Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria (60 page)

It was all very disturbing. Moreover we were anxious about Bertie. He was not doing as well under Mr. Gibbs as he had under Mr. Birch. The Press was always eager for stories of him; he was a favorite with them and
there were hints that Albert and I were cruel to him. Why was the Prince of Wales not seen more in public? was continually asked. On the rare occasions when he had appeared he had won the people's hearts. Let them see more of him.

Albert said that public approval would go to Bertie's head and make him more impossible than he already was.

We decided—or rather Albert did in consultation with Stockmar— that Bertie should have a governor instead of a tutor. The governor's rule was to be strict and Bertie would not be able to leave the house without reporting to him. Colonel Bruce had been chosen because he was a man who was firm and would enforce the laws.

Then it was thought that he should have a spell at Oxford or Cambridge. The Dean of Christ Church wanted Bertie to take up residence in the college but Albert would not hear of that. It would give him too much liberty. He should be in a private house with his governor watching every movement.

Bertie disliked learning. I had to have a little sympathy with him. After all, when I had been young I had made excuses to escape from my books. It was something Albert could not understand. I feared my son was not unlike me. Perhaps he had inherited his unsatisfactory traits from me—certainly they did not come from Albert.

There were other anxieties, too. We were constantly concerned that Leopold would fall and hurt himself and start to bleed. Alfred had expressed a wish to go into the Navy and then was heartbroken because it meant parting with Bertie.

Children were a mixed blessing.

Then I heard that Vicky was proposing to pay us a visit.

It was wonderful to see Albert's joy. He had been looking quite ill lately, and I was really worried about his health. He suffered a lot of pain from rheumatism and that gave him a drawn look; he caught cold very easily and that was not good. I told him he worked too hard. We should take more holidays; he needed the sea breezes of Osborne or the clean mountain air of Balmoral.

But he looked almost his old self when he greeted Vicky. She was different, grown up, a wife and a mother. There was an air of worldliness about her; she had lost that beautiful innocence; she had already undergone the dreadful ordeal of childbirth and had suffered greatly because of it—more than I ever had. Poor Vicky!

Naturally I wanted to be alone with her, to have some of those little
talks that can only take place between women; I wanted to know all the details of that terrible ordeal.

Vicky had something on her mind, and it came out when she was with us both.

“Papa, Mama,” she said, “there is something I have to tell you.”

“My darling…,” began Albert alarmed.

“Tell us, Vicky dearest,” I said. “It is about little Wilhelm.”

We waited in trepidation.

“Oh he is…very well. Otherwise…he is a perfect child…It is just…,” She bit her lips and looked from one of us to the other. “It is just that…well, it was a difficult birth. I don't know whether they told you how difficult. They thought I was going to die.”

A look of anguish crossed Albert's face. I felt as he did. But she was here, she was with us. So it had not happened.

“You see a difficult birth…a breech birth…His arm was dislocated when he was delivered.”

“You mean he has…a deformity?” I asked.

“It is just his arm,” she said.

“Can nothing be done?” asked Albert. “We have had the best doctors and…nothing…But he is a perfect child in every other way.”

I went to her and put my arms around her. Albert was staring straight ahead. I knew he was not thinking of little Wilhelm's arm but of his adored Vicky, who might not have come through her ordeal.

H
OW ALBERT ENJOYED
those
tête-à-têtes
with Vicky. Sometimes I felt I was a little
de trop
and he would rather have had her entirely to himself. But that was nonsense of course. She was my daughter as well as his and I was the one who had suffered to bring her into the world. She was very sweet and loving to us both, more so with me than she had been at home. I thought: Being away has made her appreciate me more.

Albert loved to talk to her confidentially—as though she were adult, which of course she was now. We told her of our worries about Bertie.

“Dear Bertie,” she said, “he is all right at heart, you know.”

“He is lazy,” said Albert. “He does not realize his responsibilities.”

“He will manage when he has to bear them.” She gave me a loving look. “It is not going to be for years and years.”

“Bertie is responsible
now
… as Prince of Wales,” said Albert. “He will not study.”

“Some very good kings have been poor scholars,” Vicky reminded him.

It was pleasant to hear her putting in a good word for Bertie.

“You always overshadowed him, my dearest child,” said Albert. “Compared with you…”

“He could do many things that I could not. He's at the university now and that must be quite a change for him. I must see him before I go. I shall go down and surprise him.”

“I am sure it will be the most pleasant surprise imaginable,” said Albert.

She did go and according to her it was a most enjoyable visit. According to Mrs. Bruce, the wife of the formidable Colonel, it brought out yet another deplorable trait in Bertie's character for with Vicky was one of the ladies she had brought with her from Prussia, one of her dearest friends, Lady Walburga Paget, who was a very attractive young woman.

Mrs. Bruce had seen something quite subversive in Bertie's behavior toward Lady Walburga. He had been flirtatious and frivolous. Certain traits hitherto only suspected had been proved.

Bertie was too fond of the opposite sex. Bertie would have to be watched even more closely.

T
HIS LED TO
further discussions on Bertie. “He should be married,” said Albert.

“It would be the best thing possible,” I agreed.

“As a matter of fact,” said Albert, “I have already given some thought to the matter.” Albert could always be trusted to see ahead of everyone. “I have consulted with Uncle Leopold and Stockmar and have, as a matter of fact, a list of princesses one of whom might be suitable for Bertie.”

“A list!” cried Vicky. “Oh, do let me see it, Papa.”

“By all means,” said Albert, and he produced the list.

Vicky looked at it and smiled.

“You will know some of them,” said Albert.

