The Queen and Lord M (32 page)

It was some time now since Baron Stockmar had at Uncle Leopold’s suggestion left England to become the companion of the Queen’s cousin Albert. She had not given Albert a thought during all the anxieties of the last months but those words heard at Ascot had brought him back to mind. She had recently reached her twentieth birthday; Cousin Albert would soon be celebrating his. It was a marriageable age.

Uncle Leopold had made up his mind that she was going to marry Albert. It was true that at one time she had not been displeased with the idea. Long ago – that was how it seemed but it was in fact three years – before her accession, Albert and his brother Ernest had visited her and she had been delighted with her cousins, particularly Albert. Uncle Leopold had reminded her when they met that she had written to him – he still had and treasured her letter – that Albert ‘possessed every quality which could make her happy’. So she had thought then. But three years ago she had been a child. She hardly knew herself when she looked back – a princess instead of a queen, a captive instead of a power which could dismiss Sir Robert Peel, an ignorant girl who had never drunk from the fountain of Lord Melbourne’s wisdom.

And now she could not get out of her mind the thought of those words ‘Mrs Melbourne’; and she knew that it was time she married.

But whom should she marry? The answer from Uncle Leopold would be Cousin Albert of course, but Lord Melbourne had taught her that Uncle Leopold did not rule England. He had tried to interfere politically once before and Lord Melbourne had told him diplomatically, with such tact, that the affairs of England were for England’s ministers and her Queen to decide.

And, she thought, if I do not wish to marry Albert, I shall certainly not do so merely because Uncle Leopold wishes me to. Nor anyone else for that matter. But the truth was that she was unsure. She did not think she wished to marry at all – perhaps never. She would be like Queen Elizabeth – whom she had never liked – and remain single all her life.

If the people would not be so foolish and grow to like her again, and if she could keep Sir Robert Peel at bay, and if Lord Melbourne was her constant companion, that seemed a very happy prospect.

But, she thought vehemently, I will not be hurried into marriage in any circumstances.

Cousin Albert had made a grand tour of Europe in the company of Baron Stockmar and she knew that Uncle Leopold meant his next visit to be to England. Then her decision would be expected. She had three months of freedom. What a way to look at it. Freedom! Was she going to become a captive again? As far as she remembered Albert appeared to have been gentle, but of course one had to get to
know
people before one was sure.

Perhaps she should prepare Uncle Leopold. He must understand that she would not be coerced into anything – not even to please him.

She would write to him
now
and send the letter by courier. There were certain things she must know. How far was Albert aware of the family’s intention? Was he coming over to inspect her as she would inspect him? Oh surely not! A somewhat obscure German Prince would
jump
at the offer of the hand of the Queen of England. It was for her to decide. She could be sure of that. But of all else she was not at all sure … because as Uncle Leopold must understand so much had happened since that naïve outburst of three years ago.

She sat down and wrote to Uncle Leopold:

‘First of all I wish to know if Albert is aware of the wish of his father and you relative to me. Secondly if he knows that there is
no engagement
between us … If I should like Albert I can make no final promise this year, for at the very earliest any such event could not take place till two or three years hence … Independent of my youth and my great repugnance to change my present position, there is
no
anxiety evinced in this country for such an event … I may like him as a
friend
, and a
cousin
and a
brother
but not more; and should this be the case (which is not unlikely) I am
very
anxious that it should be understood that I am not guilty of any breach of promise, for I
never gave any …
Were this not completely understood I should be in a very painful position. As it is, I am rather nervous about the visit for the subject I allude to is not an agreeable one to me …’

There! That stated her feelings exactly; and having despatched the letter to Uncle Leopold she felt much better.

Naturally she talked the matter over with Lord Melbourne.

‘I have written to Uncle Leopold. He seems to be so certain that I am going to like Albert.’

‘Cousins are not very good for each other.’

‘Most royal people are cousins.’

‘And most of your cousins are Germans.’

‘And Germans are not good for one either?’ demanded the Queen.

‘They are inclined to be solemn.’

‘Shouldn’t we all be on some occasions?’

