The Queen's Husband

Chapter X LORD MELBOURNE DEPARTS

The Christmas holidays were coming to an end. Lord Melbourne wrote to the Queen condoling with her because, against her will, she must return to London for the opening of Parliament. It was an ordeal which the Queen would have happily missed.

The Queen had reproved Lord Melbourne for not coming to Windsor. It was a long time since she had seen him and he knew that she did not like to be away from him for too long.

He could not, wrote the Prime Minister, leave London because of the uncertain state of politics and when she did arrive in London he would have a few words with her about the speech from the throne, which would have to be more carefully worded than usual because of the country’s rather uneasy relations with France.

He was very happy though, he wrote, to hear that she was reluctant to leave the country, which he construed as meaning that the simple pleasures shared with her husband were more enjoyable to her than the unavoidably public life in London. He believed that this meant she was very happy and there was nothing on earth that Lord Melbourne desired more than her happiness.

‘Dearest Lord M,’ murmured the Queen when she read that letter. At least one thing would make her happy to return to London; she would see her Prime Minister.

Uncle Leopold wrote that although discretion had prevented his being present at Victoria’s coronation and wedding, he would come to the baptism of the Princess Royal.

Albert was delighted. It would be a wonderful reunion and they would have so much to talk about. He must not of course mention their differences. Uncle Leopold would make a big issue of that and could well give all sorts of advice not only to Albert but to Victoria which might prove fatal to Albert’s hopes.

On the 23rd of January Victoria opened Parliament and when that was over all her thoughts were directed to the christening. At the beginning of February the weather turned very cold and there was ice on the lake in Buckingham Palace gardens. The Prince’s eyes sparkled. It reminded him of the skating he and Ernest had so much enjoyed in Coburg.

Day after day the frost continued and a few days before that fixed for the christening Albert declared that the lake was hard enough for skating.

Victoria wanted to join him but he begged her not to. ‘I should be overcome by anxiety. It is too soon after Pussy’s birth,’ said Albert.

Because he begged and did not command, Victoria was happy to fall in with his wishes and touched, she said, by his care of her. So each day she and her ladies would go out into the grounds of Buckingham Palace to watch the skaters, and the Queen was delighted with the figure Albert cut on the ice. He was an expert.

The palace garden with its forty acres was a consolation to Albert for having to live in London. The lake was delightful and there was a pleasant summer-house situated on a mound for which he had plans. He was one day going to have it decorated and made into a refuge from the great palace which, though so close, was invisible during summer when the trees were thick with leaves.

On the day before the christening it seemed a little warmer. The Queen commented on it to the Duchess of Sutherland and some of the other ladies as they made their way to the lake where the Prince was already skating. He liked her to watch him.

As she came near to the lake she saw Albert. He waved to her. She waved back.

‘How beautifully he moves!’ she murmured.

As Albert skated towards her there was a sudden sound of cracking ice and the Prince, throwing up his hands, disappeared. Where he had been was a big hole of dark water.

The ladies started to scream. One of them ran to the palace to get help. But Victoria could only think that Albert had disappeared beneath the ice.

She ran to the lake. ‘Albert!’ she cried desperately.

His head appeared.

‘Albert, I’m coming,’ she said, though she was not quite sure what she could do.

‘Go back!’ called Albert. ‘It’s dangerous.’

But she took no notice. Cautiously she ventured on to the ice, testing it with her foot before taking a step forward. She held out her hands to him.

Albert by this time was scrambling out. ‘My dearest,’ he panted, ‘keep away.’

But she had seized his arm and was pulling him out of the water.

The ice seemed firm where Victoria stood and later she heard that it had been broken just where Albert had fallen in and had lightly frozen over again, which was why it was so weak at that particular spot.

Clinging together they reached the bank.

‘My brave love!’ said Albert. ‘You might have joined me beneath the ice …’

‘You are shivering,’ said Victoria sternly. ‘I must get you into the palace at once.’

The christening was a great success. Pussy behaved very well and did not cry as the Queen had feared she might. She appeared to be fascinated by the lights and the uniforms and everyone commented on her intelligence.

The old Duke of Wellington stood proxy for the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as one of the sponsors; Leopold was another. Queen Adelaide with the Duke of Sussex and the Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester made up the rest.

After the ceremony, which took place in Buckingham Palace, at six p.m. there was a dinner-party over which the Queen presided.

Beside her was her dear Lord Melbourne and she told him that she was reminded of the old days when he dined almost every evening at the palace and indeed had an apartment there.

She noticed that tears filled his eyes and she was deeply touched.

‘You will always be my dear friend,’ she said warmly, ‘and none of your other friends will be as fond of you as I am.’

‘Your Majesty once told me that before. I have never forgotten, nor shall I ever.’

‘Dear Lord M.’ She touched his hand briefly and then, because it was such an emotional moment, she changed the subject by asking what he had thought of the ceremony.

‘It went off perfectly,’ said Lord Melbourne, ‘and I could not help but be impressed by the chief performer.’

‘You mean?’

‘The Princess Royal. She looked about her, conscious that all the stir was for her. This is the time that character is formed.’

The Queen laughed aloud and repeated Lord Melbourne’s remark to the rest of the company.

She remembered how in the old days a dinner-party was always gay and amusing when Lord Melbourne was present, and rather dull when he wasn’t. It was different now of course that there was Albert.

Albert was sneezing violently.

‘Oh, dear,’ said the Queen, ‘I hope your ducking is not going to make you ill.’

‘It’s only a cold,’ replied the Prince. He looked at her fondly. ‘I shall never forget how promptly you saved me.’

‘I didn’t save you. You saved yourself.’

‘You showed great presence of mind. Different from your attendants. I was proud of you.’

‘Oh, Albert, I can’t describe my terror when I saw you disappear.’

