The Queen's Husband

Chapter XIII A VISIT TO THE CONTINENT

With Lehzen out of the way Albert decided to investigate the management of the household which he was well aware was in need of urgent reform. He quickly discovered that offices were still in existence which had been inaugurated two hundred years before although some of them were nothing but sinecures. There was no discipline; the servants were terrified lest they should do work which was not in their province and the most ridiculous anomalies prevailed. There was a Lord Steward who in the reign of Victoria’s grandfather George III, had control of the entire household except the royal apartments; but recently the office of Lord Chamberlain had been inaugurated and no one was quite sure what duties he was supposed to take over from the Lord Steward. There could be a dispute over the cleaning of windows for instance and although the Lord Chamberlain might order the insides to be done there was a difference of opinion as to who was responsible for the outsides which meant that the outsides went uncleaned for months. None of the servants was sure to whom he or she was responsible, which from a certain point of view was an advantage because it gave quite a number of them liberty to do all sorts of things which, under proper authority, would have been forbidden.

It was one person’s duty to lay a fire, another’s to light it; which meant that very often there was no fire at all.

At the time of the visit of the Boy Jones Albert had discovered that a broken window could remain so for months at a time because no one knew whose duty it was to replace it; he had even discovered brown paper pasted over broken windows because the servants could not as they said ‘abide the cold wind coming through’. And this in one of the most magnificent of palaces in the world!

Something had to be done and with characteristic efficiency Albert set about doing it.

He studied accounts; he found that the Queen was being cheated. He looked into the amount of food and drink which came into the palace and discovered that some of the grooms were drunk every night.

‘My love,’ he said, ‘you are paying very heavily for inefficiency and a badly run household.’

Victoria, who was beginning to think that everything he did was wonderful, declared that she could not imagine how she had ever lived without Albert to look after her. He must do everything he wished.

There was fury among the servants. Who was the Prince coming over from Germany to interfere with their pleasant lives? It used to be so good in the old days with the old Baroness liking a joke and shutting her eyes to anything that might, as she said, upset the Queen. As long as her caraway seeds were scattered over everything she ate she didn’t care what went on in the servants’ quarters.

Albert was indifferent to his unpopularity; he was used to it in any case. He was going to make sure that Victoria had a well-run home.

On one occasion he went quietly into the nursery and found one of the under-nurses bouncing the Prince of Wales up and down on her knee.

‘Now what’s popsy-wopsy laughing at?’ the nurse was demanding. ‘Popsy-wopsy’s laughing ’cos his liddle toes are tickled.’

‘I do not understand,’ said Albert. ‘By what absurd name were you addressing the Prince of Wales?’

‘Oh, it’s just baby talk, sir.’

‘Please do not use such baby talk to His Royal Highness.’

He went at once to Victoria.

‘There is a most unsuitable person in the nursery,’ he said. ‘She was moving The Boy up and down on her knee and talking nonsense to him. No wonder he is so backward.’

‘How stupid of her!’ said Victoria who a few months before would have laughed at popsy-wopsy’s liddle toes being tickled. ‘I will send for Lady Lyttleton at once.’

Lady Lyttleton was sent for and the result was that the under-nurse was dismissed on account of her unsuitability.

There was no doubt that the royal household was more efficiently run and the Queen was delightedly impressed. The rooms were warmer (at no greater cost, Albert told her) and the palace was not only a much more comfortable residence but a safer one.

Albert was wonderful.

She was growing more and more to appreciate the quiet of the country because there she and Albert could live a more intimate life. They could take walks; they could ride; they could come home and play music or sing duets. Albert – in a laughing way – had undertaken her education. ‘Rather neglected, my love, in some respects.’ Another slight to Lehzen whom she had begun to think of as poor Lehzen. It had been a very dull childhood, she supposed; in fact any part of her life which had not included Albert seemed dull. ‘To think I ever thought that I was happy before my marriage. I did not know what happiness meant then.’

