The Queen's Husband (20 page)

It was not only the people who disliked him. The royal family over whom he had been given precedence on Victoria’s royal decree were angry over this. Why, asked the royal Dukes and their wives, should this upstart German princeling come before they did on all state occasions?

The Cambridges were particularly incensed because they had hoped that Victoria would marry their son George. George had spent a great deal of his childhood at Windsor with King William and Queen Adelaide because his parents were abroad and both the King and Queen would have liked to see a match between George and Victoria. This had given the Cambridges great hope but the Duchess of Kent and King Leopold had thought otherwise and Victoria’s preference had certainly been for her Coburg cousin. Albert was beautiful; George Cambridge was an odious boy with a shocking complexion. That was her description of him; so the Cambridges sought to make life difficult for Albert.

When Victoria heard that the Duchess of Cambridge had remained seated while Albert’s health was drunk she was furious.

‘How dare she!’ she cried to Lehzen. ‘It is an insult to the Crown.’

‘I suppose she feels that the Prince – apart from his connection with Your Majesty – is below her in precedence.’

‘But the Prince is
my
husband.’ Angry lights flashed in Victoria’s eyes and Lehzen was quick to realise that she must be very careful when discussing the Prince, for determined as Victoria was to suffer no interference as the Queen, she was at the same time in love with her husband.

‘Of course,’ soothed the Baroness, ‘the Duchess behaved very badly.’

‘I should think so,’ retorted Victoria, ‘and I shall show my displeasure by not asking them to my next ball so that everyone will know how annoyed I am.’

Albert was very much aware of the slights and insults, but if Victoria would let him share her duties people would begin to respect him.

If only people would not be so tiresome, thought Victoria, everything could be wonderful. She had a husband whom she adored; she had a Prime Minister who was her very dearest friend and whom she trusted absolutely; she had darling Daisy who was as a mother to her; and she was the Queen. But Albert wanted to share her throne – and that was something she could not allow, for after all she was the Queen and he was only a prince from a small German dukedom; that horrid Sir Robert Peel was trying to oust Lord Melbourne who was really very lackadaisical about it and seemed to accept the fact that a Tory Ministry was inevitable; and now dear Lehzen had taken a dislike to Albert and he to her.

How very irritating – and so foolish of them! No wonder she lost her temper with them now and then. And there were the newspapers who were always thinking up unpleasant things to say about her and Albert – and what was worse and so shocked Albert –
coarse
things. And the people didn’t like him; they were always referring to him as ‘the German’. All these irritations – not to mention the family who didn’t like him, all except Mama of course, who doted on him and whom Albert was constantly visiting. Why did Albert have to be so contrary by forming a friendship with the Duchess and showing animosity to the Baroness, when she would have so much preferred it to be the other way round?

The uncles had hated Albert from the start when there had been all that fuss about precedence. Uncle Cumberland fortunately was safe in Hanover but he made his presence felt and was always thundering forth about his rights and what belonged to him. He was furious really because he had not become King of England, which he would have done of course if the English law had been like that of some countries which precluded women from mounting the throne.

And now Uncle Cambridge – probably annoyed because she had not invited him and his Duchess to her last ball, had made a really
coarse
remark about her and Albert at a banquet.

Albert hated banquets and she was always afraid that he would go to sleep over them. Often she had found it necessary to prod him during some entertainment. On this occasion Albert had seized an opportunity to leave a banquet early, not realising she supposed that the speeches had not been made. And when Uncle Cambridge made his speech he said that the Prince had left because he was so anxious to get home to spend the night with a very fine girl.

Albert was horrified when he heard this because the report said that the guests had all roared with laughter at the Duke’s comment – coarse laughter.

‘This sort of remark is obscene,’ said Albert.

Previously Victoria would have been rather pleased that her uncle should have said that Albert was so anxious to return to her that he had left the banquet early, but Albert’s disgust made her see it through his eyes.

‘It cheapens us,’ said Albert. ‘It creates obscene images in the minds of the people.’

Of course, thought Victoria, it needed someone as
pure
as Albert to show how
disgusting
people could be.

She was furious with her Uncle Cambridge and the whole family.

‘It is all because he wanted me to marry George Cambridge,’ she said.

‘They will always chatter in this way about us,’ said Albert sadly, ‘and the more so I think because I am only permitted to share the emotional side of your life.’

So they were back with the old controversy.

It seemed to Victoria that only with Lord Melbourne could she settle down to a cosy companionship.

She often thought of the old days when she and Lord Melbourne had been so important to each other. In fact if a day passed without her seeing her Prime Minister she had felt really miserable; and she used to hate it when he dined at Lady Holland’s house for instance. She had several times told him that she could not understand what he saw in the woman and that she had a really vulgar mouth. Lord Melbourne always laughed at what he called her ‘choleric outbursts and displays of the royal temper’; and very soon had her laughing with him.