‘My love, there was no real danger. The lake is not deep and in fact the ice was quite firm except at that one small spot.’

‘I thought of so many things in the space of those few moments,’ she said. ‘I thought of them carrying you into the palace … dead, and I knew then that if that had been so I should want to die too.’

Albert kissed her tenderly.

‘My dear love, we are happy are we not?’

‘Completely, Albert.’

‘We must try always to keep it as it was during that moment when I disappeared and you came out on the ice to rescue me.’

‘We will, Albert,’ she cried fervently. ‘We will.’

All Albert suffered from the skating incident was a severe cold. Victoria insisted on making sure that he did everything to rid himself of it. Having suffered that moment of intense fear when she had thought of losing him she realised how much she loved him.

She was blissfully happy for a few weeks. Then she made a discovery.

She was once more pregnant.

‘It can’t be,’ she moaned. ‘It is much too soon.’

Albert was delighted, but inwardly she was resentful. As she had remarked to Uncle Leopold, men seldom understood what child-bearing meant, that terrible ordeal being quite beyond their comprehension.

Lehzen grumbled that it was far too soon. Victoria should have had a year in which to recover from Pussy’s birth, she said, implying that Albert had been inconsiderate in forcing this new pregnancy upon her. Even the Duchess of Kent expressed the desire that there should have been a longer interval, although there was not a hint of criticism of Albert from her.

Victoria was even more difficult than she had been during the first months of Pussy’s gestation. She began finding fault with everyone and her ladies were beginning to dread approaching her. The famous temper flared up at the slightest provocation, and the atmosphere was quite different from that which had prevailed at Windsor during Christmas.

She was anxious too about the government. Trade was bad and the finances of the country were weak. When Lord Melbourne came to see her he was quite clearly uneasy and she felt that he tried to keep this from her. She could guess what it meant. The Opposition was being difficult again and the idea of losing her Prime Minister with the ordeal of childbirth looming ahead of her angered her.

Her pretty pink and white complexion faded during those months; she looked pale, even sallow. Her nose looked longer, her eyes less blue and her mouth sullen. I’m quite plain, she thought, and Albert is beautiful.

She noticed then how pretty some of her ladies were. How foolish she had been to choose them because she liked the look of them. If she did, other people might – people like Albert, for instance.

Albert had always disliked the society of women and she had at times been a little critical of his awkwardness with them, but she fancied that this was changing.

She had heard him chattering away with Miss Spring-Rice in German. That very pretty young lady spoke the language quite well and gave herself airs because the Prince naturally liked to talk in his native tongue.

‘I trust you enjoyed your conversations with the young lady,’ said the Queen after she had listened to them as she said ‘going on and on’.

‘It was very interesting,’ replied the Prince. ‘Her accent is not at all bad. She has an amusing way with her verbs which I have to correct.’

‘And there is something I have to correct. I don’t care to hear you giggling with that silly frivolous creature.’

‘We talked in German,’ said the Prince. ‘I do not think that could be described as giggling.’

‘I describe what you were doing as such,’ said the Queen haughtily and left him. In her room she looked into her mirror.

‘I was never pretty,’ she said, ‘but being pregnant has certainly not improved my looks.’

Lehzen said that when a woman was going to have a child nature did something to her, put an aura around her, gave her special attractions.

‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ snapped the Queen. ‘Where is this aura? Show it to me.’

‘It is something you can’t point to.’

‘No, it is something to pacify me. It doesn’t exist. Sometimes, Lehzen, I think you imagine I am a child in the nursery. This is no longer so, and please remember it. I will not be treated as though I’m a querulous child.’

Lehzen looked so sad that Victoria cried: ‘Oh, Lehzen, I’m sorry. I’ve become terrible lately. And what’s worse I quarrel all the time with Albert.’

‘Well, as he’s responsible for your condition, he must understand.’

‘He does. He is an angel.’

She must try to be reasonable; she must make Albert see that it was this violent temper of hers and the fact that she was so soon to have another baby which was affecting her.

She was charming to Albert for a few days and he, the dear good angel, behaved as though nothing unusual had happened, and then she began to be jealous because he seemed to enjoy the company of Miss Devereux who was really very beautiful and dignified and rather like Albert in temperament.

‘It’s the first few months that are the worst in a pregnancy,’ comforted Lehzen. ‘After that you’ll settle down and become quite serene as you did last time.’

‘You can all take it very calmly,’ retorted Victoria. ‘You don’t have to go through it all. You’re like Uncle Leopold.’

‘My precious love!’ cried Lehzen aghast. ‘You must know that I suffer all the time … with you.’

Victoria threw her arms about the Baroness and said she was a beast. She did not deserve her dearest Daisy nor that dearest and kindest of husbands. And she felt better comforting Lehzen.

But she was soon irritable again.

She came upon Albert talking to Miss Pitt, one of the prettiest of her maids of honour – a rather reserved young lady with whom Albert had often had a friendly word.

Miss Pitt was carrying a very beautiful bouquet of flowers and the Prince, who was passionately interested in horticulture, had paused to admire it.

‘The spring flowers are perhaps the most beautiful,’ he was saying, and Miss Pitt was agreeing with him. Miss Pitt was holding the flowers out to him to smell when the Queen came in.

Victoria’s expression was stormy, and Albert, noticing this, tried to soothe her.

‘Look at these beautiful flowers, my love,’ he said, smiling. ‘I think we should grow more flowers in the gardens.’

The Queen took the flowers and looked at them distastefully.

‘They are yours, Miss Pitt?’ she enquired.

‘Yes, Your Majesty. I was passing through when His Highness stopped to admire them.’

To admire them, thought the Queen looking at Miss Pitt, whose prettiness was enhanced by her blushing.

‘Well, leave them with me,’ said the Queen with a nod, and Miss Pitt, interpreting this correctly as dismissal, curtsied and retired.