In the evenings Albert read to her from Hallam’s History. ‘You cannot rule a country well without knowing how your predecessors did it,’ said Albert. Previously she would have thought it such a dull book. How different it was, read by Albert.

Lord Melbourne, with whom she corresponded now and then, was delighted that she was so happy. ‘An example to all her subjects,’ he wrote, and she could imagine the tears in his dear eyes as his pen moved over the paper. He was pleased too that she and Albert were reading Hallam together. It was a wonderful education.

Sometimes Albert would go to the nursery and bring Pussy into the bedroom and the dear child would sit on the bed; she looked like a little doll, she was so pretty. ‘Remarkably like her dear Mama,’ said Albert. The Boy, she feared, was not going to be as bright as his sister.

‘Pussy was speaking when she was his age,’ said the Queen.

‘He is not going to be as intelligent as our little Vicky,’ said Albert.

There had been none of the irritable moods at the beginning of the present pregnancy.

‘This little one is behaving well,’ said the Queen.

It was a very happy year apart from the social unrest throughout the country which was making some of her ministers very anxious. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have trouble abroad the people at home had to be difficult. Menacing, Lord Melbourne called them. Wales had joined the bands of troublemakers and there rioters were dressing up in women’s clothes and calling themselves ‘Rebecca and her daughters’; they were smashing toll gates and causing a great deal of uneasiness. The Irish – always troublesome – were agitating; even in dear Scotland there was trouble about private patronage of the Established Kirk; and at home Mr Cobden was quarrelling with Sir Robert over the Corn Laws. It would all have been very distressing if Albert had not been there beside her. Albert was passionately interested in these matters; he was present at her meetings with her ministers; he read all the state papers with her. Her constant cry was: What should I do without Albert?

On April 25th they were delighted when a daughter was born. Three healthy children in four years of marriage. ‘How very lucky we are,’ said the Queen.

She was to be called Alice. ‘A good old English name,’ the Queen declared, ‘and perhaps Maud, and as she was born on Aunt Gloucester’s birthday, Mary after her.

There was all the preparation of the christening.

‘We had better ask Uncle Ernest this time. He was so annoyed because he wasn’t invited to The Boy’s. Perhaps he won’t come all the way from Hanover. I hope not. I never feel very comfortable when he’s around. But I shall insist on darling Feodora’s coming. It will be a lovely excuse to see her again.’

The christening was a great success, although the King of Hanover having rather ungraciously accepted the invitation, arrived late, and the service was over before he put in an appearance.

Alice behaved beautifully and did not cry during the ceremony. In fact, as the Queen remarked to Albert, she reminded her of Pussy. Did he remember how bright Pussy was at her christening, just as though she knew what it was all about?

There was a déjeuner afterwards and the tables were beautifully decorated with gay June flowers. The Queen was happy to see her half-sister and they looked forward to some exciting talks about their respective nurseries. There was so much the Queen wanted to ask darling Feddy because she was so much more experienced a Mama than she was.

The King of Hanover as usual caused a little uneasiness. He had always been extremely ugly, having lost an eye which gave him a most sinister aspect and this may have been due in some measure to the stories which circulated about him, but of course he had been involved in a murder case and he was very unscrupulous and he would have been King of England if Victoria had not lived to claim the throne.

He wanted to see the nursery and when Victoria saw him pick up The Boy in his arms and study him with his one penetrating eye she felt a shiver of alarm run through her. Oddly enough the child was not in the least perturbed and seemed to find this strange great-uncle interesting. Pussy, with her usual intelligence, regarded him curiously, but she showed no fear either. But Victoria could guess what Uncle Ernest was thinking when he held The Boy. This child would one day be King of England and everyone knew that this was a role Ernest had coveted beyond everything.

Soon the guests were departing. Victoria wept to see darling Feodora go and she remarked to Albert how sad it was that royal people had so often to leave their homes. Albert could agree wholeheartedly with that. She knew he often thought of his brother and father with the utmost affection.

