The Coming Of The Prince
The coronation ceremonies in Westminster Abbey were, indeed,
magnificent, but it must not be supposed that England was satisfied
with no further celebration of so joyful an event. Throughout the realm
there were for several days fairs, balls, and entertainments of all
kinds. London was illuminated, and the theaters were made free to all
who chose to attend them. People's hearts and purses were opened. The
rich were not
the children of the land and the poor to have a good time also. In many
places feasts were given, and one of the most famous of these was held
in a great open field in Cambridge, where more than fourteen thousand
persons were entertained.
In the center of the field was a space for the band, and around it a
platform. Much money had been subscribed for the feast, but the
committee felt sure that large numbers of people would be ready to pay
from seventy-five cents to one dollar and a half for the privilege of
walking about on this platform and seeing what was to be seen. They
were right, for there was "a most fashionable and select company," who
promenaded around the circular platform and watched the feasters.
Sixty tables, each two hundred and thirty feet long, stretched out from
the central platform like the rays of a star; and when the signal was
given, the fourteen thousand persons, poor people and children of all
ages, marched to their places. It must have been an amusing procession
for each one was obliged to bring his own plate, knife, fork, and mug
for beer. There was roast beef, and there were various other good
things; but the member of the committee who wrote the account of the
dinner seems to have been especially interested in the puddings.
"Beautiful puddings," he says they were, and he tells just where each
one was boiled. He states, too, that 2475 pounds of raisins were put
into them.
At the end of the dinner, pipes, tobacco, and snuff were passed to the
grown folk. There was a salute of nineteen guns in honor of the Queen's
nineteen years. A balloon, which the enthusiastic committeeman calls a
"stupendous machine," was sent up, and the health of the Queen was
drunk. The Sunday-school children sang a song of better intention than
rhyme, which began:
"Victoria! Victoria!
We hail thy gentle rule;
Victoria! the Patroness
Of every Sunday school."
After the singing, came various games and contests. Men tried to climb
a well-soaped pole to get a leg of mutton which was fastened to the
top. Others were tied into sacks, and jumped as far as possible in the
attempt to win a pair of boots. There was a wheelbarrow race run by ten
blindfolded men. A pig was offered to the man who could catch the
animal and swing it over his shoulder by the well-greased tail. Men
grinned through horse-collars to see who could make the ugliest face
and so win a pair of new trousers. Six boys with their hands tied
behind their backs were given penny loaves and molasses, and a new hat
was waiting for the one who ate his loaf first. Other boys with their
hands tied were "bobbing for apples"--that is, trying to lift apples
with their teeth from a tub of water--and another group of boys were
struggling to see who could first swallow a pennyworth of dry biscuit,
and so win a new waistcoat. There were foot races and donkey races and
hurdle races, and races among men each with one leg tied up. At last
the day came to an end with fireworks, and all the happy, tired people
went home, fully convinced that under this new sovereign their country
would be more prosperous than ever.
It seems very strange that this Queen who was worshiped by her people
in the summer of 1838 should in the course of a few months have become
exceedingly unpopular with some of her subjects, but so it was. There
were in England two political parties, the Whigs and the Tories. Queen
Victoria's sympathies were with the Whigs. They were in power when she
came to the throne, but in the spring of 1839 the Cabinet proposed an
important bill which Parliament refused to make a law. Under such
circumstances it is the custom for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet
to resign, because such a refusal is supposed to signify that the
people, whom Parliament represents, do not approve of their acts.
When Lord Melbourne told the Queen that he must resign, she felt very
badly. She must stand at the head of a great nation, and the one in
whose advice she had trusted could advise her no longer. The leaders of
the Tories were "the Duke," as the Duke of Wellington was called, and
Sir Robert Peel; and Lord Melbourne told her that her wisest course
would be to ask the Duke to become her Prime Minister and select a
Cabinet of Tories. The Duke had declared before this that he did not
know what the Tories would do for a Prime Minister if they should come
into power. "I have no small talk," he said, "and Peel has no manners?"
but when the Queen sent for him, of course he obeyed. She asked him to
be her Prime Minister, and said to him honestly: "I cannot help being
very sorry to make a change and give up my Ministers, especially Lord
Melbourne, for he has been almost a father to me."
The straightforward old soldier was delighted with her frankness, but
he said: "I am somewhat deaf, and I am too old a man to undertake this
work and serve you properly. Moreover, it would be much better for one
who can lead the House of Commons to be your Majesty's Prime Minister.
