening at Kensington Palace--The name
“Victoria,” and its Associations--Death of the Duke of
Kent--Kensington Palace in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Centuries--Early Training of Victoria by her Mother--Child-life of
the Princess--False Rumours of Ill-health--Anecdotes of Juvenile
Years--The Princess and George IV.--Accession of William IV.--The
Regency Bill--Prince Leopold and the Throne of Belgium--Studies of
the Princess--Her Life of Retirement--Home Tours in Various Parts
of England--Visit to the Cotton Mills of the Messrs. Strutt at
Belper--Reception at Oxford and at Southampton--Benevolence to an
Actress--Her Royal Highness declared of Age on the 24th of May,
1837.
[Illustration: THE ROYAL ARMS.]
In the dawn of June 20th, 1837, immediately after the death of King
William IV., the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Howley) and the Lord
Chamberlain (the Marquis of Conyngham) left Windsor for Kensington, to
convey the tidings to his late Majesty’s successor. They reached the
Palace about five o’clock in the morning, and knocked, rang, and beat at
the doors several times before they could obtain admission. When at
length the porter was aroused, the visitors were shown into one of the
lower rooms, where a long time passed without any attention being paid
them. Growing impatient, they rang the bell (as we read in the
interesting narrative of Miss Wynn), and desired that the attendant on
the Princess Victoria might be sent to inform her Royal Highness that
they requested an audience on business of importance. Another long delay
ensued, and again the bell was rung, that some explanation might be
given of the difficulty which appeared to exist. On the Princess’s
attendant making her appearance, she declared that her Royal Highness
was in so sweet a sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. It
was now evident that stronger measures must be taken, and one of the
visitors said, “We have come on business of State to the _Queen_, and
even her sleep must give way to that.” The attendant disappeared, and a
few minutes afterwards the young sovereign came into the room in a loose
white robe and shawl, her fair hair falling over her shoulders, her feet
in slippers, her eyes dim with tears, but her aspect perfectly calm and
dignified.[1] Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, was at once sent for,
and arrived at nine o’clock, when, after an interview of half an hour
with the Queen, he addressed himself to a rapid study of the ceremonials
to be observed at the approaching Privy Council. Some time after, the
Lord Mayor and other members of the Corporation reached the Palace, and
the chief members of the Privy Council soon thronged the rooms.
Although the final illness of the late King had been rather brief,
William had for some time been in declining health, and the nation had
only to hope that his life would be prolonged until his niece, the
Princess Victoria, had attained an age which could be regarded as
constituting her majority. This had occurred on the 24th of the previous
month, when the Princess completed her eighteenth year, which had been
declared by Act of Parliament to be sufficient. William IV. was a man of
very moderate abilities; but a certain simplicity and geniality of
character had secured for him the regard and respect of the people, and
had carried him through the revolutionary epoch of the Reform Bill with
no great loss of popularity, even at a time when he was supposed to be
unfriendly to the measure. For the last two years he had ceased to take
any interest in the political tendencies of the day, while discharging
the routine duties of his high office with conscientious regularity.
Brought up in the midst of totally different ideas, he could not, at his
time of life, accommodate himself to the flood of novel principles which
had recently set in, and which he was equally unable to accept and
powerless to resist. The result was that, as a well-qualified observer
records, “he submitted to what he could not help, but evidently with a
sense of weariness.”[2] In the previous April he had been distressed by
the death of his eldest daughter, Lady de Lisle, and of the
Duchess-Dowager of Saxe-Meiningen, mother of Queen Adelaide. Great
physical prostration ensued shortly afterwards, and by June it was
evident that the end could not be far distant. His Majesty was attended
by the Queen with the most affectionate devotion; but the weakness
steadily increased, and soon reached a fatal termination.
Owing to the state of the King’s health, the Duke of Wellington proposed
to dispense with the usual Waterloo Banquet at Apsley House; but on the
17th of June the dying monarch sent a message to the illustrious
Field-Marshal, desiring that the occasion should be observed in the
customary manner, and wishing the host and guests a pleasant day. On the
anniversary of the great battle (the 18th), the Duke transmitted to
Windsor, in accordance with the prescribed form, the banner by the
presentation of which he held his estates. Lord Muncaster presented it
to the King, who, raising himself up, grasped the folds of the flag, and
exclaimed, “Ah! that was a glorious day for England!”[3] The eulogies
pronounced in Parliament on the character of the deceased sovereign may
have been somewhat affected by the conventional or official tone
inseparable from such utterances; but they probably contain a fair
amount of truth, with no more than the usual omissions. The disposition
of William IV. was certainly superior to that of his brother George; and
the country recognised the difference with the true instinct of a free
people.