The Queen’s angry eyes met those of Albert over the flowers. Then deliberately she tore the bouquet to pieces, scattering the flowers all over the floor, and went to the door.

At it she paused. ‘There. Now you may gather them up and take them to Miss Pitt. It will give you a chance to see her again and tell her how much you admire her flowers … and her.’

Albert merely looked at her sadly and she ran to her room, threw herself on to her bed and burst into tears.

Albert asked Lord Melbourne to call on him and when the Prime Minister arrived, he told him that the Queen was unaware of this meeting.

‘I am seriously concerned,’ said the Prince, ‘and I feel that owing to your friendship with the Queen and your affection for her, you are the one best to advise me how to act.’

Lord Melbourne, who had grown to respect the Prince, replied immediately that he was at his service. He understood. Baron Stockmar, the Prince’s chief adviser, was out of England at the time, and it pleased the Prime Minister that the Prince should turn to him.

‘I am very anxious about the Queen,’ went on Albert.

Lord Melbourne nodded gravely.

‘Her present mood will pass, I know,’ said the Prince. ‘It is entirely due to her condition and, although this year it is more exaggerated than last, it springs from the same source.’

‘I know Your Highness is capable of exercising great patience and realises the absolute necessity to do so.’

‘That is true,’ replied Albert gravely. ‘I am thinking of the inevitable change of government.’

Lord Melbourne nodded gravely. ‘It can’t be delayed much longer. In fact, but for the Queen’s action, we should have been out two years ago.’

‘That is my point,’ said Albert. ‘There must not be another bedchamber incident. I believe that if the Queen were to behave once more as she did on that occasion the Crown would be in danger.’

Lord Melbourne looked grave. ‘It should certainly be prevented.’

‘It must be prevented.’

‘You have surely not spoken to the Queen of this matter?’

‘It is impossible to speak to the Queen. She flies into a temper it often seems without reason. To mention such a matter to her now would have disastrous consequences, I fear.’

‘Then what do you propose?’

‘That this must be settled without the Queen.’

‘You cannot mean that her bedchamber ladies can be dismissed without her knowledge.’

‘Sir Robert Peel will find himself in a similar position to that which confronted him two years ago. What if there is an election and your Ministry is defeated?’

‘It is almost a foregone conclusion that it will be,’ Lord Melbourne said wryly. ‘The Queen would, of course, be obliged to accept a government which had been elected by the people.’

‘And if she refused to change her household and if Sir Robert Peel refused to take office until she did?’

‘The Queen would be obliged to obey the Constitution. She would have to give way.’

‘What a humiliation for her! I want to spare her that.’

‘I would wish that, too.’

It was true, thought Albert, that Lord Melbourne saw the danger and wished to spare the Queen; but Lord Melbourne’s way was always to let things go and hope that they would work out all right. That was not Albert’s way.

‘Lord Melbourne,’ said Albert earnestly, ‘how long can your Ministry continue in office?’

‘We shall certainly be out before the end of this year. Long before the end of it, I think.’

‘And there will be an election?’

‘It seems inevitable.’

‘And Peel’s party will be returned?’

‘I fear so.’

The Prince believed so too, though he did not fear it. He believed Sir Robert Peel would make a better Prime Minister than Lord Melbourne.

‘My plan is,’ said Albert, ‘that before there is a Tory Government the chief Whig ladies of the Queen’s bedchamber shall already have tendered their resignations. Then the Queen will be spared the humiliation of having to bow to Sir Robert’s wishes.’

‘But how will you bring about these resignations?’

‘Would you have any objection to my consulting Sir Robert Peel on this matter?’

‘I would have none and indeed am entitled to have none. I believe Sir Robert will welcome your suggestions.’

‘Then I will see what can be done.’

‘All this is to be secret from Her Majesty?’

‘Absolutely. It would be quite impossible while she is in her present mood to discuss it with her. You think I am foolish to attempt this.’

‘I think you are very brave,’ replied Lord Melbourne.

The Prince discussed the matter with his secretary Mr Anson, who, discreet and astute, grasped the situation immediately and agreed with the Prince that there was only one way of dealing with it and that was as the Prince proposed.

If Peel came into power the bedchamber ladies would have to be changed, and as the Queen would have to bow to this it would be a humiliation for her and a triumph for Sir Robert.

‘We must remember,’ said Mr Anson, ‘that Sir Robert was deeply humiliated by the Queen two years ago and if he were a ruthless and vindictive man he might insist on retaliation.’

‘I do not believe Sir Robert Peel to be that kind of man,’ said the Prince, ‘and I want to do everything in my power to save the Queen from humiliation.’

‘And Your Highness would wish me to approach Sir Robert on your behalf, and sound him as to his course of action should he become Prime Minister.’

‘That is what I wish,’ said the Prince.

‘Then shall we decide exactly what I shall say to Sir Robert?’

The Prince bowed his head. There was no doubt that like Lord Melbourne, Mr Anson considered the Prince to be a very brave man to risk rousing the Queen’s anger which, over such a matter which she would consider an interference with her personal concerns, could be more fierce than it had ever been before.

Sir Robert Peel was very interested when George Anson told him that it was the wish of a ‘common friend’ that he should put a certain matter before him, particularly so when he discovered that that friend was the Prince Consort.