‘They are solemn on all occasions. Besides, they don’t wash as frequently as we do.’

‘I should enjoy washing less frequently,’ said Victoria with a laugh.

Oh it was fun to sit with him and watch the expressions flit across his face and the way in which he ruffled his hair without realising he was doing it. Now, he looked quite mischievous, now very much the Prime Minister; now like his portrait.

Oh
dear
Lord M! she thought. Why can’t we go on like this forever? We don’t need interruptions.

‘Something is on your mind,’ said Lord Melbourne suddenly.

‘It is this visit of Albert’s. It’s definitely planned for the autumn. Albert’s father, Uncle Ernest and Uncle Leopold are very anxious for it.’

‘They would be,’ said Lord Melbourne. ‘But it is not they who would have to marry Albert, is it?’

She laughed at the thought. ‘Marriage! Why do we have to talk of marriage?’ she demanded. ‘
You
don’t think it is necessary for me to marry yet.’

‘Not for a year or two.’

‘And if I do not like Albert?’

‘Well then Albert will be sent back to Saxe-Coburg.’

‘And all will go on as before.’

She was so happy at the thought that he could not tell her then that sooner or later it would be her duty to marry, nor remind her that the victory they had snatched from Sir Robert Peel was in fact a respite. Life could not go on as it was. Change had to come from some direction.

The Queen was becoming fretful. Her temper flared out at the slightest provocation. Her ladies were sometimes afraid to speak to her. Even dear Daisy was snapped at.

She dreamed of Lady Flora Hastings now and then; and the memory of that emaciated figure stretched out on the couch with the reproachful eyes regarding her stayed with her.

The Hastings would not let the matter rest and were now taking up the case against Sir James Clark. When she drove out she had come to expect a few hisses from the crowd. Often she thought of that first summer of her reign – the pleasantest she had ever spent in her life – and asked herself why it had changed.

She even became irritable with Lord Melbourne. Sometimes in the evening when they were sitting together and the rest of the company were playing games or listening to music and the Duchess sat at her interminable whist, Lord Melbourne would not answer when she spoke to him and she would realise that he had fallen asleep.

It was a habit of his, for although he could be very lively if there was an interesting discussion in progress he would go straight off to sleep when the conversation became trivial. It had amused her to try all sorts of ruses to awaken him without calling attention to his somnolent state; and it could be very awkward when she wanted to go and he was not ready to stand up and bow. She would twit him about it afterwards and he would say the funniest things. It could be so embarrassing – in a comical sort of way.

Now it began to irritate her.

Of course, she thought, he is getting
old
. But immediately she would be conscience-stricken. Men like Lord Melbourne never really grew old. Their rninds remained alert and it was a man’s mind which was important.

One day she tackled him on this habit.

‘Lord M,’ she said, ‘you should not go to sleep when you are in the company of so many people. It is most disconcerting.’

‘Oh,’ he replied, ‘they are so full of their own affairs that they don’t notice much what I’m doing.’

‘Of course you do occasionally
snore
,’ she pointed out.

‘That would proclaim it too much,’ replied Lord Melbourne and she had to laugh.

That was the point.
He
could always make her laugh as no one else could. Perhaps that was why she wanted everything to remain as it was and she was so perturbed by the idea of Uncle Leopold’s protégé, Cousin Albert, coming to change it.

Chapter XI

THE QUEEN’S RELUCTANCE

W
hen King Leopold received Victoria’s letter in which she stated her reluctance to marry for a few years he was alarmed; he decided that he must see her without delay, and on a hot August afternoon the Queen received a letter from him in which he proposed to leave Ostend one evening and arrive at Brighton at about ten in the morning. He would stay only a few hours and return to Ostend the same day, but during that time perhaps he and his beloved niece could meet at the Pavilion and have a talk, which he felt was very necessary.

Victoria was astonished. She knew, of course, that her letter setting out her feelings about Albert was responsible for this and she could not bear the thought of Uncle Leopold and Aunt Louise, who was a poor sailor, making such a long trip just so that she and Uncle Leopold could talk for a few hours. Moreover Uncle Leopold would no doubt wish her to commit herself and she had no desire to do this. It would be much easier to elude awkward decisions over a little space of time.