The Modern Age, in its most distinctive developments, is almost coeval
with the reign of his successor. It is true that the Railway service had
already begun; but it was still in its infancy when Queen Victoria
ascended the throne, and had not yet effected any great revolution in
the sentiments or habits of society. The Electric Telegraph, though
fully born in the brains of scientific speculators, had received no
practical application. Steam and machinery had still to achieve some of
their greatest triumphs. The Postal system of those days seems barbarian
to our modern eyes. The Newspaper Press was an insignificant force
compared with what it is at the present day. Education, in the popular
sense, hardly existed. Nation with nation held but little intercourse,
and the prejudices of Englishmen were scarcely less gross than they had
been in the days of Hogarth. Manners were far more coarse and brutal
than they are now; the laws were more complicated and uncertain; social
order was less secure; the arts had not attained so wide and general a
culture; medicine, surgery, chemistry, geology, and other sciences, were
less cultivated; taste was less diffused and less instructed; the
luxuries, and even the comforts, of domestic life were almost unknown to
the poorer classes; and political power was held by only a small
proportion of the community. The England of 1837 was so different from
the England we now behold, that the “Pickwick Papers,” belonging to that
date, require explanatory notes for the benefit of a younger generation.
The history of these vast changes--in which the personal character and
influence of her Majesty have had no small share--must be of the deepest
interest to all thinking men; and it is this history which we propose to
relate.
ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of
India, was born at Kensington Palace on the 24th of May, 1819. She is
the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III.;
and her mother was Victoria Mary Louisa, daughter of his Serene Highness
Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Duke of Kent was the second
husband of this lady, who in 1802 had married Charles Louis, Prince of
[Illustration: WEST FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE.]
Leiningen--an ill-assorted match, productive of no happiness. The second
marriage took place in 1818; but the Duke of Kent died in less than two
years. Her Majesty’s descent is very illustrious. It may be traced
(conjecturally, at least) up to Odoacer, a warlike chief of the Heruli,
who, after defeating the forces of Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman
Emperor of the West, in the year 476 of the Christian era, disputed the
kingdom of Italy with Theodoric the Ostrogoth. One of the supposed
descendants of Odoacer was Boniface, Count of Lucca and Duke of Tuscany,
who lived in the early part of the ninth century, and from whom sprang
Alberto Azzo II., Marquis of Italy and Lord of Este, who, in the first
half of the eleventh century, married Cunegonda, of the House of Guelph,
by whom he had Guelph, Duke of Bavaria, the ancestor of the House of
Brunswick, and consequently of the present Royal Family of Great
Britain, who are called Este-Guelphs. According to some accounts,
however, the Guelphs are derived from a younger brother of Odoacer,
whose son, Olfigandus, held a command in the army of Belisarius. But in
truth
[Illustration: KING WILLIAM IV.]
these matters lie beyond verification, and are interesting only as
affording a shadowy link between the present and the past.
One of the most famous ancestors of the Duchess of Kent, and therefore
of Queen Victoria herself, was Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony in
the early years of the sixteenth century, who ranks among the first
converts to Protestantism, and who befriended Luther when that great
reformer stood in peril of his life. The Prince Consort was likewise
descended from the same family, and the Queen’s children are thus doubly
connected with one of the most distinguished German houses of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In later times, various members of
the Saxon family have shown their prowess as warriors, or their capacity
as rulers; but the father of the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was a man of pacific inclinations and retiring
habits, with a taste for the fine arts. The Duke of Kent was remarkable
as a generous supporter of popular government--even to an extreme
bordering on democratic ideas--at a time when the Court and the ruling
classes were fanatically enthusiastic on the Tory side. Tall and
striking in aspect, trained to military service, irreproachable in
private life, and exact in all his business habits, the Duke of Kent
inherited the manly and sedate qualities of his father, George III.,
while superadding to them a breadth of intellect to which the King
himself could advance no claim. As a commander in the British army, his
Royal Highness incurred some temporary disfavour by his strictness as a
disciplinarian; but this was afterwards removed by the liberal character
of his political views. At a banquet, during which he replied to the
toast of “The Junior Members of the Royal Family,” he said:--“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 delegated
only 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.”