Sir Robert Peel, a man of great courage and high ideals, knew that it was almost certain that before the year was out he would be Prime Minister; although he believed this would be the best thing possible for the country he was not looking forward to being sent for by the Queen and having to face a humiliating situation such as that which had confronted him two years ago when the Queen had refused to give up the ladies of her bedchamber who were all related to prominent Whigs. These Whig ladies were still in their positions but the situation would be different now. On that other occasion Lord Melbourne had resigned although the government had not actually been defeated, but in view of Lord Melbourne’s small majority he had decided it was impossible to carry on. Therefore in taking over from Melbourne, Sir Robert would not have had a majority in the House – until there was an election of course – and in those circumstances he had not felt it possible to form a government which would incur the hostility of the Queen. It was different now. The Melbourne Ministry would soon be defeated in the house; a general election would be called; the Tories would get a big majority and it would then not be possible for the Queen to defy them. If then Peel insisted on her changing her bedchamber ladies she would have to do so. It was an unpleasant situation which Sir Robert Peel would have given a great deal to avoid.

Dedicated, as Melbourne never could be, responsible for so many reforms, Sir Robert was completely lacking in those social graces which made Lord Melbourne so popular in many of the great houses and chiefly in Buckingham Palace and Windsor. He could be witty and amusing in his home; he could be dynamic in the House of Commons; he was cool and courageous, a great leader and reformer; but in the presence of the young girl who was Queen he was at a great disadvantage, being aware that she disliked him intensely – and illogically – largely because his rise must mean the fall of Lord Melbourne.

Having met the Prince Consort and found him a man of temperament similar to his own he had been hopeful. It seemed possible that Albert might be able to guide the Queen, to teach her the value of logic, to make her understand that government is not necessarily in good hands because those hands happen to be owned by a gentleman of great personal charm. He was eager to hear what Anson had to tell him.

Sir Robert said: ‘You may speak absolutely frankly to me and every word you say shall be between us two. I shall not, without permission, mention what we discuss to any of my colleagues, not even the Duke of Wellington.’

George Anson said that it seemed almost certain that there would soon be an election and there was little doubt of the result. He reminded Sir Robert of a contretemps which had put him in a very embarrassing position two years ago when the Queen had sent for him and asked him to form a government. The Prince was anxious that there should be no such recurrence of such an embarrassment.

‘The last thing I wish to do is humiliate the Queen,’ declared Sir Robert sincerely. ‘I would waive every pretension to office rather than do so.’

‘But if you did, Sir Robert, someone would take your place and the situation would be the same. The Prince wishes to know whether, if certain offices in the Queen’s Bedchamber were vacant at the time you took office, you would be prepared to consult with Her Majesty as to who should fill them.’

Sir Robert waited for George Anson to go on.

‘The three principal posts are held by the Duchess of Sutherland, the Duchess of Bedford and Lady Normanby. Now, suppose these ladies voluntarily resigned before you came into power, no unpleasant situation would arise.’

‘That is so,’ said Sir Robert.

‘Voluntary resignations,’ went on Anson, ‘and the posts vacant when the new government comes in. This is what the Prince feels will settle the matter satisfactorily.’

Sir Robert agreed that if this could be brought about a great deal of embarrassment would be saved on both sides.

Lord Melbourne was very grave when he called on the Queen.

‘I know what you have come to tell me,’ she said. ‘I have seen it coming for some time now.’

‘The main struggle will take place over the sugar duties,’ said Lord Melbourne. ‘And the Tories have threatened to bring up the matter of corn.’

She nodded.

‘And this time it will be the end.’

‘Well, we have been teetering on the edge for a long time,’ said Lord Melbourne. ‘We cannot teeter forever.’

‘Oh, my dear Lord Melbourne, what am I going to do without you?’

‘Your Majesty is in a different position now from that which you occupied on that other occasion. Now you have the Prince to stand with you.’

‘He is so good,’ said the Queen, ‘and I fear that I am very hasty and say things which I don’t really mean.’

‘Your Majesty is going through a very difficult time.’

‘There is no excuse for me. Women are having babies all the time.’

‘But they don’t have the additional burden of governing a country.’

‘Lord Melbourne, you are trying to make me sorry for myself.’

‘Indeed not, Ma’am. Any one of your subjects would envy you for having such a good and patient husband.’

The Queen was almost in tears. ‘How right you are. But that only makes me the more angry with myself for being so unkind to him and when I get angry with myself I am angry with him for making me so.’

‘It is what is known as a vicious circle,’ said Lord Melbourne.

‘If only he were not so good.’

‘A very trying quality,’ said Lord Melbourne with a touch of his humour.

‘We should admire it.’

‘As we do.’

‘But it is so hard to live up to. And you are right, it is trying when one is fretful and peevish and bad-tempered to be confronted by someone always wearing a Sunday face.’

Lord Melbourne was amused at the term. ‘Sunday faces,’ he suggested, ‘should perhaps be kept for the day when they are intended to be worn. To wear a Sunday face on a Wednesday would be like wearing Court dress to go marketing.’

Trust Lord Melbourne to make her laugh! It occurred to her fleetingly that it was partly his flippant worldliness which had made her so devoted to him in the past. Although a good kind feeling man, Lord M was never pious. He would never have a Sunday face to put on even on a Sunday.

Perhaps one of the reasons for her irritability was Albert’s unswerving goodness, which made her feel and act as though she were far from good.

But she was being disloyal to Albert, and that was the last thing she wanted to be. She was miserable when she quarrelled with him. She was devoted to her dear Prime Minister but she passionately loved her husband.

‘We are forgetting the seriousness of all this,’ she said. ‘Oh, dear Lord Melbourne, I cannot bear it if you leave me … now.’

‘We shall meet … often, I hope.’

‘And you will continue to write to me.’

‘I shall be entirely at your service.’

‘But it won’t be the same. You won’t come every day. I can imagine that Peel person objecting!’

‘He would only object if I discussed politics – a very reasonable objection. Give Peel a chance. You’ll recognise his virtues.’

‘It could never be the same.’

‘But you will remember that you have the Prince beside you. You can trust him completely. I respect his intelligence. You are very fortunate to have such a good husband.’

‘I know.’

‘Let him know how you appreciate him. Don’t shut him out.’

