CHAPTER I. The Queen's Early Life.

Otago Witness, 21 June 1887, Page 1

CHAPTER I. The Queen's Early Life.

QUEEN VICTORIA, or to give her her full official appellation, Alexandria Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Empress of India, was born at the Royal Palace of Kensington, on May 24th, 18 19. Her father was the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George 111., and her mother, the Princess Mary Louisa Victoria, daugher of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and widow of the Prince of Leiningen.

On the birth of the princess there seemed to be but a slight chance of her accession to the queenly dignity, for after the reigning sovereign, George IV., came the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence, both of whom had recently married and might have issue.

George IV. left no legitimate issue, the Duke of York died childless in 1829, and the children of the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. did not survive him. Providence seemed to have ordained that the sovereignty should devolve on a woman, and it is somewhat remarkable that the Duke of Kent always had a strong presentiment that his little daughter would eventually wear the purple. " Look at her well," he was in the habit of saying to his acquaintances when the little princess was broufht in for inspection, " because she will be Queen of England."

It is probable that in the case of the Duke the wish was father to the thought, but the sentiment appears to have been entertained by all the little girl's near relatives. Her grandmother, the old Duchess of Saxe-Coburg wrote of her birth : — ''Again a Charlotte, destined, perhaps, to play a great part one day, if a brother is not born to take it out of her hands. The English like queens."

Of this circumstance Mrs. Oliphant in her charming work writes : "No happier augury could have been said over the cradle of a Sovereign and nothing more true. The English have cause to like Queens, for England has never been greater, more famous, or more full of genius than when the monarchs were

women. And though George 111., with his domestic virtues had been a popular King, he was the only one of his race who had any pretension to this name. The House of Hanover had not been beloved. It wanted a woman to conciliate and charm the heart of the nation, and to call forth that chivalry which is so good an auxiliary of loyalty. Princess Charlotte had already done something. She had made herself dear and sacred, if nothing else, by her death. The country had mourned for her as for the child of its hopes, and now again here was the hope in its purest fortunate shape — re-born." Royal personages have bereavements and hardships, and ups and downs of very much the same description as the trials that wring the hearts of people of less degree. The Duke of Kent died when his baby daughter was but nine months old, leaving his pretty German widow almost " a stranger in a strange land," and with the characteristic carelessness of his race, almost unprovided for. Indeed, one record says :—: — " The Regent was not kind to his brother " in money matters, and when the Duke died it was found that "the poor Duke had left his family deprived of all means of existence." In the person of Prince Leopold — afterwards King

of the Belgians, who was the favourite brother of the Duchess of Kent — a protector of the bereaved little family appeared. The good brother stood by the Duchess in all her difficulties, and it was through his brotherly kindness that the Duchess was enabled to remain in England and bring up her daughter, surrounded by English influences and English sympathies. Had this twice-widowed Duchess consulted her own comfort she would have withdrawn after her second widowhood to the calm seclusion of her native Thuringia where, free from -the extravagances of English society and the eyes pf captious critics, she might have led a happier life., She saw, however, that duty to her daughter entailed residence in England, and nobly did she act up to that view in spite of misrepresentation, discouragement, and even insult.

