Confusion, Confession and Conviction

by Victoria Winfield

  She was barely five feet

  Her outspoken nature as well as the imposing reputation overshadowed her tiny build. In her later years, she also became big; she had a 50-inch waist by the time she passed on. This was confirmed by the size of her nightgown and a pair of underwear that were put up for auction in 2009.

  She proposed to her hubby

  They first met when she was sixteen years old. Her husband was her first cousin; the son of her mum’s brother. Their meeting was arranged by their mutual uncle, Leopold. Victoria enjoyed Albert’s company, and since she was the queen, Albert was unable to propose, and so, Victoria took the initiative. Victoria proposed on October 15th, 1839.

  Victoria was raised by a single mum, and she became a single mum herself

  Victoria was the only child of Edward, who was the Duke of Kent and the fourth son of King George the third. In 1820, her father passed on due to pneumonia. At this time, Victoria was barely a year old and she was raised at Kensington Palace, where she lived with her mum, Victoria Saxe-Saalfield, who was the duchess of Kent. Victoria became separated from her mother who was controlled by the influence of Sir John Conroy, her advisor, who wanted Victoria isolated from her contemporaries and her father’s family as well. Victoria countered this by relying on the advice of her dearest uncle, Leopold. As soon as she rose to the throne, she exiled her mum and sacked Conroy. In 1861, her husband died from a bout of typhoid and Victoria slipped into depression and she remained in mourning for the rest of her life.

  Queen Victoria was the first known hemophilia career(Royal disease)

  Hemophilia is a genetic disease caused by the mutation of the X chromosomes. The funny thing is that women are careers while men are affected by it. Patients of hemophilia can bleed excessively because their blood does not clot properly, and this can lead to death.

  Leopold, the Duke of Albany, who was Victoria’s son, died from excessive loss of blood after he fell. Additionally, her grandchild, Friedrich, also died at the age of two, from the same disorder. Her other two grandsons also died in their early thirties.

  Victoria survived at least six assassination attempts

  In 1840, a man named Oxford Edward fired shots at the queen’s carriage in London. Thereafter, John Francis also made two attempts to shoot the queen in 1842. That same year, another man, John William Bean also tried firing at the queen. Other additional attacks also came in 1849 and 1850. Lastly, in March 1882, a disgruntled Irish poet also attempted to kill the queen.

  Victoria was eighteen years when she became the queen

  At 6am, on the 20th of June, 1837, Victoria was woken from her bed with the news that her uncle was no more. This meant that at eighteen years, she was to be the queen. Even though she was young, she remained calm and had her first council meeting a few hours later. Whatever the queen lacked in her height, she compensated for in determination and she rapidly made a great impression.

  Even though she took over the throne with much confidence, Victoria was not really destined to be the queen since she was the fifth in line to the throne. By the time she was in her teens, and with the demise of her father, brothers and other close legitimate heirs, she was left as the closest surviving heir to the throne.

  She never had a happy childhood

  Victoria spent her early years at the palace where she was born. You may expect that she had a nice time but the palace was like a prison to her. After the death of her father, Victoria’s life was dominated by her mum and her adviser, Sir John Conroy. Since Conroy was interested in becoming the power behind the throne, he wanted a tight control over Victoria. Conroy, together with Victoria’s mother had a sour relationship with Victoria’s uncle, King William, and as a result, they constantly kept Victoria isolated from the royal court and even went further to bar her from attending her uncle’s coronation.

  The two created a stifling code of discipline for Victoria, which was known as the Kensington System. This system had a strict timetable of lessons and the Victoria never had time to spend time with other kids. Furthermore, she was also under constant supervision. Up to the time she became the queen, she was forced to share a bedroom with her mother. Additionally, she was not allowed to ever be alone or even walking down the stairs without her hand being held.

  Later on in life, Victoria confessed that she had an unhappy childhood and hated Conroy as well as her controlling and manipulative mother. She described Conroy as “the demon incarnate”. As soon as she became the queen, she was able to make herself free and her relationship with her mum was strained, she restricted Conroy’s influence at the court and Conroy had to resign and leave for Italy amid shame.

  Victoria was multi-lingual

  Far from being fluent in English and German, Victoria also spoke French, Latin as well as Italian. Victoria grew up speaking German because her mum hailed from Germany. In fact, her German accent had to be done away with through tutors. After the arrival of Indian servants at the Windsor Castle in 1887, Victoria learnt Hindustani as well as Urdu phrases from her favorite Indian attendant.

  She had a difficult relationship with her prime ministers

  For the six decades that she ruled, Victoria had different prime ministers. She had a good relationship with some but others never earned her favor.

  She was referred to as the “granny of Europe”

  Victoria and Albert had nine children together. As a way of extending their influence, their children were married into various monarchies of Europe and within a short time, Victoria’s descendants were scattered all over the continent. She had over forty grandchildren and they could be found in the royal families of Germany, Russia, Greece, Romania, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

  Her influence had genetic and political effects on the monarchies of Europe. Since Victoria was a hemophilia carrier, she introduced the rare disease into her bloodline. This condition resurfaced in several families across the content.