‘How I wish I did not lose my temper.’

‘You’ll learn to control it.’

‘When I think of some of the things I have done and said to Albert I shudder.’

‘Albert will forgive you.’

‘He is the most forgiving, kindest man in the world.’

On that note the Prime Minister took his leave, promising to report any new development in the situation to the Queen.

Before leaving the palace, Lord Melbourne saw George Anson. He told him that he had just left the Queen and that her mood was one of deep contrition because of recent scenes with Prince Albert. In Lord Melbourne’s opinion the Queen was coming out of one of her difficult phases; this seemed to Lord Melbourne a good moment for Albert to speak to her about the new proposals to deal with the bedchamber affair in the event of the government’s being defeated.

Consequently Albert went to the Queen. He looked very handsome and she thought as she always did when she saw him that there was not another man in the world to equal him in appearance. His gaze was tender. Lord Melbourne was right. She was indeed fortunate.

‘Albert,’ she cried tearfully. ‘You do love me, Albert?’

‘With all my heart,’ said Albert fervently in German, which he always used in his most tender moments.

‘I am so difficult.’

‘My dear love, I understand. No sooner is Pussy born than you are to have another child. You are very young and it has been a little too much. But you are better, I can see that.’

‘You are so good, so patient, and even younger than I.’

‘By three months. It is nothing. And it is my duty to be patient. Besides, I love you.’

‘I will try to deserve your love. But I wonder whether I could ever be as good as you, Albert. And there are trials ahead. I have just seen the Prime Minister. A crisis is looming. Trade is bad. The finances are low. There is trouble about sugar and corn. And Sir Robert Peel is trying to oust Lord Melbourne.’

‘If the government is defeated on the budget, they will have to resign.’

‘It is exactly as it was before.’

‘Not exactly,’ said Albert. ‘Then the government had a small majority on the Jamaica Bill and resigned. Peel was not strong enough because had he formed a government he would have had a minority in the House. The position is changed. If the government was defeated on the budget, Peel would go to the country and there would almost certainly be a big Tory victory.’

‘That is what Lord Melbourne says. I dread that man Peel’s becoming Prime Minister. I dislike the man and he dislikes me too.’

‘I do not believe that to be true.’

‘Dear Albert, you think everyone is as kind and forgiving as you are.’

‘I don’t think Sir Robert is a vindictive man. He was very humiliated at the time of the bedchamber affair two years ago and would naturally not wish to be placed in such a position again.’

‘And when he comes to me and demands that I change my bedchamber women?’

‘Victoria, I have something very serious to say to you.’

‘Yes, Albert?’

‘You know, don’t you, that everything I do is for your benefit. My great concern is to spare you pain.’

‘Dearest Albert, I know it.’

‘I spend my days wondering how I can be of use to you.’

‘And I repay you by outbreaks of my horrid temper.’

‘Yet I know the tenderness of your heart and that you love me.’

‘Oh I do, Albert, I do.’

‘Then you will understand my motive, whatever you think of my action. We have to face facts, Victoria. The government is going to fall and the Tories are going to be victorious. Sir Robert Peel will come to you and you will be obliged to ask him to form a new government.’

‘I dread it. He will prance on the carpet like a dancing master and he will domineer and humiliate me and tell me that I shall have to have the ladies he chooses for me.’

‘He will not, Victoria, because I have been in communication with him on this matter.’

‘You … in communication with Sir Robert Peel!’

‘I thought it best … in fact I thought it the only way to save you from a humiliating situation. You are the Queen and expect subservience. But you are my wife and I was determined to protect you from humiliation, inconvenience, and if need be from yourself.’

She looked at him in astonishment. He looked stern and masterful and she felt a thrill of delight in this new strong Albert.

‘Please tell me, Albert,’ she said.

‘I have arranged – and Sir Robert has agreed to this – that the distressing matter of your household ladies shall be avoided. It is not possible for your household to be composed of ladies from such prominent Whig families as it is now, when your government is Tory. It would be a point of immediate controversy when the new government came in. So … some of your ladies … the leading ones like the Duchess of Bedford and Lady Normanby and the Duchess of Sutherland, are going to resign of their own accord before the new government comes in. Thus when there is a new ministry those posts will be vacant and it will be a matter for you and your new Prime Minister to decide who shall fill them.’

‘Albert … you have arranged this?’

He nodded, his heart beating wildly, as he waited for her anger to show itself. But it did not. A look of immense relief came over her face.

‘I have been so dreading it,’ she said. ‘Oh, Albert, thank you.’

Albert seized her in his arms; he kissed her in a manner which for Albert was quite abandoned.

‘Oh, Albert,’ she said meekly, ‘I was dreading it all … but I see now how different everything is. I have you.’

Albert was exultant. This was more than a temporary triumph. The way was clear ahead. He believed that he could now take the place beside the Queen which he had always known he must have if his marriage was to be happy.

There were great obstacles ahead, he knew, but this success had shown him that he could succeed.

When Lord Melbourne came to see the Queen, delightedly she told him what Albert had done.

‘You can rely on the Prince to stand beside you,’ said Lord Melbourne with tears in his eyes. ‘I shall now not feel so badly about ceasing to be your Prime Minister.’

‘I shall never be completely consoled,’ she replied, noting the tears and feeling her own well up. ‘But it is true that Albert has been a great comfort to me over this matter.’

‘And so it shall be through the years ahead.’

‘I believe it will. You know he arranged this without consulting me.’

‘Which was the only way it could have been done. He was determined to have no opposition.’

‘I was delighted. It had been worrying me a great deal. And to think that Albert saw it all and knew exactly what to do.’

‘Very commendable,’ said Lord Melbourne. ‘And Your Majesty must also applaud the part Sir Robert has played in this.’

‘Albert says he could have been vindictive.’