I advise you to send for Sir Robert Peel."
Now, this girl of nineteen did not like the man who had "no manners,"
but she was a lady as well as a Queen, and when Sir Robert appeared--in
full dress, as was required--she received him so courteously that he
went away much pleased, having promised to obey her command and form a
Cabinet. This was easily done, and the next morning he brought her a
list of names.
"But you must not expect me to give up the society of Lord Melbourne,"
she said.
"Certainly not," was Peel's reply. "Moreover Lord Melbourne is too
honorable a man to attempt to influence your Majesty in any way against
the existing government." Sir Robert then suggested several men whom he
knew that she liked for various positions of honor in the royal
household. Finally he said, perhaps a little bluntly, "It will be
desirable to make some changes in the ladies of your Majesty's
household." Then a storm arose.
"I shall not part with any of my ladies," declared the Queen.
"But, your Majesty," said Sir Robert, "most of these ladies are closely
related to the former Cabinet Ministers." The Queen would not yield,
but she was willing to discuss the subject later with him and the Duke.
When they appeared before her, they said: "Your Majesty, the ladies of
the household are on the same footing as the lords."
"No," declared the Queen, "I have lords besides and I have let you do
with them as you chose. If you had just been put out of office and Lord
Melbourne had come in, I am sure that he would not have asked me to
give up my ladies."
"There are more Whigs than Tories in the House of Commons," said Peel,
"and if these ladies who are closely related to prominent Whigs are
retained, all Europe will look upon England as the country that is
governed by a party which the sovereign dislikes and in which she has
no confidence."
"I give you my lords," replied the Queen steadfastly, "but I keep my
ladies." The two nobles were in a dilemma. According to the British
constitution, "The Queen can do no wrong"--that is, not she, but the
Prime Minister is held responsible for every public act. Sir Robert
could not remain Prime Minister if the Queen positively refused to
yield to a course which he thought necessary.
While the Tory leaders were trying to plan some way out of the
difficulty, the Queen sent a letter to Lord Melbourne which was written
in much the same way that an indignant young girl would write to her
father. "Do not fear," she said, "that I was not calm and composed.
They wanted to deprive me of my ladies, and I suppose they would
deprive me next of my dressers and housemaids; they wished to treat me
like a girl, but I will show them that I am Queen of England."
Lord Melbourne called his Cabinet together in such haste that one
member had to be brought from the opera and another from a dinner
party. He read them the Queen's letter, and asked, "What shall we
advise?"
"Advise her to give up two or three of her principal ladies," suggested
one, "and perhaps that will satisfy Peel."
"Does anyone know exactly what Peel wants," queried another, "and how
many ladies he demands shall be removed?" This was an exceedingly
sensible question, and if it had been taken to Peel for an answer, the
trouble might have been brought to an end. He would probably have been
satisfied with the resignation of two or three of the strongest
partisans and principal talkers among the ladies; and, although the
Queen was insisting upon what she believed was her right, yet much of
her indignation arose from her belief that Peel meant to deprive her of
all who were then her attendants perhaps even the Baroness Lehzen. The
question was not taken to Peel, however, and the discussion in the
Cabinet went on.
"Let us write a letter for the Queen to copy and send to Peel," was the
next suggestion, "saying that she will not consent to a course which
she believes to be contrary to custom and which is repugnant to her
feelings." This suggestion was adopted. The letter was written, and the
Queen copied it to send; but before it reached Sir Robert, he resigned
his position, and Lord Melbourne was again Prime Minister.
This was the famous "Bedchamber Plot," and it aroused all England. Lord
Melbourne and the Whigs said:
"It is a small matter that the Queen should be allowed to retain her
favorite attendants."
Sir Robert and the Tories replied:
"The Prime Minister is responsible for the acts of the Queen, and it is
a large matter if she refuses to follow his advice when he believes
that the good of the realm demands a certain course. She is not the
Queen of the whole country, she is only the Queen of the Whigs, and the
whole thing is a plot to keep the Whigs in power."
"We are loyal to our sovereign," declared the Whigs.
"We stand by the constitution of Great Britain not by the whims of
a girl of nineteen," retorted the Tories. The amusing part of the
struggle was that the Whigs had always prided themselves on standing by
the constitution and the rights of the people, while the Tories had
favored increasing the power of the sovereign; but in those days the
question was too serious to strike anyone as amusing.
