Queen Victoria (4 page)

The education of Her Royal Highness was now conducted on a regular system. Besides the instruction she received from Miss Lehzen and the Rev. George Davys, Mr. Steward, the writing master of Westminster School, was engaged to teach writing and arithmetic; Mr. J. B. Sale, who had been in the choir of the Chapel Royal, came to assist in the singing lessons, which were afterwards given by the famous Lablache. Lessons in dancing were given by Madame Bourdin, to whose teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of bearing which has always distinguished Her Majesty. Drawing was entrusted to Mr. Westall, who had been a Royal Academician since 1794, and was now of considerable age; he carefully trained the great natural gifts of his pupil, who early showed a talent which, had there been sufficient time for its exercise in after years, would have placed its possessor in the first rank among amateur artists. The facsimile of a drawing by the Princess is given at the end of this chapter; it is a copy from a design by her master, and is also interesting as being the last birthday present given by his niece to George IV; on the back of it is written, in the King’s hand, “Drawn by the Princess Victoria, and given to me by her, August 12th, 1829.” The drawing is also dated and signed by the youthful artist.

At the time these various accomplishments were being taught, the Princess was well grounded in English, and knew something of French, which she studied under M. Grandineau. German was not allowed to be spoken; English was always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was imparted by M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were the most enjoyed were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen’s greatest pleasures.

In January, 1827, at the Duchess of Rutland’s house in Arlington Street, the Duke of York died childless, bringing the Princess Victoria one step nearer to the throne. The stories which have been printed of the great attachment between uncle and niece, and of the constant visits paid to him by the Princess, are without foundation, as, in fact, the Queen never visited him till the last months of his life, when he was living at a house in King’s Road, belonging to Mr. Greenwood, where the Duke had “Punch and Judy” to amuse the child. In the year following, the Princess Feodore, who had been her half-sister’s constant companion, married Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg. This parting was the greatest sorrow the Princess Victoria had then known, as she missed her society not only at Kensington, but even more in those visits to Ramsgate, Tunbridge Wells, and other watering-places, which the Duchess was accustomed to pay with her family in the summer months.

The death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence having other offspring, drew increasing attention to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. Many stories are current of the behaviour and appearance of the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful training in home life which endeared not only the Princess but her mother also to the hearts of the whole nation. Leigh Hunt and Charles Knight have both recorded the pleasing impression made upon them by the young Princess. The latter, in his “Passages of a Working Life,” says: “I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before the Palace… The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then numbered nine, are breakfasting in the open air… What a beautiful characteristic it seemed to me of the training of this royal girl, that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity of a child’s nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts up from the breakfast-table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining pasture; that her merry laugh should be as fearless as the notes of the thrush in the groves around her. I passed on and blessed her; and I thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a training.”

Another and more celebrated writer, Sir Walter Scott, has written in his diary of May 19th, 1828: “Dined with the Duchess of Kent. Was very kindly received by Prince Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the heir-apparent to the Crown, as things now stand… This little lady is educated with much care, and watched so closely that no busy maid has a moment to whisper, ‘You are heir of England.’ I suspect, if we could dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of the air had carried the matter.” Sir Walter’s surmise, as will be seen later, was not altogether without foundation.

On the 28th of May, 1829, when the Princess was just ten years old, she made her first acquaintance with the ceremony of a court. This was at a juvenile ball, given by the King to Donna Maria La Gloria, Queen of Portugal (a sovereign only a month older than herself). The same year the Princess saw, for the last time, her uncle, George IV. Her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, mentions this visit to Windsor in a letter to the Duchess of Kent. “I see by the English papers that ‘Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent went on Virginia Water with His Majesty.’ The little monkey must have pleased and amused him, she is such a pretty, clever child.”

This year the summer was spent at Broadstairs, and, in returning to Kensington, a visit of two days was paid to the Earl of Winchilsea, at his seat, Eastwell Park, near Ashford.