‘He could, but he is a noble and gallant gentleman.’

‘My dear Lord Melbourne,’ she cried, ‘and so are you. I am most impressed by the manner in which you have always spoken of your enemy.’

‘We are only enemies in the House of Commons; outside it we are quite good friends.’

‘Nevertheless he and his policies are the reason I am going to lose you. I shall find it hard to forgive him for that.’

‘Your Majesty must not allow your kindness to me to affect your feelings for Sir Robert.’

‘If you should be defeated at the polls you will still be my friend, Lord Melbourne. I shall insist upon it. You will visit me often; you will write to me. We must never forget that we are friends.’

Lord Melbourne was too moved to speak for a few moments and then said brightly, as though to cover up his emotion, ‘I have some news for Your Majesty.’

‘What news?’ she cried, trying to catch his mood.

‘News which will please and interest you. Lord John Russell really is going to marry Fanny Elliot.’

‘Really? He certainly needs a wife with all those children. How many of them are there?’

‘Six.’

‘Oh, yes, four of them were dear Adelaide’s before she married him and the youngest little girl was Lord John’s. Then there’s little Victoria named after me, whose coming was responsible for Adelaide’s death. I wish them every happiness. I have always been so fond of Johnny.’

But Lord Melbourne had left her the thought of the first Lady John Russell who had died giving birth to a child and she was reminded unpleasantly of her own ordeal which was coming closer.

Then the sense of well-being which Albert’s care for her had brought her began to wane; and she trembled at the thought of facing the hazardous business of once more bringing a child into the world.

Lord Melbourne soon had an opportunity of speaking to Prince Albert when he congratulated him on the successful outcome of his little manoeuvre.

‘It could not have been achieved without the cooperation of Sir Robert,’ said the Prince.

‘It’s to be hoped that Her Majesty realises this.’

‘She still dislikes him.’

Lord Melbourne smiled tenderly; then he was serious and said regretfully: ‘It will be Your Highness’s place, not mine, to correct her in this.’

‘I hope I shall be successful,’ said Albert.

‘Your Highness must be successful.’

‘I want to thank you for your help, Lord Melbourne.’

‘My duty, Your Highness. My greatest desire is for Her Majesty’s happiness.’

‘Then we share a goal.’

‘Your Highness, I should like to offer a word of advice.’

‘Please do.’

‘Get rid of the governess.’

Albert’s calm manner belied his inner excitement. ‘If only I could,’ he whispered.

‘She will always work against you. It may well be that many of your differences with the Queen have had their roots in her behaviour.’

‘I have long believed this to be so. She is inefficient. I blame the Queen’s lack of education on her.’

‘Her mother should not have segregated her from the Court and should have given her better teachers. The Baroness has done what she believes best and her devotion is without question. The Queen overflows with affection; she is completely loyal. But if you are going to have a happy married life, and that will contribute to a successful reign, you must get rid of the governess.’

‘Lord Melbourne, I am in absolute agreement with you.’

‘Her Majesty is at this moment grateful to you. She is ready to lean on you. Perhaps this is the moment to tell her that the governess should go.’

Albert was thoughtful. Then he shook his head.

‘She would never agree. She would become excited and when she does so her temper is violent. To attempt to win her consent to the Baroness’s dismissal now would be dangerous. I confess I am alarmed – considering her condition – when she flies into these tempers. I shall wait.’

‘But it will be your ultimate object?’ asked the Prime Minister.

‘You can be assured of that, Lord Melbourne.’

The political crisis reached its head. The government had been defeated on the budget and as it did not resign a vote of confidence was taken, the result of which was 312 in favour of the Opposition, 311 for the government. Lord Melbourne’s Ministry was defeated by one vote, and there would now be an election.

The Queen was distressed but at least Albert had arranged matters so that she could not be humiliated over her bedchamber ladies.

Albert was delighted because he had been offered an honorary degree and must go to Oxford to accept it.

‘You will of course accompany me?’ he asked.

‘But of course, Albert, I am so proud of you and nothing pleases me more than when other people realise your worth. I see it is to be on the fourteenth. That is very soon. I will tell Lehzen to make preparations for our departure immediately.’

‘Victoria.’

‘Yes, Albert?’

He hesitated. ‘Do we need Lehzen?’

‘Need Lehzen? Why, Albert, Lehzen and I have never been separated.’

‘This would be a very short separation.’

‘Nevertheless we should be apart and that hasn’t happened before.’

‘It is different now you are married.’

‘In a way, Albert, yes, but being married is no reason why I should change towards my dear friend.’

Albert said: ‘I thought she was invaluable in looking after little Vicky.’

‘But of course she is.’

‘You did not propose taking a baby of a few months on a trip to Oxford?’

‘But of course not, Albert.’

‘The Baroness is in charge of the nurseries, is she not?’

‘She is, you know, Albert.’

(Yes, I know it, thought Albert, and regret it, and it will not be for long.)

‘Then she must be there to take charge of the baby. Vicky cannot be trusted to the nurses.’

Victoria saw the point of this. Lehzen would have to stay behind.

It was only a half victory. He hated the thought of Lehzen’s being in charge of his children. Judged by his meticulous standards the woman was quite incompetent – but at least on this occasion he had arranged it so that they could escape from the Baroness for the while.

The Oxford journey was quite a success although Victoria did miss Lehzen.

‘Do you realise, Albert,’ she said, ‘that I have never before been parted from the Baroness since I was five years old.’

‘It is a very long time,’ said Albert, thinking, far too long.

When they returned to Buckingham Palace Lehzen greeted her as though their separation had lasted years.

‘I have been so anxious,’ she said. ‘I thought that you might be feeling a bit low and I shouldn’t be there to look after you.’

‘My lowness was only due to being parted from you, dearest Daisy,’ said the Queen.