“Yes, I have met a few.”

“You must watch for us, Vicky,” went on Albert. “Report to us. See if you can select a bride for Bertie. If you approve I shall feel much happier.”

“I see,” said Vicky, “that Alexandra of Denmark is on the list.”

“She is the last one—I imagine an afterthought of Uncle Leopold.”

“Well, of course,” said Vicky, “she is Danish. The others are all German and in Uncle Leopold's and Stockmar's eyes, the fact that the others are Germans puts them ahead.”

We laughed with her. “You sound as though you know this Alexandra.”

“I have met her. She is exceptionally beautiful. Very pleasant … unspoilt.”

“Well,” said Albert, “let's keep her on the list.”

“Let me have it,” said Vicky. “I will spy out the land.”

“You realize this is a very serious matter, my dearest,” Albert warned her.

“I do indeed. A marriage always is and the marriage of the Prince of Wales especially so.”

Albert was very sad when Vicky went back, but there were repeated pledges to meet again very soon. Fortunately she was not so very far away from us and frequent visits were a possibility.

“That makes the situation just tolerable,” said Albert.

Meanwhile there were the usual crises. There was a general election with the result that Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister for a second time. The Whigs had now become the Liberals and his government consisted of various elements—people calling themselves Whigs, radicals, Peelites, and followers of Palmerston—all united under the name of Liberal.

Mr. Gladstone joined their party and became Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government.

Palmerston was as energetic as ever. I heard he would sit listening to debates looking so serene that he might have been asleep; but when he spoke he would show that he had not missed a single relevant point.

He had quite a liking for Bertie, and I was sure he was one of those who thought we were too severe with him. It was he who suggested that Bertie should visit Canada and America as representative of the country.

Albert was taken aback. The idea seemed incongruous.

“Not so,” said Palmerston with that slightly amused look he always seemed to bestow on Albert. “I think they will like him.”

Disbelieving, we agreed. Albert said his governor, Colonel Bruce, should go with him so that he should continue with his studies.

“There will be no time for that with the program I have prepared for him,” said the merry Pam. “The Duke of Newcastle will accompany him and the Prince will be very busy. There is no point in making such a journey just to study. That could be done at home.”

Albert and I agreed at last, providing Colonel Bruce accompanied him.

That tour was a revelation. Bertie, it seemed, was a good ambassador. Lord Palmerston came to us rubbing his hands with glee. This visit has done diplomatic relations more good than a hundred conferences. They loved the Prince. Everyone wanted to talk to him. He had a smile for everyone. He has a flair for making speeches. The women adored him.

Of course we were delighted to hear of Bertie's success. Colonel Bruce reported that the Prince's fondness for the opposite sex appeared to have increased rather than diminished. He feared the worst. The Duke of Newcastle had other views. He said the Prince was charming and had delighted all who met him; he had done a great job for the country.

Albert said, “There must have been an improvement as we are getting praise from every quarter. We owe all this to Colonel Bruce. I think he should be given some honor for the work he has done.”

“I will speak to Lord Palmerston,” I told him.

I was quite surprised at Lord Palmerston's reaction.

“Colonel Bruce, Your Majesty! This was not Colonel Bruce's doing. It was the Prince's. The success of the tour is entirely due to him.”

“The Prince Consort thinks it is due to the discipline Colonel Bruce has imposed on him that he has improved sufficiently to behave as he did. We thought that the Order of the Bath…”

Lord Palmerston raised his eyebrows and slowly shook his head.

“I like people who do good work to be rewarded,” I said.

“As I do, Ma'am. It is the Prince who should be rewarded. This is his triumph. I do not think Your Majesty's government would consider giving rewards where they are not earned. No, Ma'am, I do not think it would bestow an order on the colonel.”

There were times when Lord Palmerston could be almost insolent, but in a light-hearted, amused sort of way, so that it was difficult to take offense.

“Your Majesty must be feeling very proud of the Prince,” he went on. “I am glad he did well.”

“In spite of Bruce,” he said softly.

And I could see that look in his eyes. I knew he would be stubborn. There would be no order for Colonel Bruce. I could imagine his having the temerity to go to the country on such a matter.

I felt only mildly put out. Albert felt it more keenly. But I was glad that Bertie had achieved his success alone.

B
ERTIE'S TRIUMPH WAS
short-lived. He was soon in trouble again. He had no doubt enjoyed too much freedom on his tour and did not relish settling down to work.

He was caught in an escapade that greatly disturbed Albert. He had actually escaped from the colonel and decided he would go to stay with some friends he had made when he was at Oxford.

This meant that first he would come to London and from there go to Oxford. Fortunately the plan was discovered. Colonel Bruce telegraphed to the Palace and when Bertie arrived in London a carriage was waiting to conduct him to the Palace.

Poor Albert was so distressed. Bertie was too old to be beaten now, but Albert was determined that drastic measures should be adopted.

There were conferences and a great deal of thought was given to the matter. In due course we decided that he should not return to Cambridge.

He should have a spell of discipline with the army in Ireland.

He was sent to Curragh Camp.

V
ICKY PAID US
a second visit—this time with Fritz. We talked not only about a princess for Bertie but a husband for Alice. Dear placid Alice! I should hate to lose her but I knew I should have to do so. That was the way of the world. Vicky at least was happy with Fritz, although I believed she was not so much at ease with her Prussian relations.

I felt very well that autumn. Balmoral was a delight and it was always a great joy to escape to it. But I was worried about Albert's health. He would drive himself even when he was feeling ill. But he was better at Balmoral than anywhere else, I believed, and that made the place especially important to me.