The Queen, Her Lover and the Most Notorious Spy in History

by Roland Perry

  When Victoria asked why he had made it, Albert said it was to stop his children coming in when ‘you and I are in here’. In reality it was another excuse to avoid her ‘assaults’, which were still frequent. They wore him out and caused stress. Another way of surmounting Victoria’s insatiable lust was to spend more time with the seventeen-year-old princess royal,Vicky, as she drifted towards an arranged marriage with a Prussian prince. Victoria became fed up with her daughter always dining with them until 10 p.m., which did not allow for the parents to spend time together before sleeping.Vicky was Albert’s favourite child. He hated the thought of this special daughter leaving, if only because she was a buffer against Victoria’s exuberant demands in his boudoir. Vicky had all the gifts. She was sympathetic and more understanding of his foibles than his wife.Vicky was clever, like him, and interested in the arts and sciences. It was a case of ‘like father, like daughter’ down to her capacity to concentrate and absorb a verbal or written brief with complete retention of its meaning and its integrity. These were all the qualities wished for in Bertie, but which he lacked.

  ‘Certainly the Prince of Wales did not take after his father,’ Strachey observed.This applied to his intellect, interests and appearance. He looked nothing like Albert but was ‘a true scion of the House of Brunswick’. Bertie at fifteen had a long nose, which neither Victoria nor Albert had. He had a chin more like that of his mother. Bertie did not have prepossessing looks, but his expression was sympathetic. He liked to laugh, but there was not much opportunity to let forth this emotion, which was understandable given his suppressed life under rarified conditions that carried with it unreal expectations.

  Bertie’s parents had read him wrongly, assuming that he could be pushed, punished and pummelled into being what he was not by instinct, inclination or aptitude. Instead of backing off to let him develop and find his métier,Victoria and Albert applied endless pressure. Bertie was sent on a tour of Europe with a select group of tutors.Albert ordered him to keep a diary. Bertie obliged, only to the point of keeping it with him. His father inspected it on his return and was disgusted at how thin his observations were. There was no mention of meeting the Pope. His parents thought this was a moment to savour since it was a first for a Prince of Wales. Instead his demeanour on the trip was one of boredom to the point of sadness at his plight.This weight on Bertie was either going to crush his spirit or cause an explosive reaction. He took the buffeting, making understandable outbursts of petulance against the regimen foisted on his life. Albert complained about Bertie to his old mentor Stockmar, but he could offer nothing new on how to turn him around. Besides, the baron, at 70, was on his last visit to England after twenty years of, as he put it ‘the laborious and exhausting office of a paternal friend and trusted adviser’ to Albert and Victoria. Stockmar had done more than anyone else to put them together, and to bolster, support and advise them. Albert was very much his creation, presiding as far more than a figurehead over the greatest nation and empire the world had so far seen. Albert was the toiler behind the throne. That Bertie in turn was not in any way the creation of his father was not Stockmar’s fault, or now his concern.

  Victoria wrote to Vicky several times a week. Her daughter had become her most important family confidante:

  I have been shamefully deceived [by Albert] about Alfie [her second son]. It was promised me that the last year before he went to sea, he should be with us; instead of which he was taken away and I saw but very little of him. And now he is to go away for many months and I shall not see him [until] God knows when! And papa [Albert] is most cruel upon the subject. I assure you it is much better to have no children than to have them only to give them up! It is too wretched . . .I look forward with horror to the separation . . .Two children in one year. It is horrible.

  The difference now that stopped her slipping into an abyss was the prospect of Albert showing her and baby Beatrice some affection and him being there for Victoria and not so wedded to his work. Clark feared for Victoria’s mental condition, having warned Albert a year earlier that she had told him that having another child would ‘sink her’. But it proved the opposite with Beatrice, on whom she doted, and her first year proved to be a blissful period. Victoria found new energies and a result was to push again for Albert being made prince consort. But the nation was more interested in developing democracy than rewarding and embellishing the prince, whose aloof and cold image still saw him branded as ‘different’ and ‘foreign’.Victoria was hurt that the public could not see her Albert as she did: noble, hard-working, dedicated to Britain now more than even his beloved homeland, and most importantly his unfailing support for the monarch. She stepped in and by ‘letters patent’—royal decree—made him prince consort. The Times was apathetic, editorialising that the epithet was of no importance. The flexing of monarchical muscle had a benign impact. But it was of import to Victoria as queen. It meant that when Albert next gathered with other royalty in Europe only King Leopold was superior to him.