The year 1830 was a momentous one in the life of the Princess. Her uncle George IV died in June, and was succeeded by his brother William IV, this one life only now standing between her and the throne. The Princess, according to one account, already knew something of the position in which she was placed before the death of George IV. It is, however, certain that in the latter part of the year the Princess was formally acquainted with her position. The Baroness Lehzen, writing to Her Majesty on the 16th of December, 1867, thus describes the manner in which the communication was made: “I ask your Majesty’s leave to cite some remarkable words of your Majesty’s when only twelve years old, while the Regency Bill was in progress. I then said to the Duchess of Kent, that now, for the first time, your Majesty ought to know your place in the succession. Her Royal Highness agreed with me, and I put the genealogical table into the historical book. When Mr. Davys was gone, the Princess Victoria opened, as usual, the book again, and seeing the additional paper, said, ‘I never saw that before.’

‘It was not thought necessary you should, Princess,’ I answered. ‘I see, I am nearer the throne than I thought.’ ‘So it is, madam,’ I said. After some moments the Princess resumed, ‘Now, many a child would boast, but they don’t know the difficulty. There is much splendour but there is more responsibility.’ The Princess having lifted up the forefinger of her right hand while she spoke, gave me that little hand, saying, ‘I will be good. I understand now, why you urged me so much to learn, even Latin. My aunts Augusta and Mary never did; but you told me Latin is the foundation of English grammar, and of all the elegant expressions, and I learnt it as you wished it, but I understand all better now,’ and the Princess gave me her hand, repeating, ‘I will be good.’ I then said,

‘But your aunt Adelaide is still young, and may have children, and of course they would ascend the throne after their father, William IV, and not you, Princess.’ The Princess answered, ‘And if it was so, I should be very glad, for I know by the love Aunt Adelaide bears me, how fond she is of children.’”

This letter, written more than five-and-thirty years after the event, can hardly be considered as strictly accurate. The Princess was only eleven when the Regency Bill was discussed. It was passed in December, 1830. The Queen says, moreover, that the knowledge of her probable succession came to her gradually and made her very unhappy; nor does she feel sure that she made use of the expression, “I will be good.”

Ampler provision had by this time been made for the maintenance of a household more in keeping with the recognised position of the Princess. It was consequently possible for the Duchess of Kent and her daughter to combine the pleasure of summer travel, with the increase of knowledge derived from wider association with the people which were hereafter to come under the Princess’s rule. This year, therefore, a more extended journey was made. On the way to Malvern, where they were to spend a couple of months, visits were paid to Blenheim, also to Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick, Kenilworth, and Birmingham. Here the principal manufactures were seen, attention being particularly paid to the glass-blowing and coining. From Malvern excursions were made to Madres-field, Eastnor, and other noblemen’s seats, and also to the cities of Hereford and Worcester. Returning from this pleasant sojourn in the west, both Badminton and Gloucester were visited, and the journey continued through Bath to Mr. Watson Taylor’s, at East Stoke Park, where the acquaintance of Thomas Moore was made. In his diary we read, “The Duchess sang a duet or two with the Princess Victoria, and several very pretty German songs by herself. I also sang several songs with which Her Royal Highness was much pleased.” The party thence passed over Salisbury Plain and visited Stonehenge on the way to Salisbury, where the young Princess was received with great enthusiasm, the horses being taken out of the carriage, which was drawn by the populace to the Hotel.

The next stay was at Portsmouth, where the Princess visited the
Royal
George
yacht and the
St
.
Vincent
man-of-war, and took a long survey of the dockyard, in which she was keenly interested.

