The Queen's Husband

Chapter III THE LITTLE COUSIN OF KENSINGTON

It was almost a year later when a letter arrived from England for Duke Ernest; when he had read it he summoned his sons and told them that he had had an invitation for them.

‘It is from your aunt, the Duchess of Kent, who asks me to take you both to visit her. There is also a letter from your Uncle Leopold. I suspect he has arranged the whole thing.’

Ernest was excited; Albert a little apprehensive. He knew what this invitation meant and he had to face the fact that he could not be young for ever. He was nearly seventeen, a marriageable age for royal people. Could this visit mean that the pleasant life he had led for so many years with Ernest as his companion was over?

There would be a great many preparations to make, said their father. Uncle Leopold did not want them to visit their English relations like paupers.

The forest had taken on a new beauty; Albert spent many happy hours examining the specimens in the ‘museum’ and recalling how they had come into his or Ernest’s possession.

‘To leave all this!’ he cried.

‘Childish relics,’ said Ernest. Albert looked at his brother sadly. If he himself was the more learned, the more serious of the two, Ernest was in a way the more grown-up. ‘Just think what this visit means,’ went on Ernest. ‘We shall see your little paragon of Kensington.’

Albert shivered. ‘Perhaps she will prefer you, Ernest.’

Ernest said he thought that very likely.

‘I am sure Cousin Feodore does, and she is half sister to the Kensington cousin.’

‘I think women do prefer you, Ernest.’

‘That’s because I’m far nicer to them than you are. You just try a little flattery and you’ll find they succumb at once to your beauty.’

‘That’s something I can never do.’

‘The trouble with you, Albert, is that you’re too solemn, and too good. Women like something a little wild and wicked.’

‘Then I think they are too stupid to bother with.’

‘And so they will go on preferring my pale cheeks to your pink ones and my wicked dark flashing eyes to your angelic blue.’

‘I wish we need not grow up. I’d like us to remain boys together like this for always.’

Ernest’s eyes rolled wickedly. ‘Ah, there are pleasures in adult life, Albert, of which you have yet to learn.’

Albert did not believe it and he was very uneasy.

‘I can’t wait to see Uncle Leopold’s little angel of Kensington,’ said Ernest.

But Albert felt he could very happily wait for a long time. The family party, at the head of which was Duke Ernest, left at the end of April. ‘A good time,’ said the Duke, ‘for crossing the Channel, which can be something of an ordeal for those unused to being on the water if the sea is rough.’

Albert knew that he was one of those; and he was right. The sea was rough, the crossing long, and Albert, very sick, heartily wished that he was at home in the forests of Germany; in fact death seemed preferable to the sufferings imposed by that stretch of diabolical water.

At last – and a very long last – they arrived and what a pleasure it was to be on dry land.

‘You look as if you have faced death,’ said Ernest jocularly.

‘That was exactly what it felt like,’ said Albert, ‘and when I think that we have to endure that again before we get home my spirits sink.’

‘It’ll pass,’ said Ernest. ‘Think of the pleasures ahead.’

He had seen her. She was tiny and imperious and was called Victoria – the Alexandrina having been dropped, presumably as unsuitable for a British Queen. She was gay and very affectionate. Oddly enough she did not embarrass him as he might have expected. Was it because he had been conditioned by Uncle Leopold? Did he feel that he had to like her – more than like her, admire her – just as he had to accept that terrible crossing as inevitable?

She spoke in German very fluently and what he called excitedly, emphasising certain words as though to give special points to her meaning. She was so delighted to see her cousins. She had looked forward to the meeting for a long long time and she knew that their visit was going to be such a happy time for her. She considered she was very lucky to have so many cousins. They came over now and then and she spent hours planning treats for them. She believed she was going to enjoy this visit very specially.

She was not exactly pretty but there was something very appealing about her. Her colouring was similar to Albert’s – the same light brown hair and blue eyes; there the resemblance ended; she had a rather big nose – an arrogant nose – and slightly prominent teeth. When she laughed she showed her gums, which would not have been very attractive but for the fact that her laughter was so spontaneous and unaffected. Her demeanour fluctuated so speedily that it was difficult to keep pace with it. At one moment she would seem to be playing the Queen and the next she was a modest young girl not yet out of the schoolroom. She was not exactly arrogant, just sublimely and unconsciously aware that she was destined for a great position.

Albert clicked his heels, bowed and kissed her hand. He hated kissing hands, but managed to do so fairly graciously. She did disarm him, because she seemed so determined to like him – and Ernest too; but he noticed that her eyes were more frequently on him.

She insisted on showing them to their rooms, chattering all the while, while her mother looked on indulgently, for she was clearly very happy to see her brother and his sons.