  28

  ELPHINSTONE STEPS UP

  In May 1857 large-scale rebellion flared in Meerut, Bengal, when sepoys broke open a prison and released comrades. They then galloped to Delhi and took it over. The revolt then spread to other areas, including Lucknow, Bareilly, Cawnpore, Agre, Jhansi, Benares, Central India and Bundelkhand. The Sikh leaders in the Punjab, the Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad, the Afghans and Gurkhas (of Nepal) remained loyal to the British. The Madras and Bombay armed forces sat still, for the moment. Governor-General Canning was having trouble in Calcutta, especially with some of his own countrymen who had lost either their nerve or will over the prospect of an uprising. Either way, the pessimism was disturbing to Canning. But he was buoyed by Elphinstone, and also Madras’s governor, Harris, who responded on 18 May by sending a contingent of Fusiliers on a ship north along the East India coast to Calcutta. Elphinstone’s immediate reaction was to think of the crisis as one for the British Empire first, and his presidency second. He was already strategising like a supreme commander or governor-general, whereas Canning demonstrated indecision and self-doubt, which led to him dithering in the initial months when a sense of purpose, a national perspective and strength were needed.

  ‘Elphinstone deserves the fullest praise from the start,’ according to Kaye and Malleson. ‘[He] possessed this advantage over Lord Canning; his previous experience in India had given him a thorough knowledge of the country and the people. When the Mutiny broke out he saw it as it really was. It was no isolated outbreak, no local discontent, but part and parcel of an organized rebellion, which had its main roots in the North-West Provinces.’

  It would move towards Bombay unless stopped early. Elphinstone’s presidency was vulnerable because its army was in part made up of Indians from the troubled Oudh province of central India. Elphinstone had studied the Napoleonic Wars and adhered to Bonaparte’s strategy of concentrating maximum force at key positions.

  The Bombay governor demonstrated he had a head for organisation. An early move was to collect horses, mainly the hardy ‘Waler’ from Australia, and also others from the Cape and the Persian Gulf. This was in anticipation of cavalry and artillery being sent from England. Elphinstone hired horsemen to break in the animals in time for the cavalry’s arrival. His closeness to the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief in Britain, was vital and they were in constant correspondence. The duke was disposed to meet his every wish in cooperation with his commander in Bombay, General Somerset. Elphinstone dispatched all the European troops he could muster to places most exposed in his huge presidency and beyond.

  ‘From the very hour of the news of the uprising,’ Kaye and Malleson wrote, ‘Elphinstone displayed a power equal to every emergency . . .He urged General Ashburnham to proceed to Calcutta with troops he had been taking to China; he chartered steamers; he asked for troops in Mauritius and the Cape [to transfer to India]; he sent a column of troops to Central India.’

  A relieved Duke of Cambridge wrote to Elphinstone in June 1857:
‘Thanks to your admirable arrangements you have been able . . .to obtain troops from Cape and Mauritius just at the moment when their services are most needed . . .Doubtless you have saved your Presidency from joining to any extent in the mutiny of their Bengal neighbours, which it is clear that they were disposed to do.’

  Elphinstone appreciated his friend’s praise but in his mind it was only the beginning of the effort to curb outbreaks. The column he was directing to central India was commanded by Major-General Woodburn and made up of troops of Elphinstone’s previous outfit, the 14th Light Dragoons, along with the 25th Bombay Native Infantry. On 8 June 1857, it left on a long trek towards Mau in the country’s north-east where there was trouble.This swift and decisive action may have left Bombay exposed, but the governor used his best officers to secure the city.The experienced and intelligent Brigadier-General Shortt was given command of the entire Bombay garrison. It was made up of 400 Europeans, three Indian regiments, the 10th and 11th Naval Infantry and a Marine battalion. In addition, Elphinstone had a police corps made up of 50 Europeans and 200 Indians controlled by William Crawford, the senior magistrate of police. The governor had surrounded himself with sharp, disciplined and authoritative leaders, who, like him, thrived in a crisis. Then there was the shrewd, brutal Charles Forjett, 43, the superintendent of police. He was the subject of discussion when Husna finally agreed to breakfast with Elphinstone at the residence after they had completed a two-hour-long ride by 8 a.m.

  ‘Are you concerned?’ Husna asked. ‘The independence movement seems to be spreading.’

  ‘There is no panic with Bombay residents. We will contain the mutiny.’

  ‘Mutiny? It is an attempt to end the Raj—a real fight for independence.’

  ‘We see it as a quasi-unified rebellion. It doesn’t help that the newspapers are reporting the massacres by Muslim sepoys in other provinces, but so far there is calm in Bombay.’

  ‘I am not sensing that. I hear “Wahhabi Phobia’’—a fear of Muslims.’

  A dozen servants fussed about. Coffee was served.

  She sipped her drink in contemplation, admiring the wonderful view of the sea, which was providing a cool, relieving breeze.

  ‘What are you proposing to do about the Muslim community?’ she asked.

  Elphinstone leaned back as tea was poured for him by a servant watching his every move.

  ‘We are consulting with it,’ he said.

  ‘You, personally?’

  ‘My chief of police.’

  ‘Forjett? He is hated.’

  Elphinstone nodded. ‘I know. But he is effective.’

  ‘When you say ‘consult’, what have you in mind?’

  ‘He’ll meet the leaders and mention that peace has to be maintained during the Buckree Id festival.’

  ‘Why that one?’

  ‘I have attended others. Let us say,‘excitement’ at them has provoked violence.’