  Victoria mourned Prince Albert for forty years

  On the 14th of December 1861, her husband, Albert, passed on. The prince was only 42 years old and his death from typhoid was not expected. The queen really relied on her husband for support; both politically and emotionally, and so, his death was a major blow to the queen.

  After the death of her husband, Victoria secluded herself from the public and became obsessed with mourning rituals. Over time, the situation got out of hand and the queen fell into depression which led to her neglecting her royal duties. Her popularity declined because she refused to take part in public events. It was not until the 1870’s that the queen began engaging in public life once again.

  Victoria never recovered fully from the loss of her husband even though she had other intimate relationships. Despite having intimate relationships, Victoria never remarried. The queen continued to dress in black and slept beside an image of the late Albert. Furthermore, she even had a set of clothes laid out for Albert each morning until her death in 1901.

  Chapter 2

  Victoria’s early reign

  Victoria received the news of her accession from Lord Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury. She turned eighteen on the 24th of May, 1837 and a regency was avoided. Less than thirty days later, on the 20th of June 1837, William the fourth passed on at the age of seventy one, and Victoria became the queen of the United Kingdom. In her diary, Victoria said how she was woken up by her mother. She informed her that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were there to see her.

  She got out of her bed and went to the sitting room in her dressing gown only. Thereafter, Lord Conyngham informed her pf her uncle’s demise and that she was next in line to be queen. The documents that were prepared on the first day of her reign described her as Alexandrina Victoria; however, the first name was removed at her own wish and was never used again.

  Since the year 1714, Britain had shared a monarch with Hanover in Germany, but under the Salic law, women were not allowed to be in the Hanoverian succession. As Victoria took over all the domini
ons of Britain, Hanover gave inheritance to her father’s younger brother who later rose to the throne of Hanover even though he was quite unpopular. King Ernest was the presumed heir until Victoria married and had a child.

  During her accession, the government was headed by Lord Melbourne, the prime minister who became powerful influence on the politically naïve queen who relied on him for advice. Melbourne was fond of the queen like a daughter even though he was childless. Victoria also regarded him as a father.

  Victoria’s coronation took place on the 28th of June 1838 at Westminster Abbey with over 400,000 visitors attending the celebrations in London. Victoria became the first sovereign to take up residence at the Buckingham palace and consequently, she inherited the revenues of the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall as well as being granted 385,000 pounds a year as a civil list allowance. Being financially prudent, Victoria paid off her dad’s debts.

  At the beginning of her reign, Victoria’s popularity was high but there was a setback in 1839 when one of her mother’s ladies-in- waiting developed an abdominal growth. Lady Flora Hastings was rumored to have developed the growth from an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Sir John Conroy. Victoria believed the rumors and she hated Conroy and Lady Flora for conspiring with her mother in the Kensington System.

  Initially, Lady Flora declined to undergo a naked medical exam until mid-February where she was found to be a virgin. Conroy, the Hastings family together with the Tories arranged a press campaign to complicate the queen of spreading false rumors about Lady Flora. When Flora passed on in July, the post-mortem revealed a tumor on her liver that had enlarged her abdomen. During public appearances, the queen was jeered and mocked as “Mrs. Melbourne”.

  In 1839, Melbourne resigned after the Radicals and Tories voted against a bill to suspend the Jamaican constitution. The bill removed political power from owners of plantations who resisted measures related to abolition of slavery. The queen then commissioned Sir Robert Peel, a Tory, to form a new ministry. During this era, it was customary for the prime minister to appoint the Royal Household members who were his political allies and their spouses.

  A majority of the queen’s ladies of the bedchamber were wives of Whigs and Peel intended to replace them with the Tories’ wives. In what was known as the bedchamber crisis, the queen, on Melbourne’s advice, opposed their removal. Peel refused to govern under the queen’s imposed restrictions and therefore he resigned, giving way for Melbourne’s return.

  Chapter 3

  Victoria’s marriage

  Even though Victoria was now a queen, she was required by social convention to live with her mother because she was single. Due to their strained relationship, Victoria’s mother was placed in a remote apartment in the Buckingham palace and the queen most of the time refused to see her. The queen complained to Melbourne that her mother’s close proximity would torment her for years. Melbourne sympathized but advised her that the only way to escape was through marriage.

  The queen was attracted to the educated Albert and they had mutual affection. On the 15th of October 1839, Victoria proposed to Albert. On the 10th of February 1840, they married in the Chapel Royal of St. James palace in London. That evening, the queen jotted in her diary how she had never had such an evening. She further said that Albert’s love and affection gave her feelings of happiness and love.

  Albert was to become an important companion as well as a political adviser. He replaced Melbourne as the dominant and influential person in the first half of Victoria’s life. What followed was the eviction of Victoria’s mum from the palace to Ingestre House in Belgrave Square. After Princess Augusta died in 1840, both the Clarence and Frogmore Houses were given to the queen’s mother. Albert mediated between the queen and her mum and their relationship gradually became better.

  When the queen had her first pregnancy in 1840, Edward Oxford attempted to assassinate her while she was riding in a carriage together with her husband, on her way to visit her mum. She was shot at twice, but none was on target, or as Edward later claimed, the guns had no shot. Edward was charged with treason but was not found guilty on the grounds of being insane and was committed to an insane asylum indefinitely.