‘And you must meet my darling dog Dash at once,’ said Victoria, and the dog seemed to take a particular fancy to Albert, which pleased the Princess. When he looked up from patting the dog he saw her prominent blue eyes fixed on him and as their eyes met she blushed charmingly. He decided that, for a girl, she was very agreeable.

‘Victoria has been planning all sorts of treats for you,’ said the Duchess. ‘She and her governess, the Baroness Lehzen, have been making arrangements for weeks. There is to be a visit to the Opera, because she understands you are particularly fond of music.’

‘It is Puritani,’ cried Victoria. ‘Oh, I do hope you will like it. And there are to be balls. I am sure you love to dance.’

Albert wilted a little but Ernest said nothing would enchant them more.

‘And you sing!’ cried Victoria. ‘That is something I love to do. Do you like duets?’

Albert was able to say with enthusiasm that he enjoyed singing and duets.

‘This is going to be a very happy visit,’ said Victoria.

The Duchess of Kent said that she thought the Princess’s cousins would like to go to rest awhile as they must be very fatigued with the journey. Victoria seemed a little surprised but Albert said quickly that he would indeed be glad of the opportunity so they were conducted to their rooms and Albert stretched out on his bed and was soon asleep. But Ernest came in and insisted on waking him. He stood at the window and described the park to him. He could see an enormous round pond, almost like a lake, and the trees were beautiful. ‘And this is not the King’s residence. We shall meet him, of course. I wonder if he is as people say.’

Albert sighed. He could see his brother was not going to allow him to rest and he was so tired.

‘He is very eccentric and has a head like a pineapple, so I’ve heard,’ went on Ernest. Albert yawned.

‘And what did you think of little Victoria?’

‘She is indeed little.’

‘I liked the way she looked up to us. I think she has a certain charm. Do you, Albert?’

‘Yes,’ said Albert.

‘Well, I think we can make up our minds that she will be for one of us. I shouldn’t mind if I were the elect.’

‘You are very flippant about a serious subject,’ said Albert.

‘You are never flippant about any subject, brother. But I’ve been keeping my ears open. I heard what our aunt had to say to our father. The Prince of Orange is here and he has brought his two sons, William and Alexander, with him. The King is entertaining them. You know what this means.’

‘You mean that his sons will be suitors for Victoria?’

‘Suitors with the King’s blessing, it seems. Oh, we have fallen into a den of intrigue, brother. The Duchess and the King are arch enemies; and the Duchess is determined that little Victoria shall marry a Coburg cousin (one of us) and the King wants to spite the Duchess – at least that’s what she says; therefore he is against a Coburg bridegroom. You see you can’t afford to sleep your time away; you have to go out and win the lady … or one of us does. She gave me some admiring glances.’

Albert did not answer. He knew that Uncle Leopold wished him to be the bridegroom and that was good enough. He was sure that even the King of England could not stop Uncle Leopold’s desires.

‘Now, Albert, I don’t think you should have come up here to sleep so soon. It appears that you are not as eager as you should be for the company of your dear little cousin. Don’t forget the King favours Oranges. It is not going to be as easy as we thought. You – or I – have to go in and win.’

‘Stop it, Ernest. I don’t care for such jokes.’

‘Well get up and we will join the Princess and say that we needed only a little rest. You show her the tricks your greyhound does and train her Dash to do them. Or you can sing a duet with her. You really must wake up.’

Albert allowed himself to be persuaded.

The pace was great. The little cousin seemed indefatigable. She never seemed to stop still for a moment. It was not very restful, thought Albert, and he was nostalgic for the pine forests and the quiet life of Rosenau. He must not allow Victoria to see this. He remembered his interviews with Uncle Leopold. ‘You are a younger son and Ernest will take your father’s title, but you, of course, will have to make a place for yourself.’ That place could be here in this rather strange country, whose language he could not adequately understand; he had had a few English lessons and although he had done well on paper, when these people spoke he could not very easily understand them. Victoria obligingly used his language; he would have felt happier if he could have spoken in hers. He would ask Uncle Leopold what should be done about this. So … he was interested in his cousin. Not as a woman; there was no question of what Ernest would call falling in love. This was his future if all went according to Uncle Leopold’s plans; and Victoria was eager to please them and win their approval; she was delighted to have her cousins with her; so, if she became the Queen of this country, as her husband, he would be King; and there could be no doubt whatsoever that the King of England would be a far more powerful man than any little king, prince or duke of one of the German States.

Therefore he must please Victoria. It was gratifying to realise that he did. At breakfast time he could feel in good spirits and amuse her with remarks which she considered extremely funny; he could play with Dash in a way she found amusing. Her loud laughter rang out continually.

‘Oh, Cousin Albert, you are so amusing.’

Then there was music. She really did have an understanding of it. ‘I have always loved it. One birthday we had a concert in the palace. I have never forgotten it.’