The Duchess of Kent, who was taking a tour of the Continent, wrote from Amorbach where she was staying in the house of her son and Victoria’s half brother, the Prince of Leiningen:

It is like a dream writing to you from this place. My heart is full. I am so occupied with you and Albert and the precious little creature …

She showed the letter to Albert, who was moved by it. Mama would not have been writing like that a year ago. This change in their relationship was largely due to Albert and she must realise that it was far better to be on affectionate terms with one’s own mother than to harbour animosity.

‘Mama has changed so,’ she said to Albert.

‘Perhaps you have too a little, my love,’ he said.

She did not think so, She had always been ready to be on friendly terms. It was Mama and that dreadful John Conroy who made it impossible.

Lehzen sniffed over the Duchess’s letter when Victoria showed it to her.

‘It remains to be seen how long this mood will last,’ she commented.

‘Albert is delighted and in fact has really done everything to bring this change about.’

Lehzen was silent, but after a while she said that she was glad the Queen was not of a temper to be led by people who might not have a real understanding of the true state of affairs.

The elections would soon be taking place and there was an air of excitement in London. The Queen thought that it might be rather pleasant to go into the country for a while, paying a round of visits. There were several Whig houses who would be honoured at the prospect. Secretly she thought it was a good way of showing her people which side she supported – as if they did not know this! There had been enough talk about her and Lord Melbourne.

The trip to Oxford had been interesting and she would enjoy taking Albert into some of her subjects’ stately homes.

‘Let us travel as we did before,’ said Albert. ‘It was most enjoyable … It gave us an opportunity of being together more often.’

She was delighted at the prospect until she realised he meant that the Baroness should stay behind.

‘Travel without Lehzen! Impossible!’ she cried.

‘It was not impossible before.’

‘Oh, but that was such a short time.’

The Prince was in despair. He feared he would never rid the household of the woman and he was coming more and more to the conclusion that she was a mischief maker, at the heart of the trouble, and that life would never run smoothly for him and Victoria while she was there.

The Princess Royal was refusing to eat; she lay whimpering in her cot and the Queen was quite anxious.

‘She is such a cross child,’ she said to Lehzen. ‘She never seems to smile nowadays.’

‘It’s her teeth,’ comforted Lehzen. ‘She’s bound to be fretful.’

Albert was continually in the nursery questioning the nurses as to what the baby had to eat. Lehzen would stand, lips pursed, listening, and the looks she gave him were venomous.

I must get rid of her, he thought.

He approached Lord Melbourne again.

‘That woman must go,’ he said. ‘She is constantly interfering between me and Victoria. Could you not advise the Queen that we should be better without her?’

Lord Melbourne appeared to consider this. He knew full well how devoted the Queen was to the Baroness, and while he believed the royal household would be better without the latter, he did not intend to jeopardise his friendship with the Queen by showing open animosity to the Baroness. No, that was for Albert. All the time the Queen and Lord Melbourne had been friends Lehzen had not been a menace to their relationship. She was, therefore, the Prince’s affair; he must be the one to get rid of her.

Albert went on: ‘If you could bring about her removal before you leave office that would be a good thing. It would be easier coming from you. She will never accept it from Peel.’

‘Your Highness, Her Majesty would tell me that the Baroness’s position in the household is not a state matter and therefore no concern of the Prime Minister. And rightly so. This is a domestic matter. The Queen would therefore resent my interference. It is for Your Highness to remove this woman and now is perhaps the time.’

‘I couldn’t do it – not with the new baby so soon to arrive.’

Lord Melbourne advised his usual policy: Put it off.

‘After the child is born is the time,’ he said. ‘Particularly if it is a boy. There will be great rejoicing and the Queen will be very happy. Yes, put it off until then.’

Albert sighed; he longed to tell the Queen exactly what he felt, but he dared not. He feared storms, which could be so bad for her in her condition.

But Lehzen did not accompany them on their tour.

The excuse was that Pussy was not as well as they would have hoped and therefore Lehzen must remain behind to superintend the nursery.

It was a delightful tour. They visited Panshanger, the home of Earl Cowper, Woburn Abbey, the Duke of Bedford’s place, and finally – and most happily as far as the Queen was concerned – they were entertained by Lord Melbourne at his country house, Brocket Hall.

‘There!’ said Albert. ‘Did you not enjoy your round of visits?’

‘Completely,’ replied the Queen. ‘And I’ll tell you what pleases me most. It is to see how people are beginning to appreciate you, Albert.’

‘You make me so happy,’ said the Prince.

‘Dearest Albert. Everything would have been perfect if we had had dear Pussy and Lehzen here.’

The Prince felt a little deflated; but the fact was she had enjoyed the visit, separated from Lehzen as she had been and with the prospect of Lord Melbourne’s imminent departure from the premiership. He was becoming the most important one in her life.

Very soon after their return the results of the election were known. It was, as had been expected, a decisive victory for the Tories; Sir Robert Peel’s representatives in the house would number 368, Lord Melbourne’s 292.

The Queen shut herself into the blue closet to brood alone for a short while, thinking what this meant.

There could be no way out of this. Sir Robert Peel would be her new Prime Minister – and she must say goodbye to her beloved Lord Melbourne, but only she assured herself as Prime Minister. He would remain her dear friend.

On that hot August day she waited in the blue closet, the scene of so many happy meetings. She had thought of it as their particular sanctum and had always refused if possible to see anyone else there. And now he was coming for the last time as her Prime Minister and she felt very sad.

He came and stood before her; she looked for the tears in his eyes and was certain that she would find them.

She held out her hands; he took them both and kissed them.

‘So it has come,’ she said.

‘It was inevitable. Only Your Majesty has kept it at bay for these last two years.’

‘At least I did that.’

He smiled tenderly. ‘And now, there is the Prince to stand beside you. It will be easier now than then. That is something I remind myself of continually.’