As the weeks of the summer and the early autumn passed, matters only
grew worse. Victoria was spoken of most contemptuously, and was even
hissed in a public assembly. Mr. Greville wrote in his journal: "The
Tories seem not to care one straw for the crown, its dignity or its
authority, because the head on which it is placed does not nod with
benignity to them." Peel was, of course, above such behavior as that of
some of his violent partisans, but he must have been somewhat surprised
at developments. He had been afraid that the Queen's opinions and
judgment were so weak that she would be influenced by the talk of a few
ladies in attendance and would be unable to judge questions fairly and
without prejudice; but he had found that, whatever might be the faults
of the young lady on the throne, she could never be accused of having
no will of her own.
During the first two years of her reign, the friends of the Queen were
watching her with much anxiety. She was an unusual girl, with an
unusual training, but, after all, she was only a girl, and she had
responsibilities to meet from which, as Carlyle said, "an archangel
might have shrunk." Her position was all the more dangerous because she
was too young to realize her difficulties; and when trouble arose,
there was no one in the land of whom she could ask counsel without
arousing the enmity of someone else. Everyone who was capable of
advising her was prominent in one political party or the other. If she
had discussed any of her hard questions with even her own mother, and
it had become evident that suggestions had come from the Duchess of
Kent, there would have been talk at once of "foreign influence."
Meanwhile, "foreign influence" in the person of the wise King Leopold
was busily at work. The young Queen had reigned for more than two
years, and the first novelty of her position had passed. At first it
had been delightful to her to feel that she was "the Queen," and that
she could do precisely as she chose. Even the Bedchamber Plot had
resulted in her having her own way, in keeping her ladies and the Whig
Cabinet; but so clear-minded a woman as Queen Victoria must have
seen--as, indeed, she declared some years later--that she had not
behaved like a constitutional monarch, and she knew that thousands of
her subjects were indignant with her.
Never was a loving uncle more shrewd in his affection than this "wisest
sovereign in Europe;" for just at this time, when his niece was feeling
far less self-sufficient than she had felt some months earlier, he
proposed that Prince Albert and his brother Ernest should pay her a
visit. The young men came, bringing with them a letter from the King
which spoke of them in most matter-of-fact terms as "good, honest
creatures, really sensible and trustworthy." The point of the letter
was in its closing sentence, "I am sure that if you have anything to
recommend to them, they will be most happy to hear it from you."
The Queen knew very well what this sentence signified, and she was more
ready to "recommend" than she would have been some months before. She
had seen her cousins only once, and that was more than three years
earlier. Prince Albert was then a lovable boy, and the Princess was
willing that her relatives should understand that she would marry him
some day. When nearly two years had passed and she had become Queen,
she felt much older and more mature; but she thought of her cousin as
still a boy. She expected to marry him some time in the future, but she
was not willing to permit even any formal engagement at that time. King
Leopold wrote urging her to make some "decisive arrangement" for the
following year. The Queen replied: "Albert and I are both too young to
think of marriage at present. He does not know English well enough, and
there are other studies which he needs to pursue."
King Leopold saw that it was of no use to press the question further at
that time, and he told the Prince that the marriage would have to be
postponed for a few years. The Prince saw the truth in Victoria's
objections. He knew that his position in England would demand all the
skill and knowledge that he could acquire, and he admitted that her
arguments were strong.
"You understand, and you will wait?" asked his uncle.
"Yes," answered the Prince, "I will wait, if I have only some certain
assurance to go on; but I do not want to be left in the ridiculous
position of Queen Elizabeth's suitors. I do not want all Europe talking
for years about my marriage and then laughing at the announcement that
Victoria never meant to marry me."
Another year passed. Then came the Bedchamber trouble. King Leopold
watched every item of news from England. "Now is the time," said the
sagacious King to himself, and he proposed the visit.
There had been little correspondence between the cousins. Prince Albert
had sent the Princess sketches of the places that he had visited in his
travels, and when she became Queen, he wrote her a somewhat formal
little letter, reminding her that the happiness of millions lay in her
hands, and closing rather primly, "I will not be indiscreet and abuse
your time." Victoria must have had in her mind a picture of her cousin
that was a strange combination of a serious young man somewhat given to
sermonizing and the stout, merry boy of seventeen who had slipped down
to the floor of his carriage and pushed his dog's head up to the window
when people pressed around to see the Prince.