Like some of the other Royal Princes, the Duke of Kent refrained from
marriage until after the death of the Princess Charlotte, on the 6th of
November, 1817. That ill-fated lady--the only child of the Prince
Regent, afterwards George IV.--had been married, on the 2nd of May,
1816, to Prince Leopold, third son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and
brother of the Princess who was subsequently united to the Duke of Kent,
and became the mother of our Queen. Leopold (who, several years later,
was chosen King of the Belgians) was distinguished, from his earliest
maturity to his latest days, by high character and distinguished
abilities; and the English people hoped much from a union which seemed
to promise so fairly. But, unhappily, the Princess Charlotte died in
childbed; and, as the infant was still-born, the succession to the
throne was left in a very precarious state. Accordingly, in the
following year (1818), the Duke of Clarence, third son of George III.,
and afterwards William IV., the Duke of Kent, fourth son, and the Duke
of Cambridge, seventh son, contracted nuptial alliances; but that of the
Duke of Clarence, the elder brother of the Duke of Kent, was unattended
by any issue that survived, so that the Princess Victoria soon became
heiress-presumptive to the crown of Great Britain.
For some time after their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Kent resided
abroad, chiefly from motives of economy, the allowance of the former
being restricted within narrow limits by the servile Parliament of that
day, owing to his political independence. In view, however, of an
expected event, the Royal couple returned to England in the latter part
of April, 1819, so that their child should be “born a Briton;” and, as
we have said, the future Queen of England drew her first breath on the
24th of May. The Duke of Kent had been long estranged from his brother,
the Prince Regent; but a reconciliation took place shortly after the
birth of the Princess Victoria. The infant was christened on the 24th of
June at Kensington Palace, where she had been born; on which occasion,
the gold font was brought from the Tower, and the draperies were removed
from the Chapel Royal, St. James’s. Chief among the sponsors were the
Prince Regent and the Emperor Alexander of Russia, the latter
represented by the Duke of York. It was in compliment to the Czar that
the infant Princess received Alexandrina as her first name. In
subsequent years, however, this Russianised Greek appellation was wisely
abandoned, as unfamiliar and unwelcome to English ears, and the far
nobler-sounding “Victoria” took its place. The second name, now famous
throughout the world, is of course pure Latin, and no more native to our
race than Alexandrina. But in a certain sense we are all Latins--we of
the West of Europe; and the accents of the Imperial tongue are familiar
to our ears. The meaning and sound of “Victoria,” moreover, are
strikingly appropriate to the sovereign of a great Empire; and the omen
has, on the whole, been happily fulfilled under the sceptre of her
Majesty, not merely in the triumphs of war, but also in the victories of
peace.
It is not generally known, that, so far as can be inferred from
imperfect and obscure records, a monarch bearing the name of Victoria
once before held sway in Britain. During the general weakness of the
Roman Empire in the second half of the third century, several of the
provinces detached themselves from the central authority, and for a
while established separate governments. Spain, Gaul, and Britain formed
a western realm of immense extent, the capital of which was at Trèves,
on the Moselle, then a city of Gallia Belgica; and the sovereignty of
this varied region passed in time to an ambitious and energetic woman
named Victoria. She is mentioned in the great work of Gibbon; yet little
is known of her acts or character. It is probable that she was a
resolute and capable despot; but she appears in history as a name, and
little else.