‘I shall never forget,’ she said.

‘Nor I. But this is not the end, you know.’

‘I am determined that it shall not be.’

‘May I give Your Majesty one piece of advice?’

‘You must go on giving me advice for years to come.’

‘Since Your Majesty is so kind I will not hesitate to do so now. I beg of you send for Peel without delay. If you did not it might be construed as a slight. It is my earnest desire to see you on good terms with your new government.’

‘I shall never like Peel. He fidgets. He is nervous and that makes me uneasy.’

‘You will put him at his ease. There is already an understanding between him and the Prince.’

‘Oh, yes, Albert is quite fond of the fellow.’

‘As you will be … in time.’

She shook her head. ‘I shall never forgive him for taking you from me.’

‘I am here still. Perhaps Your Majesty will continue to write to me. I think the loss of those letters would be something I could not bear.’

‘I shall write to you as before and you shall advise me, and I shall always think of you as my dear … dear friend.’

‘And you will lean on the Prince. You will find him strong and shrewd.’

‘I have the best husband in the world, I know.’

‘He will be a great comfort to you and may I say it is a comfort to me to leave you in such good hands.’

She was too emotional to speak and he went on to say that he should not stay. She had not yet sent for Peel. People would know how long he had been with her. They must not be unwise.

She clung to his hands for a moment; then he bowed and left her.

She went to her room and blinded by tears she collected some of her drawings together – her favourite ones. Some of them he had seen before and admired. They should be his – her last gift to him as Prime Minister. He would understand that by giving him her own work she meant him to have the best that she could offer.

As soon as he received the drawings he wrote to thank her for them.

Lord Melbourne will ever treasure them as remembrances of Your Majesty’s kindness and regard, which he prizes beyond measure.

They will, as Your Majesty says, certainly recall to recollection a melancholy day, but still Lord Melbourne hopes and trusts that with the divine blessing it will hereafter be looked back upon with less grief and bitterness of feeling, than it must be regarded at the present.

She wept over the letter. She remembered so much from the past: the first day when she had become Queen and he came to cheer and comfort her with his dear presence; she remembered their conversations, his witty, often inconsequential remarks which had amused her so much; she remembered her jealousy when he had spent too much time at Holland House. Then she had been a young girl – a queen it was true – but carefree, as far as a queen could be. She remembered the first summer of her reign. She had never really spent such a joyous summer. Then she had not realised that cares and anxieties went with the pomp, ceremonies, gaiety and the freedom of being Queen.

But that was past; now she was a wife, the mother of one child and soon to have another; and she knew that she had to be wise and strong; and now that she had lost her dear Prime Minister she must try to come to terms with the one she was sure she was going to dislike.

Almost immediately it was necessary to see Sir Robert Peel. The interview was brief, lasting only twenty minutes but Sir Robert was less ill at ease than he had been on that disastrous occasion two years ago; and very anxious for the Queen to know that he wanted their relationship to be smooth and easy. He was as respectful as she could wish. He said he would give her a list of the members of his cabinet for her approval. There was no hurry over this matter, said the Queen, and she would prefer to study the list at her leisure. Sir Robert left and the Queen sighed with relief.

Victoria immediately sat down to write to Lord Melbourne and tell him exactly what had happened. She ended by writing:

What the Queen felt when she parted from her dear kind friend Lord Melbourne is better imagined than described; she was dreadfully affected for some time after, but is calm now. It is very, very sad and she cannot quite believe it yet. The Prince felt it very much too, and really the Queen cannot say how kind and affectionate he is to her, and how anxious to do everything to lighten this heavy trial; he was quite affected at this sad parting. We do, and shall, miss you so dreadfully; Lord Melbourne will easily understand what a change it is, after these four years when she has had the happiness of having Lord Melbourne always about her. But it will not be so long till we meet again. Happier and brighter times will come again. We anxiously hope Lord Melbourne is well and safe. The Queen trusts he will take care of his valuable health, now more than ever.

She was weeping over the letter when Albert came in.

‘Read it,’ she said. ‘Oh, Albert, I shall have to learn to be without him now.’

Albert took her hands and looked steadily into her face.

‘You will have to put your trust in me now, Victoria.’

‘I do, Albert.’

‘All your trust,’ he answered.

She nodded; but he was thinking of the Baroness who still remained as the shadow between them.

The Queen was now getting so heavy that her thoughts were largely taken up with her approaching confinement. Lord Melbourne wrote almost as frequently as he had in the past; he called often and so she did not miss him as she had feared she would. Albert admired the new Prime Minister and it was wonderful how he was able to ease the situation between Peel and the Queen. (‘Although,’ she often said, ‘I shall never like him; and as for his ever taking the place of dear Lord Melbourne that is quite impossible.’) Lehzen fussed a good deal and was always insisting that she rest and should not be disturbed. She even tried to get Albert out of the bedroom, but Albert would not accept this.

Victoria was less irritable and not nearly so nervous as she had been before the birth of the Princess Royal. That young lady was however giving them cause for anxiety. Pussy would not eat; and she was always crying. Sir James Clark had said she could not take rich foods and put her on ass’s milk and chicken broth. Albert said he thought this was not enough for the child and Lehzen insisted that if these were the doctor’s orders they must be followed.

‘Certainly they must,’ said the Queen. It was, as Lehzen had said, Pussy’s teeth which were coming through which made her peevish. It was the same with all children.

And on the 9th of November the Queen’s labour began; she had arranged with Albert that ministers and dignitaries should not be told until the birth was imminent. She was not going through what she did last time with people gathered in the next room listening to her cries of agony.

The child was born. She lay back exhausted and triumphant.

Albert, beside her, beaming with pride and joy, had given her the good news.

‘My dear love, we have a Prince of Wales.’