With these two conflicting notions in her thoughts, the Queen went to
the head of the staircase in Windsor Palace to welcome her "two dear
cousins." The stout boy had vanished but in his place stood a tall,
manly, handsome young man, with a cheery, thoughtful face. Two days
later a letter went from the Queen to "Uncle Leopold," which said, "My
dear Uncle, Albert is fascinating." Then she remembered that she had
two cousinly guests and added, "The young men are very amiable,
delightful companions, and I am very glad to have them here."
King Leopold wrote at once, "I am sure you will like the cousins the
more, the longer you see them." Then he talked about the Prince.
"Albert is full of talent and fun and draws cleverly. May he be able to
strew roses without thorns on the pathway of life of our good Victoria!
He is well qualified to do so."
While the hopeful uncle was writing this letter, Victoria was talking
with Lord Melbourne.
"My lord," she said, "I have made up my mind at last, and I am ready to
marry Prince Albert whenever he wants me."
"I am very glad of it," replied her fatherly friend. "You will be much
more comfortable; for a woman cannot stand alone for any time, in
whatever position she may be."
"Do you think that my people will be pleased?" she asked.
"I believe that they will," he replied, for he knew very well how eager
they were for her marriage. No one liked the Duke of Cumberland, who
was now King Ernest of Hanover, but if the Queen died without children,
he would come over to England and wear the English crown as well as
that of Hanover. The feeling against him was so strong that it had even
been proposed in Parliament to make a law forbidding him ever to occupy
the throne.
On the fourth morning of their visit, the two Princes went hunting. It
was a long forenoon to the Queen, for she had what she afterwards
called a "nervous" thing to do. They came back at noon, but they had
hardly time to change their hunting clothes before a message was
brought to Prince Albert that the Queen wished to see him.
Now, royal etiquette forbade that this Prince of a little German duchy
should ask the sovereign of Great Britain for her hand; so when Albert
reached the Queen's apartments, he was obliged to wait until she had
spoken.
"I think you must know why I wished you to come," she said shyly. The
Prince had still to keep silent; he could only bow, but his bow must
have expressed a great deal, for she went on bravely: "It will make me
very happy if you will consent to what I wish."
In just what form the Prince made his reply the Queen did not reveal,
but it was evidently satisfactory, for she wrote, "He is perfection in
every way." That very day she sent a letter to King Leopold in which
she said: "I am so much bewildered by it all that I hardly know how to
write. But I do feel very happy."
A few weeks before this time she had written Baron Stockmar that she
could not think of marrying for three or four years, but that very day
she wrote him: "I do feel so guilty, I know not how to begin my
letter, but I think the news it will contain will be sufficient to
insure your forgiveness. Albert has completely won my heart, and all
was settled between us this morning I feel certain that he will make me
very happy. I wish I could say," continued the modest little sovereign
of Great Britain, "that I felt as certain of making him happy, but I
shall do my best."
Prince Albert, too, had some letters to write; and as Victoria had
written to King Leopold, his first was to Baron Stockmar. After telling
of his happiness and of his love for the Queen, he wrote: "I cannot
write more, I am too much bewildered." It certainly was bewildering. He
had been told not long before that the Queen was determined not to
marry for three or four years at any rate, and that she would not
consent to any formal engagement. He had come to England with a
determination to insist either that she should recognize the informal
engagement between them or that it should be broken off.
The Duchess of Kent had loved Albert from the first, and she was very
happy in the thought of the marriage. She and the Baroness Lehzen,
together with Lord Melbourne and Prince Albert's brother, were the only
ones in England who knew the secret until five or six weeks had passed.
Then came a difficult five minutes for the young Queen. She had to meet
her Council of eighty middle-aged men and tell them of her engagement.
It is no wonder that she "hardly knew who was there." The picture of
the Prince in her bracelet gave her courage, and though Lord Melbourne
was far down the room, she caught a kind look from him and saw the
tears of sympathy in his eyes. Her fingers trembled, but she soon
controlled herself and read: "It is my intention to ally myself in
marriage with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha." She went
through the rest of the paper with her usual clear, sweet voice, and
one of the Councilors wrote of the event: "Certainly she did look as
interesting and as handsome as any young lady I ever saw."
When the reading of the paper was finished, the Lord President asked:
"Have we your Majesty's permission to publish this declaration?" The
Queen bowed and left the Council Chamber. About two months later she
had something even harder to do; she had to open Parliament and ask
that an income should be granted to the Prince. Another matter also had
to be settled, and that was what position he should hold in England.