She must hear Albert sing one of his songs. ‘But, Cousin Albert, how very clever of you to compose that. Could we sing my favourite duet together?’

Their voices harmonised. The Duchess sat tapping her foot while they sang with Duke Ernest beside her looking very pleased.

There was a visit to Windsor to call on the King, who received them rather coolly although the Queen was kind. Albert noticed that the King was very old and by no means in good health. It seemed possible that in a short time Victoria would be Queen. Albert was impressed by Windsor; his spirits rose and he immediately felt better, more alive, to be in the country. The chestnut trees were magnificent, and the may blossom was just about to break out, and the forest reminded him of home. In such surroundings he would feel well and perhaps not be so tormented by his desire for Coburg as he had imagined. And the castle was magnificent. The elaborate staterooms amazed him; there was nothing like those deep-piled carpets and rich velvet gold-fringed curtains in his father’s houses. All this would be hers one day if the present King had no children, which was now almost a certainty.

Albert began to feel excited by his destiny. He felt sure that he would be able to guide his gay little cousin.

Oh, but the energy of the little creature! Albert’s greatest problem was to keep his eyes open while she chattered away. She wanted to dance every evening; nor was she content if they retired before two o’clock. It was not only that he had to fight the terrible drowsiness which beset him, but his fatigue almost bordered on illness. His step-mother said he had grown too fast, for as a child he had always been much shorter than Ernest; now he had shot up suddenly and was as tall.

The day before Victoria’s birthday, which was to have a very special entertainment, he felt so tired that he could not stay awake. The Duchess of Kent, who was very kind to him, noticed that he was looking delicate and suggested that he should retire early. He blessed her. How kind she was, how thoughtful! Victoria’s blue eyes were round with dismay. Dear Albert. How very concerned she was! He must be well by tomorrow because she could not bear him to be ill on her birthday. Oh, the joy of being in bed, to sleep and sleep and sleep.

On her birthday there was a ball at St James’s Palace. Another of those interminable balls. When I marry her I shall make it a rule that we rise early (for the early morning is the best time of the day) and retire not later than ten o’clock, he promised himself. But he was not married to her yet, and as Ernest had said, it would be for her to choose. Perhaps she would choose Ernest, whose gay temperament was more like her own.

He was at present too tired to care.

It was unthinkable that he, as one of the principal guests, could sit out during the dance. He had to get on to the floor to bow and prance, as he thought of it. He felt giddy and feared he was going to faint. It was her hand that steadied him; and those big blue eyes looked tenderly up at him.

‘Albert, do you feel ill?’

He swayed and she led him to a chair.

The Duchess was beside him. ‘My dear Albert, you are not feeling well?’

He sat down and closed his eyes.

The Duchess said that he must go back to Kensington and that she would arrange this without delay.

So while Victoria danced at her birthday ball, Albert slept as the carriage took him through the streets and he was relieved to reach his bedroom.

But of course this was no way to impress his future bride.

He could not help being pleased when it was time to return home, although that dreadful sea crossing had to be faced before they could reach that haven.

Ernest was now certain that the Princess Victoria had chosen him.

‘Never mind, Albert,’ he said. ‘I shall rule England but I’ll let you have Coburg as a consolation prize.’

Albert was not so sure. He remembered the way she had looked at him when he had nearly fainted on the ballroom floor. She was a very affectionate little person and everyone must admit that he was more handsome than Ernest. Moreover he had quickly discovered the kind of conversation that she found amusing and she had laughed very readily even when he had not been exactly witty. Yes, she had laughed more readily at his jokes than those of Ernest; and then he had been so good with her dogs who clearly meant a great deal to her.

She was a very warm-hearted girl and one, he believed, who would be easy to mould. He would have been feeling very hopeful but for that incessant fatigue which he could not overcome however much he tried. They had music in common. She really did love it and she became quite beautiful when she listened to some particular pieces. She chattered animatedly about the famous singers she had heard and he was impressed, for such people never came to Germany. The fact that Albert had actually composed songs delighted her. ‘But how clever. But that is wonderful.’ And then their voices had harmonised charmingly.

When they said goodbye she wept openly. Her emotions, he told himself, were superficial. There would be a great deal which he would have to teach her, but he could look forward to the task; and having met her, marriage was no longer repugnant to him, which he had feared it might be.

It was not long after their return that news came from Uncle Leopold. The visit had been a great success, and to Ernest’s astonishment and Albert’s delight, Albert was the one who had pleased her best.

She had written to Uncle Leopold that Albert possessed every quality that she could desire to make her happy. She did mention though that she wanted special care taken of the health of ‘one now so dear to me’, which was an oblique reference to his exhaustion in the ballroom. Even so Uncle Leopold was pleased. Now plans must be set in motion in earnest.