For the brief remainder of his life, the Duke of Kent dwelt principally
at Claremont, which, but a short time before, had been the residence of
the Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, and which was rendered sadly
memorable by the death of the former. But the unusually severe winter of
1819-20 induced the Duke and Duchess to visit Sidmouth, for the sake of
the mild climate of Southern Devonshire. At Salisbury Cathedral, to
which he made an excursion during the frosty weather, the Duke caught a
slight cold, which, after his return to Sidmouth, became serious, owing,
it would seem, to neglect and imprudence. According to the medical
custom of those days, the patient was copiously bled, and not improbably
owed his death to the exhaustion thus occasioned. He expired on the
23rd of January, 1820, in his fifty-third year; and so small were his
means that he left the Duchess and the Princess totally devoid of
maintenance. Such was the statement made long afterwards by Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg, who was with his sister during the days of her trial and
bereavement. Soon after the fatal event, the Prince accompanied the
widowed lady to London, where addresses of condolence were voted by both
Houses of Parliament. The address of the Commons was presented by Lords
Morpeth and Clive, when the Duchess of Kent
[Illustration: CLAREMONT.]
appeared with the infant Princess in her arms. The scene was one of the
chambers in Kensington Palace; and that historic building can scarcely
have witnessed a more affecting interview.
The edifice in which Queen Victoria passed most of her early years, and
which yet attracts the interest both of Englishmen and Americans, dates,
as a palace, from the time of William III., though, at a rather earlier
period, the Finches, Earls of Nottingham, had a mansion on the same
spot, of which a small portion is believed to be still existent. The
second Earl of Nottingham sold the house and grounds to the illustrious
Dutchman who came to rescue us from the Pope and the Stuarts; and his
Majesty caused additions to be made to the building by the greatest
English architect of that time--Sir Christopher Wren. Successive
[Illustration: DEATH OF THE DUKE OF KENT: PRESENTING THE COMMONS’
ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE TO THE DUCHESS AT KENSINGTON PALACE. (_See p.
8._)]
sovereigns, down to George II., still further enlarged the domicile and
the grounds; and, for sixty years of the eighteenth century, Kensington
Palace was the most brilliant and courtly place in London. All the
nobles, statesmen, wits, and beauties of the age assembled in its
saloons, or paraded in its gardens. Many are the anecdotes (scandalous
and otherwise) connected with this royal home; but there are pleasanter
associations too. Tickell, one of the minor _literati_ of the period
which we associate with Queen Anne, though it extended into the reigns
of George I. and his successor, wrote a pretty fairy tale, in verse, in
connection with Kensington Gardens; and Pope may have studied in that
courtly enclosure the belles and fops of his “Rape of the Lock.” In the
Palace itself, Death was a frequent visitor, as he must be in houses
which survive several generations. William III. and Queen Mary, Queen
Anne, Prince George of Denmark, and King George II., all died within its
walls; and then came an eclipse. The sedate and formal residence, with
its stately gardens, fell out of favour with George III., though it is
not easy to say why, since his own character inclined him to the formal
and sedate. All the glancing lights of wit and beauty faded from its
rooms; and, by the earlier years of the present century, the Palace had
acquired the sombre and somewhat depressing character inseparable from
all old buildings which have seen better days, and from which the
laughter and the life of earlier times have passed away.
Such were the surroundings amongst which the Princess Victoria was
brought up. They were far from inspiriting; yet they may have helped to
form the character of the future Queen, and to give to it an element of
gravity, not unbecoming the sovereign of countless myriads. The walls of
the apartments were adorned with pictures belonging chiefly to the
Byzantine and early German schools; and these probably did much in
creating a taste for art. The training of the young Princess was
conducted by her mother--a task for which she was admirably qualified.
When the Prince of Leiningen died, in 1814, his widow, afterwards the
Duchess of Kent, was left the guardian of her young sons, and the ruler
of their territory until they came of age. These duties she had
performed in a manner the most exemplary; and she afterwards showed
equal good sense in the education of the Princess Victoria. The child
was taught from her earliest years to rely on exercise and temperance as
the best promoters of health; to devote a reasonable amount of time to
riding and sailing; to be economical, yet charitable; and, while
observing a courteous demeanour towards her inferiors, to keep aloof
from the evil influence of parasites. In early years, it was rather the
moral than the mental nature of the Princess that was cultivated. The
Dowager-Duchess of Coburg wisely wrote to her daughter, in 1823, that it
would be better not to force book-knowledge too soon on one so young;
and this advice appears to have been followed.