How kind, she wrote back, of her Aunt and Uncle to wish to see her so much that they could contemplate coming over for a few hours. However, she herself did not feel equal to travelling to Brighton so soon after the prorogation of Parliament which was to take place on the 27th August. Her Uncle would know what an exhausting business that could be. Moreover she had had such a trying time lately. Her Uncle would know about the controversy with Sir Robert Peel because she had written to him and told him about it. Then there had been this distressing Hastings matter. It had really made her quite ill. She would
hate
not to feel absolutely well so that she could entertain her dear Uncle in a manner suited to his importance and for that reason – and that reason alone – could wish him to postpone his visit. If however he could stay a little while and come to Windsor, that would be delightful.

Leopold decided that the urgency of his business was such that he must comply with her suggestion. He would make preparations for a longer stay and would be coming to Windsor in a few weeks’ time.

When Uncle Leopold was due to arrive she was in a fever of excitement, so eager was she to see him. She tried to calm herself by reading despatches and carrying on in the normal way. But it was no use and as soon as they arrived she rushed down to throw herself into those loving avuncular arms. She insisted on waiting on them and taking them to their rooms. This touched Uncle Leopold very much.

‘I had begun to fear that you regarded me as an old piece of furniture which had once been quite useful but no longer was.’

‘Oh, dearest Uncle, how can you say such a thing now? You said it once in one of your letters and I thought I had convinced you.’

‘I needed to be convinced verbally,’ said Uncle Leopold.

So there were more embraces and loving assurances.

But she was quickly realising how very solemn Uncle Leopold had become – or perhaps he always was so and she had not noticed it before. Aunt Louise had lost her gaiety and Victoria had developed a taste for it; she could not help comparing Uncle Leopold with Lord Melbourne and secretly finding Leopold a little dull in comparison. One could not burst into merry laughter with Uncle Leopold around. He was sentimental though, and reminded her of how close they had been in the old days at Claremont and they were able to shed tears over the death of dear old Louie; and he talked again of her cousin, the Princess Charlotte. But again – secretly – she was a little sorry for Charlotte because although according to Uncle Leopold she had loved him devotedly, Uncle Leopold did not approve of so many things which Victoria discovered she approved of very much. Dancing for instance. Uncle Leopold thought that rather frivolous, but indeed why should one not indulge in a little frivolity after following the serious occupations forced upon rulers? She thought a little relaxation was essential when one considered just for one thing, all those papers one was forced to sign and all the ministers one had to see – and they were not all as easy to talk to as Lord Melbourne. Lord Melbourne, on the other hand, believed that a little gaiety was good for one. That was the difference between Lord Melbourne and Uncle Leopold, Lord Melbourne was such a man of the world that he was more understanding. He certainly understood her.

But how churlish to criticise Uncle Leopold – even to herself – who had meant so much to her in her childhood. He soon came to the real purpose of his visit.

‘Baron Stockmar sends me such excellent reports of our young gentleman,’ he told her.

‘I am so glad. I am sure Albert is very good.’

‘I remember how taken you were with him when you met him.’

‘That was three years ago.’

‘He has improved … for the better.’

‘I feel sure that with you to watch over him and dear Baron Stockmar too, he could not have failed to.’

‘A match between you two has always been one of my dearest projects. When it takes place I shall say to myself “Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace”.’

‘Dearest Uncle, do not talk of leaving the world ever.’

‘My precious angel, it was a form of speech. I mean that it would be the realisation of one of my most cherished dreams.’

‘Well, perhaps we shall like each other. But there is plenty of time. I am very young yet, Uncle, and Albert is even younger.’

‘Albert does not understand why there is not a formal betrothal. He feels that this waiting is somehow a humiliation to him.’

‘But the last thing I should wish to do is humiliate Albert.’

‘That’s what I have told him, but there
has
been this shillyshallying. When you saw him last time you really did like him so much.’

