The Queen's Husband (24 page)

THE PRINCESS ROYAL

The Baroness was disturbed. It was becoming increasingly clear that the Prince was establishing himself more firmly in the household and the closer he came to the Queen, must inevitably, as the Baroness saw it, drive a wedge between herself and Her Majesty.

Victoria was as devoted and loyal as ever; Louise Lehzen held her sway by a mixture of complete devotion, overwhelming affection and a touch of the old governess authority which she had used to good effect when Victoria was a child. With the arrival of Lord Melbourne in the Queen’s life, Lehzen’s position had not been affected. She was still in command of the household. A husband, however, was a different proposition and the antagonism between her and Albert grew every day.

She was terrified that one day he would ask for her dismissal. Victoria would never agree to that and for all her femininity and her demonstrations of affection, Lehzen knew better than anyone that behind this was a will of iron. She had to keep her hold on Victoria’s affections and this she could have done until the end of her life, but since Albert had come and shown so clearly that he was her enemy she was beginning to feel afraid. The fact that Lord Melbourne had now become his ally added to her perturbation.

It had been very different when the Prime Minister had treated the Prince as of not much account, merely brought to the country to be a handsome husband for Her Majesty and of course to provide the heir. But if Lord Melbourne was going to treat him seriously and he was to have more say in affairs – and that meant affairs of the household as well as those of state – then the Baroness Lehzen could see trouble.

‘For,’ she told herself, as she sat disconsolately chewing her caraway seeds, ‘we were against each other from the first.’

They understood each other too well. Two Germans living in a foreign land; in their way they were recognizable types. Albert’s precise discipline, his love of order, his seriousness, his lack of humour, were characteristics which the Baroness had seen so many times in her fellow countrymen. Her determination to keep what she had, her unswerving devotion, that sublimation of herself to an ideal – Albert would understand this.

The trouble was that each felt that their only way to succeed was to be rid of the other.

At first the Baroness had been delighted to see Albert relegated to blotting the Queen’s signature; she was the one who was in the Queen’s confidence; she had now and then read state papers and given her opinion; and the dear sweet Queen had listened as attentively as she used to in the old days when Lehzen told her stories as she did her hair.

But between them, Anson the secretary, Baron Stockmar and Lord Melbourne were changing that.

And now to make him Regent was the last straw.

Victoria noticed her preoccupation.

‘Dearest Daisy, what
is
the matter?’ she asked. ‘You really are rather absent-minded, you know.’

‘Well, I may as well say it. You notice everything. I always did declare that it was impossible to hide anything from you. I feel put out.’

‘But why?’

‘It is this Regency. The idea! I just can’t bear to think of it.’

‘Oh,
that
,’ said the Queen, it’s just a precaution, you know, in case …’

Lehzen turned away. ‘How could they
think
of such a thing.’

Victoria put her arms about Lehzen and hugged her. ‘You dear stupid old Lehzen,’ she said, ‘it doesn’t mean I’m going to
die
because they have arranged for a Regency.’

‘I don’t like it.’

‘Oh, dearest Daisy, nor do I. When I think of what lies before me … and poor dear Lady John Russell …’

‘My dearest love, I shall be at hand. I fear I may be rather brusque with
some people
if they try to keep me from you.’

‘You need have no fear of being kept from me.
I
should never allow that.’

‘I feel happier now.’

‘Silly Daisy! You should never have thought of such a thing.’

‘I can’t help it. I don’t like this idea of a Regency.’

‘It’s not so much the baby as the fact that that man shot at me. It could happen again and if it did … well there would be no sovereign, so a Regent would be necessary for a time.’

‘I can’t bear to think of it. If I could get my hands on that fellow who tried to hurt
you …
’

‘He was mad, Daisy. Lord Melbourne says he will be sent to an asylum.’

‘It
terrifies
me. I want to be at hand
always
to make sure.’

‘And so you shall. But don’t be alarmed, Daisy. Remember I have always been in some sort of danger. Do you remember how terrified you all used to be that my Uncle Cumberland was going to try to do away with me?’

‘And not without reason.’

‘Oh, Uncle Cumberland is a very wicked man. I’ve no doubt of that. And even now he’s the King of Hanover he probably still dreams of taking the crown of England. He must be gnashing his teeth now that he knows that I’m going to have a baby. Oh, Lehzen, do you think that
he …
I mean do you think that this man Oxford was paid by my uncle …’

‘He was a madman,’ said Lehzen.

‘Of course. Uncle Cumberland wouldn’t dare. I wonder why uncles are always cast as villains. I suppose it was since the Princes were murdered in the Tower and their uncle Richard III was suspected of the deed.’

‘Uncles are sometimes in a position to benefit from the death of their nephews and nieces. Like Richard III and the King of Hanover. But
you
are going to be safe. I shall see to that.’

‘When I was little I had a vague notion that I was in danger, and it was easy to see why. I was never allowed to be in a room alone and someone always had to accompany me even down the stairs.’

‘That was your mother’s orders.’ Lehzen was silent suddenly. There was a change in that direction. Victoria was seeing her mother far more than she did before her marriage and this was due of course to the Prince who was on very good terms with her.

‘Why, Daisy,’ said the Queen, ‘there are tears in your eyes.’