As her Royal Highness grew up, however, she was well grounded in
languages, music, and such branches of science as were then thought
suitable to ladies. Her general education was afterwards entrusted to
the Duchess of Northumberland, wife of the third Duke; and the Princess
speedily developed many charming qualities. Living for the most part in
retirement, she was but little known to the outer world; but her
affability made an excellent impression on all with whom she came in
contact. Her character was to some extent influenced by the great
philanthropist, William Wilberforce, whom she saw very frequently.
Several pleasing anecdotes are related of her charity and kindness; and
it is said that in her visits to Ramsgate she was a great favourite with
the bathing-women and other characteristic frequenters of the sands.
When, a little later in life, it became nearly certain that she would
succeed to the throne, owing to the childlessness of her father’s elder
brothers, the Princess emerged more into public view, and took her rides
and walks in places where she could be generally seen. It is said that,
for some years, George IV. treated his sister-in-law and her infant with
marked coldness; but the Duke and Duchess of Clarence--whose own
disappointments, in the failure of offspring, might have furnished some
slight excuse for neglect--showed much kindness to the Duchess of Kent
and the Princess Victoria. This cordial sentiment continued after the
accession of William IV., and the Queen never forgot, in later days, the
respect and affection which she owed to Adelaide.
The early years of the Princess were passed under healthful conditions,
and resulted in the formation of a strong constitution. Nevertheless,
the public were disquieted by rumours to the effect that the daughter of
the Duke of Kent would never attain her majority, or that, at any rate,
if she lived to marry, she would never become the mother of a family. In
proportion as these statements were believed, fears arose that the
succession would pass to the Duke of Cumberland--a prince very generally
disliked for his arrogance, and for faults and vices which may perhaps
have been exaggerated by popular hatred. The connection between the
kingdoms of Great Britain and Hanover--which would have been perpetuated
by the succession of any one of the Princes, but which the existence of
the Salic Law in the latter State rendered incompatible with the
accession of a female sovereign in England--was another contingency
which the people of this country regarded with the utmost distaste. For
these reasons, the false reports concerning the Princess’s health
created no little agitation. But it soon came to the public knowledge
that the unwelcome tidings were wholly false; and it was evident, from
her frequent appearances in the streets and parks, that the
heiress-apparent to the British throne was not likely to die
prematurely.
The studies of the Princess were pursued with a fair amount of
diligence, though her Royal Highness would occasionally show her
independence by refusing to be too closely bound by rules. On one
occasion, she objected to that dull, mechanical practising of notes
which the young learner of the pianoforte has perforce to undergo. She
was told that this was necessary before she could become mistress of the
instrument. “What would you think of me,” she asked, “if I became
mistress at once?” She was told that that would be impossible; there
was no royal road to music. “Oh, there is no royal road to music, eh?”
repeated the Princess. “No royal road? And I am not mistress of my
pianoforte? But I will be, I assure you; and the royal road is
this”--whereupon she closed the piano, locked it, and took out the key.
“There!” she continued, “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.” This, however, was spoken
[Illustration: QUEEN CAROLINE’S DRAWING-ROOM, KENSINGTON PALACE.]
more out of a sense of fun than from any spirit of opposition; for,
immediately afterwards, her Royal Highness resumed the interrupted
lesson.
The readiness to admit a fault was amusingly shown by a little incident
which occurred during a visit to the seat of Earl Fitzwilliam. The royal
party were walking in the grounds, when the Princess ran on in advance.
One of the under-gardeners pointed out that, owing to recent heavy
rains, a certain walk was very slippery, or, as he expressed it, using a
local term, “very slape.” “Slape! slape!” exclaimed the Princess, in the
style of quick reiteration which characterised the utterance of her
grandfather, George III.; “and pray what is ‘slape’?” The requisite
explanation was given; but the little lady proceeded down the path,
despite all warning, and speedily fell to the ground. Seeing what had
happened, Earl Fitzwilliam called out, “Now your Royal Highness has an
explanation of the term ‘slape,’ both theoretically and practically.”