‘Let him come here and perhaps I shall like him as much again. Lord Melbourne says that I need not hurry into marriage. I can wait three or four years if I wish.’

‘Do you think that would be advisable?’

‘I do, Uncle. It is too important a matter to be hurried.’

‘I do not think Albert would be prepared to wait indefinitely.’

‘What does he mean by that?’

‘He feels that to be kept hanging about and then refused would perhaps spoil his chances elsewhere.’

‘He seems to be rather calculating.’

‘You misjudge him.’

Leopold was thinking how obstinate she had grown since those days when she was such an enchanting little girl who had adored him and been so eager to please him in every way. And she had become somewhat regal in her manner too, as though she were reminding him that although he might be the King of the Belgians she was Queen of a somewhat more important country.

He abandoned the discussion for the time being and decided to come back to it later.

Uncle Leopold’s visit coincided with that of another Coburg uncle – Leopold’s and Mamma’s own brother Ferdinand with his sons, Augustus and Leopold, and his daughter Victoire. They also brought with them another Coburg cousin, Alexander, whom Victoria thought was quite fascinating. She was soon on nickname terms with them all and they played games which Uncle Leopold would have thought quite childish but which to her were the greatest fun. Even Lord Melbourne could not play such games.

She told them about the visit of the Tsarevitch of Russia who had been so amusing, and had danced so beautifully.

‘There is a German dance. Perhaps you know it. The men have to jump over a pocket handkerchief.’

They all declared they did know it.

‘And each lady and gentleman has to duck under the pocket handkerchief. I rarely saw anything so amusing in my life.’

So they all danced it and there was a great deal of laughter. Victoria enjoyed dancing most with Alexander as her partner.

‘What a charming young man Alexander is,’ said the Queen in her chat with Lord Melbourne. Lord Melbourne said yes, he was. He was the son of the Princess Sophia of Saxe-Coburg and a French émigré and so therefore not entirely German. That, suggested Lord Melbourne, might be why he was more attractive.

‘Uncle Leopold would not be pleased to hear you say that,’ said the Queen. ‘He has a very high opinion of the Germans.’

‘That is natural,’ said Lord Melbourne, ‘because he is one of them and we all have high opinions of ourselves.’

She did enjoy discussing her cousins with Lord Melbourne but to tell the truth he seemed a little
old
in comparison with them.

What a sad day it was when the cousins said goodbye. The Queen declared that she was going to be quite heartbroken without them. She went down to Woolwich to see them off accompanied by Mamma and Lehzen, and of course Lord Melbourne was present. The Duchess was in tears; she had been very unhappy since the departure of Conroy. There was no one with whom to scheme for her daughter’s discomfiture and now even the Flora Hastings affair had lost its impact. The Duchess would have liked to be taken back into her daughter’s favour. However it seemed it was too late for that. But this farewell was a family affair and outwardly Victoria was affectionate to her mother. Many tears were shed and Victoria exchanged handkerchiefs with Victoire to remind her of ‘our handkerchief dance’. It was all very, very sad, and the journey back to the Palace was silent and sorrowful. The only person who was unaffected was Lord Melbourne, who didn’t like Germans and had found the cousins too childishly boisterous for his taste. However at this stage he kept his feelings to himself and smiled sympathetically at the Queen whenever she looked his way.

Uncle Leopold would be leaving a few days later and he had made very little headway for he had counted on getting a definite promise from Victoria that she would accept Albert. He had not anticipated this difficulty, but he was learning that this was a new Victoria.

He came back again and again to the subject of the marriage.

It was necessary. It was her duty. Had she looked at it from that angle?

Yes, she had looked at it from every angle.

And did she realise that if she did not marry and have children the throne would go to the Cumberlands?

She was years younger than Uncle Cumberland and she did not think she was going to die yet. No, Uncle Leopold could rest assured that Cumberland would spend his days as King of Hanover. It was not that she was against marriage, but that as she was only twenty she thought she had plenty of time and did not wish to hurry into such a state which was so very important not only to herself but to the country.