‘Oh, I was thinking of those old days. I can see you now studying, riding, playing with the dolls. I shall never forget the time when you saved up six shillings to buy a doll you wanted and then gave the money to a beggar. You were such a dear good little girl.’

‘Not always, Daisy. Remember the storms.’

‘Oh, that temper of yours.’

The Baroness sniffed and went to a drawer, ‘I have a handkerchief here,’ she murmured, and brought out a sheet of newspaper. She thrust it back into the drawer so hastily that Victoria’s curiosity was aroused.

‘What is it you’re trying to hide, Daisy?’ she asked.

The Baroness looked confused. ‘Oh, it’s nothing …’

But Victoria had taken it from her hands.

It was a picture of Albert – easily recognizable – posing before a mirror while he tried on the Crown.
The Regent
was the caption beneath.

Victoria laughed, ‘How they seize on everything! As if he would be smiling like that when he could only be Regent if I were very ill. Ah, what’s that? Is it another?’

It was. This was a picture of Albert holding a pistol. His target was the Crown. ‘Ah, mein dear,’ was the caption on this one. ‘I shall see if I can’t hit you.’

Victoria was angry suddenly. ‘Oh, how dare they! They are suggesting that Albert would like to see me dead. And what nonsense, because he wouldn’t have the Crown if I were. Oh Daisy, how horrid people can be! But one thing, no reasonable person would believe that of Albert.’

‘People know how ambition can make people do all sorts of things.’

‘Men like Uncle Cumberland, not men like Albert. Albert is so good, Lehzen. No one but myself knows how good.’ She tore the cartoons in half. ‘They are only fit to be burned,’ she said.

But the Baroness wondered whether she had begun to ask herself how ambitious Albert was. After all he had been excessively hurt because he was not allowed to share her state duties.

‘They are ridiculous,’ agreed the Baroness. ‘We all know that the Prince is not energetic enough for ambition. He would never wish to work as Your Majesty does. Why, he would fall asleep during the lengthy discussions on matters of state.’

‘Oh, I think he would be interested. He has a very good brain. It is dancing that makes him tired, and light conversation and things like that.’

‘He will have to change,’ said Lehzen, trying to speak lightly. ‘It will never do for him to go against the wishes of the Queen. What a glutton you always were for your dancing. You could dance all night without being fatigued.’

Victoria sighed. ‘Yes, I wish Albert did enjoy dancing more. But then to him it would seem a little frivolous.’

‘Nobody could take their duties more seriously than you do,’ said Lehzen hastily.

Victoria burst out laughing. ‘I heard you the other night once more telling your neighbour at dinner how wonderful I was.’

‘I said nothing but the truth and I think it only right that people should do all in their power to please Your Majesty.’

Victoria sighed. She was thinking what fun it would be if Albert loved to dance as much as she did.

In August it was the Queen’s duty to prorogue Parliament. It was one which she would rather have avoided, particularly in her condition. If only Albert could be beside her she would have welcomed his support. In the last months she had begun to rely on him far more than she had believed possible.

She talked it over with Lord Melbourne in the blue closet.

‘Well,’ said the Prime Minister, ‘he can attend of course but not in your carriage. There would be an outcry. Your uncles would be pointing out that he had stepped out of place.’

‘How I wish that I could have made him a king.’

‘No Parliament should make a king. If they did they would soon be trying to unmake them, as I pointed out when this matter of the Prince’s rank was discussed. Parliament did once. You remember what happened to your ancestor, Charles I?’

Victoria nodded. ‘Poor Charles. He tried to be a good king.’

‘But he believed in the Divine Right of Kings which in a monarch is asking to get one’s head lopped off.’

‘But the people were very anxious to welcome his son Charles II back to England. I think that one of the passages in history I like best is the return of Charles with all the bells ringing and the people singing in the street, all so happy because they had a king once more.’

‘Old Noll Cromwell was too serious. He didn’t make them laugh.’

‘It astonishes me how people prefer sinners to saints.’

‘Begging Your Majesty’s pardon, but the gay are not necessarily sinners, nor are the humourless saints … except often in their own opinion, which is not always the truth.’

‘Perhaps our own opinions of ourselves are rarely the truth.’

‘They are often a little prejudiced in our favour,’ agreed Lord Melbourne.

‘Well,’ replied the Queen, ‘we know our own motives, which other people don’t. Oh, I do wish people would be a little
kinder
to Albert.’

‘They will be in due course. He has to prove himself first. Already he is making strides in the right direction.’ She looked pleased. ‘And the people are very happy,’ went on Lord Melbourne, ‘to see their sovereign contented in her marriage. You should show yourselves often together; and when the child is born they will be delighted.’

‘Which brings us back to what we were discussing originally. I do wish Albert could ride in
my
carriage for the prorogation.’

‘I am sure that would give him a great deal of pleasure.’

‘Myself also,’ said the Queen.

She was at luncheon when a message came from Lord Melbourne. It must be important, she felt, for him to send it at such a time.

With trembling fingers she opened it.

Lord Melbourne, it seemed, had made a discovery. Queen Anne’s husband, Prince George of Denmark, whose position had been similar to that of Albert in almost every detail, had very often behaved unceremoniously and by so doing established a precedent. There had been an occasion when on the prorogation of Parliament he had ridden to Parliament in the Queen’s carriage.