The early life of the Princess Victoria was spent at Kensington Palace and the charming solitude of Claremont, which had been hallowed by the brief, married life of Princess Charlotte. The heiress of England was fortunate in having during her youthful years the society of an elder half-sister, the Princess Fedora of Leiningen, who afterwards became Princess Hohenlohe, whose superior age, as Mrs. Oliphant remarks, neutralised the immense difference of position and gave something of the sweet natural humility of a younger child in a well regulated household to the most important member of the family, all unconscious of her own greatness. The princess at four years old was a lively child, of joyous temperament and inquiring mind, extremely active, and fond of play. Octogenarian habitues of Kensington Gardens, whose recollections enable them to hedge the space of sixty years, relate that she seldom passed anyone in her little carriage or riding on her donkey without saying, " How do you do," or " Good morning, sir, or lady." A pleasant picture is presented of her in these early years as, dressed in a simple white frock, with a large straw hat, and no other ornament but a moss rosebud in her bosom, she played about in the gardens with her sister, and ran along the broad gravel walks and grassy hillocks. When in the gardens, says one chronicler, she would sometimes allow her sympathy for an admiring public to carry her to the extent of going to the palings, and making a curtsey, and kissing her hand, speaking to all who addressed her ; and this little levee she found so agreeable that when her attendants came and led her away, she slipped out of their hands and came back again to receive the admiration of the people. Like most impulsive children, she sometimes got into difficulties. A. Yorkshire story tells how, during her stay at Wentworth House she was flitting gaily about the terraced gardens, when an old gardener, observing that she was going to run down a bank, called out, l 'Be careful, miss ; its slape!" "Slape! Slape!" exclaimed the princess; '-what's slape?" The next moment her foot slipped, and she was rolling down the bank. " That's slape, miss," said the old man running to her assistance. We have already indicated that the future Queen of England was carefully kept ignorant during her girlhood of her magnificent prospects as the Heiress of England. Of that more anon. Her good mother also made it a salient feature of her upbringing that she should be kept as much as possible away from the not too pure influences of the Court. This policy, [he author of the Greville memoirs has been pleased to call " a jealous seclusion," but though ihe term is used reproachfully, none can now fail to admire the motherly caution with which the Duchess kept her darling "unspotted from the world."' The royal relatives of the Princess seem to have regarded the Duchess's action as a reflection on themselves, and it is said that George IV. threatened on several occasions to use his authority to deprive the Duchess of the charge of her daughter. In 1826. when the little Princess visited her royal uncle at Windsor (her first visit to the palace), she is said to have delighted " Uncle King "' with her bright cherubic face, fair ringlets and impulsive manners. And two years afterwards we rind her amongst the guests invited to a children's ball which the King gave in honour of Donna Maria, the little Queen of Portugal. %~ •: '• About this time, her ninth year, v> £he Princess met .he great literary lion of his age. Sir Walter Scott, who was dining with her mother. He records in his diary that he was presented •• to the little Princess Victoria — the Heir Apparent to the Throne 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 the Heir of England ! I suspect if we could dissect the little heart we should (md that some pigeon or other bird of the air had carried the matter. She is fair like the Royal Family." Sir Walter, acute observer a$ he undoubtedly was, is wrong in his surmise that the Princess was cognisant of her chance of future sovereignty, and it was not until some years later that she was made aware that hers were to be the splendours of a throne. Amongst the anecodotal flotsam and jetsam of these earlier years, an authentic account has been preserved of the manner whereby she was awakened to the possibilities of greatness. " Uncle King," otherwise George IV., had gone the way of all flesh and he was succeeded by his brother William, an infirm, childless man, well in the sixties, and who would not likely leave a successor. Parliament accepted it as certain that the Princess Victoria would inherit, and under the circumstances, the Regency Bill which named the Duchess of Kent regent in case the