“Yes, my lord,” she replied, “I think I have. I shall never forget the
word ‘slape.’” Another time, she persisted in playing with a dog against
which she had been cautioned. The animal made a snap at her hand; and
when her cautioner expressed his fears that she had been bitten, she
replied, “Oh, thank you! thank you! You’re right, and I am wrong; but he
didn’t bite me--he only warned me. I shall be careful in future.”[4]
An additional grant of £6,000 a year was made to the Duchess of Kent in
the
[Illustration: QUEEN ADELAIDE.]
early summer of 1825, in order that the Princess Victoria, then six
years of age, might be enabled to live more in accordance with her rank
and prospects. After this period, the King (George IV.) behaved with
greater kindness to his sister-in-law and niece. The latter, however,
was not seen much at court during the remainder of that monarch’s reign;
indeed, her time was mainly occupied by the work of education. It was in
1830--shortly after the death of George IV.--that the Duchess of
Northumberland was appointed, at the suggestion of the new King, to the
office of governess to the Princess; and under her judicious care
considerable progress was soon made. The accession of William IV. to the
throne, on the 26th of June, 1830, placed the Princess Victoria in
direct succession to the British Crown, as the Duke of York had died on
the 5th of January, 1827. It was therefore thought advisable to make
provision for the various contingencies of the future; and accordingly,
towards the close of the year, a Regency Bill was introduced into
Parliament, which provided that Queen Adelaide, in the event of her
giving birth to a posthumous child, should be the guardian of such child
during its minority, and also Regent of the kingdom. If that event did
not occur, the Duchess of Kent was to be Regent during the minority of
her daughter, the Princess Victoria, who was not to marry, while a
minor, without the consent of the King, or, if he died, without the
consent of both Houses of Parliament.
During these early years, Prince Leopold, brother of the Duchess of
Kent, had acted the part of a father to the young Princess; but he was
now removed to a different scene and other duties. A revolution broke
out at Brussels on the 25th of August, 1830, with the ultimate result
that Belgium was separated from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, of
which, since 1814, it had formed a part. On the 12th of July, 1831,
Leopold was elected King of the new nationality, and a week later
entered the capital. He had shortly before been designated by the Great
Powers to the sovereignty of Greece, which had just achieved its
independence of Turkey; but he declined that perilous and doubtful
honour. As the liberal and enlightened ruler of the Belgians, however,
he acquired great and deserved distinction until his death on the 10th
of December, 1865. The assumption of regal powers on the Continent
removed Leopold from constant association with his niece; but the
nearness of Brussels enabled him to make frequent visits to England, and
in after years the Queen often consulted him on difficult matters of
State policy. His decease was in many respects a serious affliction to
the sovereign of this realm.
Under the general direction of the Duchess of Northumberland, the
instruction of the Princess was conducted by various gentlemen of high
repute in their several attainments. She made considerable progress in
Latin; from Mr. Amos she received the elements of Constitutional
Government as it exists in England; and Westall, the painter, taught her
the lighter graces of drawing. Music was now studied with assiduity, and
the future Queen revealed at an early age that passion for a noble art
which has distinguished her to the present day. Shortly after the
accession of William IV., the health of the Princess underwent some
decline, due in part to the distracting gaieties to which she had been
introduced since the change of reign. This failure of health appears to
have been the reason why her Royal Highness and the Duchess of Kent were
absent from the coronation of King William, on the 8th of September,
1831, though the circumstance gave occasion at the time to many sinister
remarks, as if the favour of the new monarch had been suddenly withdrawn
from his niece. Such, however, was not the case. The Princess was
treated with the consideration befitting her rank; and, on the 24th of
May, 1831, when she completed her twelfth year, Queen Adelaide gave a
juvenile ball in her honour, the magnificence of which made a deep
impression on the mind of the principal guest. It is evident, therefore,
that the King and Queen retained their old affection for the Princess;
but the Duchess of Northumberland saw that so much excitement was having
a prejudicial effect on the health of her pupil, and she accordingly
advised absence from court, and from the fatigue and turmoil of a
coronation ceremony. Only a month before, the King had recommended to
Parliament an increased allowance for the Princess; in consequence of
which, an additional income of £10,000 a year, for her Royal Highness’s
maintenance and education, was granted by the national representatives.
The Princess, however, was still much sequestered; and it may be that
the Court of William IV., though better than that of his brother, was
not well suited to a young girl whose mother considered her purity more
than anything else.