Whether he should enter a room before or after dukes, earls, and
members of the royal family was a question that gave rise to much
discussion. These two questions were not settled as the Queen wished,
for the sum granted to the Prince was but three-fifths of what her
Ministers had asked, and Parliament refused to pass a law giving him
precedence next to herself. The Duke of Wellington said, "Let the Queen
put the Prince just where she wishes him to be;" and this she did, as
far as England was concerned, by issuing an order in Council that he
should stand next to herself. Some of her royal relatives were
indignant and King Ernest declared positively that he would never give
precedence to the younger brother of a German duke. "I won't give way
to any paper royal highness," he declared. The Queen was both hurt and
angry at these decisions but Prince Albert's only fear was lest they
indicated objection to the marriage on the part of the English, and he
wrote: "While I possess your love, they cannot make me unhappy."
A little more than a week after this letter was written, the day of the
wedding came. It had been the custom to celebrate royal weddings in the
evening, though other weddings must by law take place before noon; but
on this, as on most other subjects, the Queen had a very definite
opinion. "I wish to be married as my subjects are married," she said,
"and the ceremony must be at noon."
"Is it the will of your Majesty that the word 'obey' be omitted from
the promise that you make to the Prince?" asked the Archbishop of
Canterbury.
"No," she answered with decision. "I am not to be married as a queen,
but as a woman."
The wedding day was stormy, but that made little difference to bride,
groom, or any of the brilliant company assembled in the Chapel of St.
James'. The Prince wore the uniform of a British field-marshal, with
the collar of the Garter, and looked exceedingly handsome. As he came
into the Chapel, the organ burst out into the strains of "See, the
Conquering Hero Comes." He stood by the altar waiting for his bride,
and in a short time she appeared, escorted by the Lord Chamberlain. She
wore a dress of heavy white satin, woven in England. Her veil had made
scores of poor women happy, for she had ordered it of the lace-makers
of Honiton in Devon. She wore no crown, but only a wreath of orange
blossoms. She had diamond earrings and necklace, and a few diamonds in
her hair. Twelve bridesmaids in white tulle and white roses bore her
train; and a hard time they had, for, although it was six yards long,
they found it too short for so many bearers. One of them wrote: "We
were all huddled together, and scrambled rather than walked along,
kicking each other's heels and treading on each other's gowns."
marshal.]
At the moment the ring was placed on the Queen's finger, the guns in
the Park and at the Tower were fired, and the bells rang out their
merriest peals. When the ceremony was over, the party returned to
Buckingham Palace for a wedding breakfast. The bridesmaid who wrote the
account of the wedding said that Prince Albert "seemed a little nervous
about getting into the carriage with a lady with a tail six yards
long," but they all reached the palace in safety. After the breakfast
the sunshine at last beamed down upon them, and the young couple sped
away for their honeymoon at Windsor Castle.
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At last came 1848--a year packed with political convulsions and overthrows. The spirit of revolution was rampant, bowling away at all the thrones of Europe. England heard the storm thundering nearly all round the horizon, for in the sister isle th... Sixty-three Years Since
The 24th of May, 1819, was a memorable and happy day for England, though like many such days, it was little noticed at the time. Sixty-three years since! Do many of us quite realise what England was like then; how much it differed from the England... Sketch Of The Princess Charlotte
It seems to me that the life of Queen Victoria cannot well be told without a prefacing sketch of her cousin, the Princess Charlotte, who, had she lived, would have been her Queen, and who was in many respects her prototype. It is certain, I think,... Stress And Strain
Forward, forward let us range, Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. TENNYSON The greatest Revolutions are not always those which are accompanied by riot and bloodshed. Engl... Strife
"Two men I honour, and no third. First, the toilworn Craftsman that with earth-made Implement laboriously conquers the Earth, and makes her man's. . . . A second man I honour, and still more highly: Him who is seen toiling for the spiritually indi... The Accession
On the day after that on which Princess Victoria celebrated her majority. Baron Stockmar arrived at Kensington. He came from the King of the Belgians to assist King Leopold's niece in what was likely to be the great crisis of her life. During Baro... The Betrothal
The Queen's remaining unmarried was becoming the source of innumerable disturbing rumours and private intrigues for the bestowal of her hand. To show the extent to which the public discussed the question in every light, a serious publication like ... The Children Of England