succession should devolve on her daughter before she arrived of age, was introduced and became law. While the bill was before Parliament it was considered expedient by the Duchess that the Princess . should be informed of her prospects, and the manner in which the important communication was made cannot be better told than by the reproduction of a letter from the Queen's governess — the Baroness Lehzen — written many years afterwards (in 1854). It, runs as follows : — I ask your Majesty's lesve to cite some remarkable words of your Majesty 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 in the historical book, \yhen Mr. Davys* was gone the Princess Victoria opened the book again as usual, ' and seeing the additional paper said, 'I never saw that before.' i Jt was not thought necessary you should, Princess,' I answered ' I see lam nearer the throne than I thought.' 'Soit is madam,' 1 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 much responsibility.' The Princess, having lifted up the forefinger of her right hand gave me that little hand saying, ' I will be good. I understand now why you urged me so much to learn even Latin. My cousin Augusta and Mary never did ; but you told me Latin is the foundation of English grammar, and of all elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, but I understand better now,' and the little Princess gave me her hand, repeating, ' I will be good.' " Of this little incident a lady writer with true womanly appreciation remarks that the little scene stands out so distinctly in the early stages even of a life destined to greatness. The hush of awe upon the child, the childish application of this great secret to the obstruse study of Latin, which was not required from the others, the immediate resolution, so simple, yet containing all the wisest sage could have counselled or the greatest hero vowed. ' I will be good,' make a perfect little picture. It is related as an instance of the Queen's characteristic kindliness of heart that she wrote to her old governess Baroness Lehzen. regularly until her death, which took place many years afterwards. The terrible extravagance of the Guelph family had impressed the Duchess of Kent with the necessity of inculcating lessons of thrift and economy. Indeed, through her straightened circumstances this was an absolute necessity during- the Princess's earlier years; but subsequently when Parliament, seeing that in all probability the succession would devolve on her, had made a fitting allowance for her maintenance and education, the Princess was limited as to her personal expenditure. Her allowance was expected to suffice for all her requirements, and she was stringently instructed not to overrun it. It is related that while she was at a bazaar at Timbridgc Wells she had spent all her money on presents for her relations and triends, when she remembered another cousin. She saw an article marked half-a-crown, which would do for her purpose, and the people at the bazaar wishing to do the amiable to the little Royalty, asked permission to parcel it up with the other purchases. • Baroness Lehzen, however, prevented this, pointing out that as the Princess had not got any money she could not buy the box. The matter, was, however, compromised by the vender offering to lay the article aside until the money was forthcoming, and promptly did the little princess ride round to the bazaar on quarter day, pay the money, and carry off her prize in triumph. On the ascension of William IV. to the throne, closer relations existed between the court and the little family of the Duchess of Kent. This was due chiefly to the kindliness of Queen Adelaide, who, her own children being dead, found her heart warm with maternal fondness to her little neice. In May 1831 a juvenile ball was given by the King to celebrate little Victoria's birthday, and several days after the " 24th," now a valued holiday over all the British Empire, the princess was presented at the drawing room. About this time the health of the little princess caused considerable anxiety, and it was feared that she was affected with the constitutional weakness that had sent so many of the descendants of George 111. to an early grave. For the purpose of strengthening her, her mother towards the end of 1831 took her for a^ .season to the Isle of Wight, and the association^ of that early vioil no doubt account for the Queen's subsequent predilection for this beautiful spot. Still in pursuit of health, in the autumn of 1832 we find the , Duchess and her royal charge touring in the westerns" counties of England. Many notable places were visited, including Coventry. Powis Castle, and Shrewsbury, and the future queen, while at Beaumaris, in the Isle of Angelsea, took part in the distribution of prizes at the Welsh Eisteddfod, a great national gathering, which was being- held during the time of the visit. A few months later the princess was a guest at Chatsworth, where splendid entertainments were given in her honour by the princely owner of that charming mansion. Greville, of '' Memoirs " notoriety, who was also a guest at Chatsworth, states that there were grand dinners, with a great display of plate and music, the evening winding up with fireworks and fountains illuminated with different-coloured lights. The brilliant fete does not appear to have dazed the child, for everyone was delighted with her easy manner. She sang, when asked, in a clear, true voice, either alone or in duets with her mother. As a fitting wind-up to six months of gaiety her mother carried her off from these fairy regions to a cotton factory at Belper, where * I'he Queea'6 instructor, afterward* Bishop of Peterborough,

she was made conversant with the process of cotton spinning, and then to Bremsgrove, a centre of the nailmaking industry. Subsequently at Oxford the Duchess of Kent, replying to an,address presented by the YlceChancellor of the University, said : — " It is my object to ensure by all means in my power the princess being so educated- as to meet the just aoceptatipn of all classes in this great and free country. "cucir In the summer ,of 1833 they residfeid at 'Noras Castle, , Isle of Wight, from which many pleasant picnics and excursions were made. It was during one of these that the Heiress ,of England experienced her first narrow escape from death./ Voyaging home after a visit to Eddystone Lighthouse, a gale came on suddenly, and the yacht Emerald, in which th^Royal party were, collided with a hulk. ' The topmasi" and' a heavy piece of sail fell exactly on the spot where the Princess was standing. The pilot, with heroic promptitude, sprang forward and whisked her out of danger just as the mighty piece of timber came crashing on the deck. The Queen never forgot'this, man's devotion. He was promoted to the commandof the Ro)'al yacht, and subsequently had the honour of bringing over Prince Albert on the occasion \of =bjs marriage. On his death, some time after the marriage - of his Royal mistress, his widow and family- were provided for by Her Majesty. ' ' The education of the little Princess seems to have been thorough. ''Thoroughness" was the motto of her good governess, and her other perceptors were men of high scholastic attainments. The British Con--stitution, for instance, she studied under Mr. Amos, the first professor of English law at University College, and it is related of her that she could read' Virgil at Ihe age of twelve. How many colonial boys of this age arc thought to be good classical scholars for their years if they are acquainted with the declensions of nouns ? Of music the princess had a passionate fondness inherited from her mother who was an accomplished musician.