  The queen’s popularity was very high after the attempt on her life. On the 21st of November 1840, her daughter, Victoria, was born. Even though the queen hated pregnancies and breastfeeding, she went on to have eight more children with Albert:

  Prince of Wales, Albert Edward

  Alice

  Alfred

  Helena

  Louise

  Arthur

  Leopold

  Beatrice

  The queen’s household was greatly managed by her childhood governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen from Hanover. The Baroness was influential on Victoria’s life and she supported her against the Kensington System. Unfortunately, Albert though Lehzen was not competent enough and that their daughter’s health was at risk. Victoria and Albert had a fight over the issue and Lehzen had to be fired.

  The queen’s life from 1842 to 1860

  On May 29th, 1842, John Francis aimed a gun at Victoria as she was riding in a carriage along the mall in London. The gun never fired and he escaped. The next day the queen followed the same route to provoke Francis to take another shot at her so he could be caught in the act. She rode faster and with a larger escort. Francis took the bait and shot at her but was arrested by plain-clothes officers and convicted of treason.

  Two days after Francis’s death sentence was commuted to transportation for life, John William Bean also attempted to fire at Victoria but the gun was loaded only with paper and tobacco and had too little to charge. Bean was sentenced to one and a half years behind bars.in 1849, William Hamilton, an unemployed Irishman fired a pistol filled with powder at the queen’s carriage as it passed along Constitution Hill in London.

  The queen was to sustain injuries in 1850 when she was attacked by Robert Pate, a suspected insane ex-army officer. Pate struck her with his cane, crushing her bonnet and bruising her forehead. Hamilton and Pate were both sentenced to seven years’ transportation.

  Melbourne’s support in the House of Commons became weak and in the 1841 general election, the Whigs lost and Peel was confirmed as the prime minister. Moreover, the bedchamber ladies were replaced because they were mostly associated with the Whigs.

  In 1845, potato blight hit Ireland. In the four years that followed, over one million people died and another estimated million emigrated in what was referred to as the Great Famine. Subsequently, Victoria was referred to as “The Famine Queen”. The queen personally donated two thousand pounds to the British Relief Association. This was more than any other individual donor.

  By the year 1846, Peel’s ministry was faced with a crisis involving the removal of the Laws of Corn. Many Tories opposed the repeal but Peel, some Tories, most Whigs as well as the queen, supported it. Peel had to resign in 1846 after the repeal was narrowly passed. Lord John Russell then took over the leadership.

  On the international front, the queen had a keen interest on improving the relations between France and Britain. Victoria made and hosted many visits between the British royal family and the house of Orleans, who were related by marriage through the Coburgs. Russell’s ministry was not favored by Victoria even though he was a Whig. The queen complained to the prime minister that the foreign secretary, Palmerston, sent official dispatches to foreign leaders without informing her. The foreign secretary was however retained in office. It was until 1851 that the foreign secretary was removed after announcing that the British government approved of President Bonaparte’s coup in France without consulting the prime minister.

  Victoria got her eighth child, Leopold, in 1853. In 1857, she gave birth to the ninth child, Beatrice even though the clergy opposed it due to the use of anesthetic chloroform. In early 1855, Lord Aberdeen’s government was criticized for the poor management of British troops in the Crimean War. The queen approached Derby and Russell to form a ministry, but they didn�
��t have enough support, so she was forced to appoint Palmerston as the prime minister.

  Chapter 4

  Victoria’s life as a widow

  In March 1861, the queen’s mother died with her by her side. After reading through her mum’s papers, she realized how her mum deeply loved her. She was heartbroken and blamed Conroy and Lehzen for wickedly separating her from her mum. So as to relive the queen from her grief, Albert took on most of the duties even though he himself was ill with chronic tummy trouble. On the 14th of December 1861, Albert died from typhoid fever. Victoria was devastated and wore black for the rest of her life. She was nicknamed, “widow of Windsor”.

  Through the 1860’s, the queen relied mostly on John Brown, a manservant from Scotland. There were rumors of their romantic affair and the Victoria was referred to as “Mrs. Brown”. Her story was the subject of the 1997 movie, Mrs. Brown. In 1865, Palmerston died and Russell led briefly before Derby returned to power. For the first time since her husband’s death, Victoria attended the state opening of parliament in 1866.

  Derby resigned in 1868 and Benjamin Disraeli took over. Benjamin’s tenure only lasted a few months and William Ewart Gladstone, his Liberal rival, became the prime minister.

  Victoria as the empress of India

  After the uprising in India in 1857, the British East India Company was dissolved, and Britain’s possessions were incorporated into the British Empire. In the 1874 general election, Disraeli returned to power and he passed the public worship regulation act 1874 which removed catholic rituals from the Anglican liturgy and was supported by the queen.

  Furthermore, he also pushed the royal titles act 1876 through parliament so that the queen could take the title, “empress of India”. On the 14th of December 1878, the anniversary of Albert’s death, the queen’s second daughter, Alice, died of diphtheria in Darmstadt, Germany.