"From the folding of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. . . . They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. . . . 'They are Man's,' sa... The Closing Years
One autumn day in 1896 vast numbers of telegrams were sent to Queen Victoria, not only from the English colonies, but from almost all the countries of the world. They were full of congratulations on the length of her reign; for now she had been on... The Coming Of The Prince
The coronation ceremonies in Westminster Abbey were, indeed, magnificent, but it must not be supposed that England was satisfied with no further celebration of so joyful an event. Throughout the realm there were for several days fairs, balls, and ... The Condemnation Of The English Duel
On the 1st of July, 1843, duelling received its death-blow in England by a fatal duel--so unnatural and so painful in its consequences that it served the purpose of calling public attention to the offence--long tolerated, even advocated in some qu... The Coronation
The coronation was fixed for June 28, 1838 a little more than a year from the accession. The, Queen had been slightly troubled at the thought of some of the antiquated forms of that grand and complicated ceremony--for instance, the homage of th... The Coronation
When the young Queen awoke on the morning after her accession, she must have fancied for a moment that she had dreamed all the events of the previous day. She had gone to bed expecting a quiet morning of study; she had been aroused to hear that sh... The Emperor And Empress Of France Visit Windsor
The Queen's kind heart was really pained by the sudden death of the Czar, her sometime friend and "brother"--whose visit to Windsor was brought by the startling event vividly to her mind--yet she turned from his august shade to welcome one of his li... The End
The evening had been golden; but, after all, the day was to close in cloud and tempest. Imperial needs, imperial ambitions, involved the country in the South African War. There were checks, reverses, bloody disasters; for a moment the nation was s... The First Christening The Season Of 1841
The Queen was able to open Parliament in person at the end of January. The first christening in the royal household had been fixed to take place on the 10th of February, the first anniversary of the Queen's wedding-day, which was thus a double g... The First Months Of Marriage
In this mere sketch of the great life of the Queen of England, I can give little space to the political questions and events of her reign, important and momentous as some of them were, even for other lands and other people than the English. For a ... The Great Exhibition
The idea of a "great exhibition of the Works and Industries of all Nations" was Prince Albert's. The scheme when first proposed in 1849 was coldly received in this country. It was intended, to use the Prince's own words, "To give us a true test an... The Indian Mutiny
Exactly one hundred years after Clive had laid the foundation of our empire in India by the victory of Plassey, events occurred in that country which completely cast into the shade the tragic incident of the 'Black Hole' of Calcutta. During the ce... The Jubilee Season
With the exception of Prince Alfred, the Queen's children had married according to the German proverb, "The oldest must leave the house first." The next in age was Prince Arthur, or the Duke of Connaught. He married in 1879 Princess Louise of Prus... The Last Day Of Victoria's Real Girlhood
It seems to me that the momentous day just described was the last of Victoria's real girlhood; that premature womanhood was thrust upon her with all the power, grandeur, and state of a Queen Regnant. I wonder if, weary and nervously exhausted as s... The Little Folk
In the midst of all the royalties that were present at the wedding of the Prince of Wales were the two great novelists of the realm, Thackeray and Dickens; but Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, was not there. Again "someone had blundered," and his invi... The Maiden Queen
When the great event of the coronation was over the Queen was left to fulfil the heavy demands of business and the concluding gaieties of the season. It comes upon us with a little pathetic shock, to think of one whom we have long known chiefly in... The Marriage
The 10th of February rose dark and foggy, with a lowering sky discharging at frequent intervals heavy showers. But to many a loyal heart far beyond the sound of Bow bells the date brought a thrill of glad consciousness which was quite independent ... The Prince Of Wales' Trip To America
In May, Prince Albert ran over to Germany to visit his old home, and his new son, and his darling daughter, whom he found well and happy. In one of his letters to the Queen from Gotha, he says: "I enclose a forget-me- not from grandmama's grave." ... The Princess Opens The Victoria Park At Bath
When she was eleven years old, the Princess opened the Victoria Park at Bath. She began the opening business thus early, and has kept it up pretty diligently for fifty years--parks, expositions, colleges, exchanges, law courts, bridges, docks, art... The Proroguing Of Parliament The Visit To Guildhall And The Coronation