The Regency Bill, just mentioned, was brought forward in the House of Lords by Lord Lyndhurst, in consequence of the reference made to the subject in the King’s Speech from the Throne, on the 2nd of November. It was introduced on the 15th of the month by the Lord Chancellor, who said: “The first question which your Lordships will naturally ask is - whom we propose as the guardian of Her Royal Highness under the circumstances inferred? I am sure, however, that the answer will at once suggest itself to every mind. It would be quite impossible that we should recommend any other individual for that high office than the illustrious Princess, the mother of Her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria. The manner in which Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Kent, has hitherto discharged her duty in the education of her illustrious offspring - and I speak upon the subject, not from vague report, but from accurate information - gives us the best ground to hope most favourably of Her Royal Highness’s future conduct. Looking at the past it is evident we cannot find a better guardian for the time to come.” The Bill was passed at the beginning of the next month. It provided that, in the event of a posthumous child of the Queen Adelaide, Her Majesty should be guardian and regent during the minority of the infant. If that event should not occur, the Duchess of Kent was to be guardian and regent during the minority of her daughter, the Princess Victoria, the heiress presumptive. The provisions of the Bill were welcomed and endorsed by the approval of both Houses, and by the country at large. Every one rejoiced in the opportunity of offering so worthy a tribute of gratitude to the royal lady, for the unwearied assiduity and judgment she had displayed, in the education of her daughter for the station to which it seemed now certain that she would eventually be called. It was on the occasion of the prorogation of this session by the King that the Princess Victoria was a witness of the state procession, in company with the Queen and the royal Princesses. The people cheered the Queen with much vigour, whereupon that lady graciously took her young niece by the hand, and, leading her to the front of the balcony, introduced her to her future loyal subjects.

Soon after the King’s accession, the Prime Minister, Earl Grey, proposed to the Duchess of Kent, by the King’s desire, the appointment of a dignitary of the Church to superintend the education of the Princess, and suggested that the Bishop of Lincoln would be a proper person to be entrusted with the duties of the office. The Duchess commissioned his lordship to convey to the King her grateful thanks for the interest taken by him in the subject, and added that she perfectly coincided with His Majesty’s views, as regarded the propriety of the establishment of the Princess being headed by a dignitary of the Church; but as she felt most perfect confidence in Mr. Davys. she thought there could be no difficulty in preferring him to an office of ecclesiastical dignity. Mr. Davys was, in consequence, in January, 1831, preferred to the Deanery of Chester.

Another important addition to the household of the Princess was made by the appointment of a State governess, in the person of Charlotte Florentia, daughter of the Earl of Powis, and wife of Hugh, third Duke of Northumberland. Her Grace had no share in the teaching of her charge, but was always in attendance when the heiress-presumptive appeared in public or at Court.

The Princess’s first appearance at Court was at a Drawing Room held on the 24th of February, 1831, in honour of the birthday of Queen Adelaide. During the reception she stood on the left of the Queen, between one of her royal aunts and the Duchess of Kent, dressed very simply in white, with a pearl necklace, and a diamond ornament in her hair. She much enjoyed the ceremony, and henceforward attended the Drawing Rooms twice in the year, not attending any of the State Balls or ceremonies in the evening till some years later.

In August of this year the Duchess of Kent and the Princess went to the Isle of Wight, where they stayed for two months. The coronation of King William IV was fixed for the 8th of September, and all preparations had been made for the attendance of the heiress-presumptive at the ceremony. The Duchess of Kent was expected at Claremont, and had appointed Lord Morpeth to be the bearer of her coronet to the Abbey. The absence of the royal pair from the Coronation gave rise at the time to much comment and angry discussion. During her stay in the island, the Princess made a tour round its western part, visiting Ryde, Ventnor, Yarmouth, and Newport, and returning home to pay a visit at Claremont to her uncle, King Leopold. He and the Duchess of Kent had, directly after this visit, to mourn the loss of their mother, the Duchess Dowager of Coburg, who had watched with such anxious care and solicitude over the welfare of her children and grandchildren, and had ardently desired, but never was destined to see, that union which afterwards, while it lasted, rendered the lives of two of them so blissful.