Victoria would never say it to Albert but she did think that Albert’s family were not so worthy of his affection as they might be. His brother had led a rather wild life; they had been aware when he was staying with them of very unpleasant evidence of this. As for his father, he too had not been exactly moral and now he was worrying them to give him an allowance. They were so rich, he said, and he was poor. He did not understand what expenses the British Monarchy had to face.

Considering all this it seemed more wonderful than ever that Albert had turned out to be such a good man.

How fortunate she was in her husband.

Uncle Ernest’s visit triggered off a series of rather alarming incidents. People wrote anonymous letters threatening to kidnap the children. Others wrote warning that plots were afoot to do so. Most of them, said Sir Robert, were written by mad people, but one could never be sure.

The Duchess of Kent, to whom Victoria had now become reconciled (Albert wished it), now seemed to have changed her character. She adored the children and Victoria was constantly warning her about spoiling them, but it was gratifying to see the change in her since the departure of Sir John Conroy. She was very happy and always listened attentively to what Albert said, and no longer tried to manage her daughter.

The Duchess was now very concerned about the children’s safety and she was certain that her wicked brother-in-law, the King of Hanover, was a menace.

‘He would do anything to get the throne. He would not stop at murder.’

Albert thought that, while every precaution should be taken, it was unwise to make accusations without firm foundation.

‘Oh, you have no idea, dear Albert,’ said the Duchess. ‘You who are so good cannot conceive the wickedness of some people. When Victoria was a child he set about rumours that she was weak and sickly to prepare the people for her death. I knew that it was his idea to get some of his spies into Kensington and have her poisoned. I would not allow her to be alone for one moment.’ She looked ruefully at her daughter. ‘Oh, I know she didn’t always like it, but everything I did was for her good.’

‘I am sure of it, dear Mama,’ said Albert, so Victoria was becoming sure of it. ‘And don’t worry about the children,’ he went on. ‘I shall see that every precaution is taken.’

And he did so with his usual efficiency. The last thing he did before retiring was to examine all the locks in the nursery. Lady Lyttleton, whom he trusted, always accompanied him on this tour; and when everything was locked the keys were in his possession and no one could have them without asking for them.

It seemed hardly likely that the King of Hanover would be able to murder the Queen and her children all at one time, and if he had, it was a certainty that the people of England would never have accepted him; but the Prince was taking no risks with his family. Uncle Ernest was the bogy Napoleon had been to an earlier generation. At least it was true that he was staking a claim for Princess Charlotte’s jewellery which was in Victoria’s possession. It seemed dreadful, thought the Queen, to quarrel over jewellery, but if she passed over the gems to him she was going to find herself with hardly any ornaments to wear and so many of the ladies at Court could outshine her in that respect even now.

Not that jewels affected her very deeply. She did not greatly care for dressing up. The home life, the quiet pleasant evenings, the visits to the nursery and the company of dear Albert were so much more rewarding.

Alice was a good child, placid and fat, so she was playfully nicknamed Fatima. Pussy was still the favourite because she was undoubtedly going to be the clever one. She could already chatter amusingly and beside her, her brother seemed a dull, heavy child. He was no longer called The Boy, but Bertie. He was really rather naughty and quite backward. Pussy had ceased to be jealous of him. She had no need. She was constantly laughing at him for being such a silly.

As the months began to pass and as the unrest in the country had subsided somewhat Albert suggested that they take a trip in the new yacht, the Victoria and Albert.

‘You have always wanted to meet the King of France, and I am sure Louis Philippe would be delighted to see us,’ said Albert. ‘There is nothing like personal contact to bring about peaceful relations. If Sir Robert thinks it is a good idea we might make a little trip after the prorogation of Parliament.’

‘You mean go to France?’

‘The French family are at the Château d’Eu and we could be there in a few hours after leaving Southampton.’

Victoria thought this, like most of Albert’s ideas, wonderful.

Albert then began to work out the journey in detail, and what a great pleasure it was to see how he thought of everything!