Buckingham Palace had been a seat of the Duke of Buckingham's, which was bought by George II., and in the next reign was settled on Queen Charlotte instead of Somerset House, and called the "Queen's House." It was rebuilt by George IV. but not occ... The Queen And The Children
There had been only one drawback to the Queen's happiness during the Jubilee rejoicings, and that was the poor health of her favorite son-in-law, the Crown Prince of Germany. In the procession he had looked superbly well and strong, but his throat... The Queen As An Artist And Author
The Prince-Consort, as we have seen, was accomplished in music and painting, and knew much about many subjects. The Queen is not only an author, but an artist, and takes a great interest in art. To an exhibition under the auspices of the Royal Ang... The Queen In Mourning
Henceforth the great Queen was 'written widow,' and while striving nobly in her loneliness to fulfil those public functions, in which she had hitherto been so faithfully companioned, she shrank at first from courtly pageantry and from the gay whir... The Queen In Sorrow
It had certainly become clear to all her Ministers that Victoria was no mere figurehead, for while she yielded if their judgment was against her, yet she never failed to have an opinion and a reason for her opinion. In 1861, the fact that both she... The Queen's First Visit To Scotland
The Queen had never been abroad. It was still well-nigh an unconstitutional step for a sovereign of England to claim the privilege, enjoyed by so many English subjects, of a foreign tour, let it be ever so short. However, this year the proposal of... The Queen's First Visit To Scotland
This year of 1842 was not all joy and festivity. It was the year of the massacres of the British forces in Cabul; there was financial distress in England, which a charitable masked ball at Buckingham Palace did not wholly relieve; and in May occur... The Queen's Sympathy During The Illness Of President Garfield
On the 7th of March, 1863, all London and nearly all England went mad over the coming of the Princess Alexandra, from Denmark, to wed the Prince of Wales. Lord Ronald Gower, a son of the beautiful Duchess of Sutherland, gives in his "Reminiscences... The Queen's Trip To Ostend Drayton Chatsworth And Belvoir
"Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute." In the course of another week the Queen took a second trip to the Continent, sailing to Ostend to pay the most natural visit in the world--the only thing singular about it was that it had been so long delay... The Royal Young People
Many people had thought that the Russians hoped to get control of India. If they had succeeded in doing so, the Queen would have been saved the sorrow that came to her from a revolt of her Indian troops which was known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The com... The Schooldays Of A Princess
Nothing could be more simple than the order of the Princess' day at Kensington. Breakfast was at eight, and it was eaten out of doors whenever the weather was good. The Princess sat in a tiny rosewood chair beside her mother, and the little girl's... The Sovereignty Of England And Hanover Severed Forever
Ever since the accession to the throne of Great Britain of the House of Brunswick, the Kings of England had also been Kings of Hanover. To carry on the two branches of the royal business simultaneously must have been a little difficult, at least p... The Twilight Life After
"There is no one near me to call me 'Victoria' now!" is said to have been the desolate cry of the Queen, when, on waking from that first sleep, the cruel morning light, smote upon her with a full consciousness of her bereavement, and a new sense o... Victoria Life
Victoria Alexandrina, only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. Born at Kensington, May 24, 1819. Became Queen, June 20, 1837. Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort, born August 26, 1819, died Dec... Victoria The Great
The keynote of Queen Victoria's life was simplicity. She was a great ruler, and at the same time a simple-minded, sympathetic woman, the true mother of her people. She seemed by some natural instinct to understand their joys and their sorrows, and... Victoria's Early Education
Queen Victoria tells little of her childhood, but speaks of it as rather "dull." It seems, however, to have never been empty or idle. All her moments were golden--for study, or for work, or healthful exercise and play. She was taught, and perhaps ... Victoria's First Christmas At Windsor Castle As Queen
On Lord Mayor's Day, the Queen went in state to dine with her brother- monarch, the King of "Great London Town." It was a memorable, magnificent occasion. The Queen was attended by all the great ladies and gentlemen of her Court, and followed by a... Victoria's First Meeting With Prince Albert
In May, 1836, the Princess saw, for the first time, her cousins, Ernest and Albert, of Saxe-Coburg. These brothers, one eighteen and the other seventeen, are described as charming young fellows, well-bred and carefully educated, with high aims, go... Victorian Era
1838. The Chartist Movement. The Chartists demanded (1) Annual Parliaments; (2) Manhood Suffrage; (3) Vote by ballot; (4) Equal electoral districts; (5) Abolition of the property qualification for members of Parliament; (6) Payment for members of ...