It was about this period that Southey, the poet, historian, and critic,
being one morning at Kensington Palace, was admitted to an interview
with the Princess, who expressed to him the great pleasure she had
derived both from his poetry and his prose, especially from the “Life of
Nelson,” which she declared she had read half a dozen times over. At the
time of the coronation, the Duchess of Kent and her daughter were
staying in the Isle of Wight, from which they afterwards proceeded to
Worthing and Malvern. The Princess was a great admirer of ecclesiastical
architecture and music, and she frequently visited such cathedral cities
as Worcester, Hereford, and Chester. She was also entertained by the
principal members of the nobility at their country seats, and thus
acquired a knowledge of the semi-feudal state which still distinguishes
the lives of our aristocracy. A very extensive home-tour was made in
1832, when, amongst other interesting events, the royal party visited
the cotton-mills of the Messrs. Strutt at Belper, in Derbyshire. By
means of a model, Mr. James Strutt explained to the Princess the various
processes of cotton-spinning, and a great impression was produced by
this exposition of a most important manufacture. It was a very
felicitous thought to take her Royal Highness to one of those great
seats of industry to which England owes so much, and to show her how
varied, complicated, and far-reaching were the interests over which, in
the maturity of time, she was to bear sway. From this visit, in all
probability, may be dated the Queen’s intelligent appreciation of the
commercial and manufacturing greatness of her Empire, which brings
unparalleled wealth into the land, circulates wages amongst innumerable
labourers, and furnishes a counterpoise to the preponderance of
hereditary power. In 1856, the Queen conferred the dignity of a peerage,
with the title of Baron Belper, on the son of Mr. James Strutt, who had
conducted her over the factory four-and-twenty years earlier.
Before the conclusion of the royal tour, the Princess and her mother
visited Oxford, where they were presented with an address in the
Sheldonian Theatre by the Vice-Chancellor. In her reply, the Duchess of
Kent said:--“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 ensure, 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.”
[Illustration: THE DUKE OF KENT.]
Their Royal Highnesses returned to Kensington on the 9th of November,
1832, and in the following year confined themselves to the south coast
of England. The most memorable circumstance of this trip was one of
those ceremonials in which the Queen has since so often taken part.
While the Duchess of Kent and her daughter were residing at East Cowes,
in the Isle of Wight, they attended the opening of the new landing-pier
at Southampton, then beginning to acquire importance as a great southern
port. In Southampton
[Illustration: THE QUEEN’S FIRST COUNCIL. (_After the Painting by Sir
David Wilkie_). [_See p. 19._]]
Water, the Royal yacht, which had been towed from Cowes by a steamer,
was met by a deputation from the corporation of the town, the members of
which were stationed on board an eight-oared barge, with one of the
town-sergeants bearing a silver oar. To the address of this deputation,
the Duchess of Kent replied that she wished her daughter to become
attached, at an early age, to works of utility--an attachment which, in
later life, her Majesty has exhibited on many interesting occasions. The
distinguished visitors were then rowed ashore, and entertained at
luncheon; after which, the Duchess of Kent signified her pleasure that
the new pier should be called the Royal Pier.
In July, 1834, the Princess Victoria was confirmed by the Archbishop of
Canterbury (Dr. Howley) in the Chapel Royal, St. James’s. The remainder
of the year was distinguished by no very remarkable events; but a little
incident occurring at Tunbridge Wells gives a pleasing idea of the young
Princess’s benevolence. The husband of an actress employed at the town
theatre died under circumstances of poverty, leaving his wife on the eve
of her confinement. Distressed at what she heard, the Princess obtained
£10 from her mother, added an equal sum from her own resources, and
personally carried the amount to the sufferer. After the accession of
her Majesty to the throne, she conferred on the actress an annuity of
£40 for the remainder of her life. The years 1835 and 1836 passed very
quietly; but 1837 was destined to be a date of great importance. On the
24th of May, the Princess completed her eighteenth year, and was
declared legally of age, according to the provisions of the Act of
Parliament to which reference has before been made. The day was kept as
a general holiday: Kensington was especially festive, and a serenade to
the Princess was performed under the Palace windows at seven o’clock in
the evening. Among the numerous birthday presents was a magnificent
pianoforte from the King. Within a month from that time, William IV. had
breathed his last.
[Illustration: COWES HARBOUR.]