He was now very happy that she was contented with her marriage (but perhaps she was not entirely contented, though she would be if Albert could be induced not to attempt to interfere) and he often told her so. But it did mean that her relationship with Lord Melbourne had changed a little. He was not quite so important to her, and perhaps she did stress a little too often that he would always be one of her dearest friends.

But in spite of the fact that things had changed and Lord Melbourne was showing his age a little he could still amuse her more easily than anyone else. Lord Melbourne loved to gossip and he knew so many interesting things about people. Albert, on the other hand, thought gossip demeaning. Albert was right of course. Oh, dear Albert was so good that he did dislike quite a lot of the things that had once seemed good fun – dancing, staying up late, gossiping about people. Compared with Albert, Lord Melbourne was really a little wicked … or would have seemed so if she did not know that he was such a
good kind
man. Albert would say she was not being logical; but the fact remained that she did enjoy those sessions alone with Lord Melbourne in the blue closet when he would discuss China or Canada – which diversely situated countries were giving cause for concern at this time – and then switch to something quite frivolous in a way which in the past she had found so diverting and delightful – and still did.

It was Lord Melbourne who first brought her the news about Lord William Russell who had been found murdered in his house where he lived alone – apart from numerous servants of course.

‘It is very mysterious,’ said Lord Melbourne, settling comfortably in his chair for a cosy chat. ‘Lord William was found in his bed, cold and stiff, so he had been dead some time. The bed was deluged with blood. His throat was cut so that his head was almost severed from his body.’

‘How very shocking.’

‘The details are too horrible for me to impart to Your Majesty,’ said Lord Melbourne. ‘Such affairs are best forgotten.’

‘Oh, no,’ said the Queen, ‘I want to hear all. Poor Lord William, and what a sad shock for poor Lord John. How very tragic! It only seems a short time since poor Lady John died and left all those dear little children.’

Victoria was apprehensive thinking of Lady John, who had died in childbirth. It was certain now that she herself was pregnant and she was beginning to feel the effects. This in itself was endurable but when she thought of the actual event and what happened to poor Lady John she could be really frightened.

Lord Melbourne, who understood so much in what direction her thoughts were running, went back to the murder – a safer subject than child-bearing.

‘They think that thieves entered by the back door and that when they were in Lord William’s bedroom he awakened and disturbed them. Hence they cut his throat. The maid discovered Lord William’s body in the morning. No one heard anything during the night.’

‘I do hope they catch these wicked people. Poor, poor Lord John.’

‘Oh, don’t feel too sorry for him. I believe he is very interested in Lady Fanny Elliot.’

‘What, Lord Minto’s daughter?’

‘His second daughter. The fact that Minto is First Lord of the Admiralty has meant that little Johnny has been frequently visiting Minto’s house. It’s clear that he is becoming very interested in Lady Fanny.’

‘How old is she?’

‘About twenty-five.’

‘Little Johnny must be twice her age.’

‘Yes, but it would be an excellent arrangement. Everyone cannot have a handsome young Prince for a husband, you know.’

‘Of course they can’t, and Johnny will be able to look after her and she will be able to look after all the children.’

‘Exactly!’

‘I feel a little protective towards Albert, being three months older than he is.’

‘And his sovereign. A sovereign should always feel protective towards her subjects.’

‘Is a husband a subject?’

‘We are all Your Majesty’s subjects.’

‘It is difficult to regard husbands in that light.’

With his usual understanding Lord Melbourne agreed that it was.

‘I shall be very pleased to hear that Little Johnny is happy again.’

‘Oh, so far it is only a conjecture.’

The Queen burst into that loud laughter which in the old days Lord Melbourne had provoked so often.

‘So,’ she said with mock severity, ‘this is just a piece of Lord M gossip.’

‘It might well be that,’ agreed Lord Melbourne.

‘Well, I shall hope it is more for Johnny’s sake. When do you guess the wedding will be?’

‘He has yet to persuade the lady, don’t forget. It is rather an undertaking, a widower with six children. Not every young woman wants a ready-made family.’

Victoria laughed and then was serious suddenly.

‘Lord Melbourne, you know there will in due course be an addition to our family.’

Lord Melbourne bowed his head.

‘Albert thinks we should make an announcement. He is so delighted, you see.’

‘We are all delighted,’ said Lord Melbourne, ‘but I believe Your Majesty would think it more dignified to allow this good news to come out gradually.’

‘I do. I shall tell Albert that that is how it shall be.’

Oh, yes, there was no doubt that she enjoyed her sessions in the blue closet with Lord Melbourne. If Albert were present – as she really believed he hoped he might be – it would not be quite the same. She did not want change and these delightful encounters could be spoilt by the fall of Lord Melbourne’s government, his replacement by Sir Robert Peel, and the intrusion of Albert.