They boarded the yacht as arranged, cruised about the Isle of Wight and the coast of Devonshire for a few days and then crossed to Tréport. On their arrival the King of France and the Prince de Joinville came out to the yacht by the royal barge to welcome them and they were rowed ashore in this. Crowds were there to welcome them and shout Vive la Reine.

Victoria was so happy to meet members of the French royal family. Among them was Aunt Louise – Uncle Leopold’s wife – who was the daughter of Louis Philippe and had come to Tréport so that she should be there during Victoria’s visit.

The King and Queen were charming, and the only sad note was the memory of the recent death of the Duke of Chartres, which had occurred when he was thrown from his carriage. The deep mourning of his widow, Hélène, was a constant reminder.

It was interesting to be shown the château – like a dream castle, said the Queen. The family portraits were impressive and the Galerie des Guises very grand indeed.

As for the chapel it was beautiful with its statues of saints and stained-glass windows.

The King was determined to make the visit a success. It was very important that it should be, Albert had told the Queen, and Lord Aberdeen, the English foreign secretary, agreed with him. For so long there had been bickering between the English and French.

‘It was their fault,’ said Victoria.

‘Oh, there are faults on both sides,’ answered Albert.

‘Uncle Leopold is inclined to blame us. But then as Lord Melbourne said he leans towards France. It’s on account of having a French wife, I suppose. Dear Louise, she is my favourite aunt.’

She did agree with Albert that it was an excellent way of bettering relations between the two countries. No one could be more charming than Louis Philippe, she was sure; and it was going to be very difficult after this visit to think of them as enemies.

Everywhere they went the people lined the roads to gaze at them and cry Vive la Reine d’Angleterre. It was most affecting, said the Queen, and how charming the women looked in their national costume. Such pretty caps and coloured aprons.

The visit was all too short, not more than five days and on the fourth the King arranged a pastoral entertainment. Char-a-bancs were waiting for them and Albert and Victoria went off in the first, sitting in the front with the French King and Queen. The Princesses sat behind and the rest of the party followed in other vehicles. Their destination was one of the King’s hunting lodges in the forest where a delicious déjeuner was eaten alfresco fashion. Albert was delighted to be in the country and the Queen was proud to notice how he astonished everyone with his knowledge of botanical subjects.

It was such a pleasant drive back to the château where in the Galerie des Guises a little theatre had been set up. The last evening was to be spent in watching two plays.

‘What a delightful finale,’ cried the Queen. ‘We must entertain our guests in this manner at Windsor.’ The first of the plays was serious and beautifully acted; the other was a comedy which, as the Queen said, sent her as well as the rest of the company into fits of laughter enough to kill one.

The next day they left and taking the Prince de Joinville with them, returned to England although they did not intend to stay more than a night or so before going on to Belgium to see Uncle Leopold.

They stayed at the Pavilion, which the Prince de Joinville thought was the strangest palace he had ever seen.

What joy it was to be under the same roof as Uncle Leopold, particularly as Aunt Louise had by this time rejoined her husband and was waiting to play the hostess in her husband’s palace as she had in her father’s. It was wonderful to see their children, of whom she had heard so much. She was particularly impressed by the little Princess Charlotte who was much the same age as Pussy, but, said the Queen, not so naughty.

Uncle Leopold was most affectionate and told them how he had planned their marriage when they were babies in their cradles and it was one of the great joys of his life to see how happy they were together.

‘I look upon you both as my children,’ he said; and they both solemnly assured him that he had been a father to them.

What a delightful trip that was! Uncle Leopold accompanied them on a tour of his most important cities – Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges. There were wonderful art treasures to be seen in these fine old towns. The time passed so quickly when one was with loved ones, and all too soon they were at sea on the way home. Victoria wrote to her uncle from Windsor:

We were so happy to be with you, and the stay was so delightful but so painfully short. It was such a joy for me to be once again under the roof of one who has been a father to me …

‘Such a happy visit,’ said the Queen when they reached Windsor, ‘but I am most contented to be home with my dear, dear family.’