  ‘I’ve heard you plan to ban the festival.’

  ‘No. I wouldn’t do that. But I want no nonsense at it.’

  ‘I shudder to think of Forjett’s methods. I’ve heard he has already warned some leaders that they will be shot if they cause mischief.’

  ‘That doesn’t surprise me.’

  ‘You condone his tactics?’

  ‘If they are effective, yes.’

  Husna stood up, collected her shawl and hat and walked out.

  Forjett had a sepoy spy in the army’s ranks, which annoyed its commander, Brigadier Shortt, who claimed he had complete faith in his officers and the rank and file. They did not need any special attention. Forjett was not convinced. He consulted Elphinstone at the governor’s mansion.

  ‘Shortt is a good man,’ Elphinstone said,‘but perhaps a little naive.We should be wary. See what you can find out from your informant. There are 150,000 Muslims in Bombay and any trouble with sepoys rebelling would soon influence many of the rest.Then we’d have real issues.’

  ‘You’re right, my lord,’ the straight-backed, square-jawed Forjett said.‘My man is due to report tonight.’

  ‘I’ve heard from my friend Husna de Crepeney that the Muslim community is most concerned about you.’

  Forjett stroked his turned-down, handle-bar moustache and grinned slyly.

  ‘I am pleased to hear it,’ he said.

  ‘So am I. Bluff is an important factor here.’

  ‘We may have to go further than that, my lord.We have no serious defence if the uprising spreads here.’

  ‘It won’t spread here, if you handle it correctly.’

  ‘Will the Muslim community be public in their support for your presidency?’

  ‘We’ll know soon.’

  The governor agreed to place 50 mounted Europeans with the garrison soldiers. Bombay citizens reflected the relative harmony and goodwill between them and the Raj when they began seeing Elphinstone and expressing support. First, David Sassoon, heading up the Jewish community, came forward on 15 June and condemned atrocities by the Bengal Army. On 20 June, 400 of the British and Indian elite, representing almost all religions, turned up at the residence.Three days later the Bombay Association, allegedly speaking for a broad cross-section of the community, told the governor how it would muster a civil peace-keeping operation if troops had to be sent away from the city. The press editorialised with suggestions for creating a volunteer force of civilian Europeans, and even a Parsi (Persian) militia.

  The spread of the rebellion was very much on the minds of Elphinstone and Husna on a ride out one morning to the Elephant Caves near where they visited the Kanheri Caves.They had to stop several times as elephants and lions wandered near them.When they reached the caves, they dismounted, sat on rocks near the cave entrances and sipped water. It was 7 a.m. but already their clothes clung to their bodies.

  ‘The Muslims have not yet voiced their support for me,’ Elphinstone remarked.

  ‘Should they?’

  ‘Would be helpful. It would reassure me that they will not condone disruption. The news from Puna is not good. I am reliably informed that Muslims are plotting to kill Europeans. I’ve been warned that something unpleasant may happen at Buckree.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  ‘I would not let anything upset the festivities.’

  ‘But how will you go about ensuring that?’

  ‘I shall leave that in Forjett’s hands.’

  Buckree Id was heavily policed. Forjett made some early arrests and there were fewer incidents than in previous years.

  Elphinstone had never been busier in his career. He was preoccupied by keeping Bombay safe, but, in adhering to his dictum to hold rebellion throughout the nation first, he also had to attend to matters outside his presidency. He maintained his position as a far more effective leader in a big crisis than any other member of the Raj, including Lord Canning. Had the British government been closer to events it would have replaced Canning with Elphinstone by June 1857, but it was not in a position to comprehend the fluid and fast-moving dynamics of spot-fire uprisings over India’s vastness.The tyranny of distance and unreliability of the still new, but lately improved, telegraph system produced shortcomings in dealing with issues.

  ‘I am persuaded,’ a frustrated Elphinstone wrote to Woodburn on 22 June 1857,

  that the local officers greatly exaggerate the danger of a rising in our own provinces. I have no fear of anything of the sort; and, if it should happen, I trust that we should be able to put it down speedily. But I feel confident that it will not happen—at all events, for the present. If you allow the insurrection to come down to our borders without attempting to check it, we shall almost deserve our fate; but if by a rapid advance you are able to secure Mau, you will also, in all probability save Mehidpur, Sagar, Hoshangabad etc.

  This letter summed up the Elphinstone mentality, which was not replicated by others.Their dithering caused mutinies in Mau and Indur. These mutinies had to be put down. This promised much bloodshed, which would have been avoided had the gover
nor’s initial instruction to restore British authority in central India been carried out.

  ‘The column’s march beyond the Bombay frontier was due solely to Lord Elphinstone,’ according to Kaye and Malleson. ‘Had he been unfettered, and had its first commander been a man after his own heart, it would have taken place in time to prevent much evil in Central India.’

  Elphinstone’s risky yet brave move to leave Bombay and his presidency without its usual defence strength had been based on the gamble that his request for support troops from Mauritius would be fulfilled. It was in mid-July when the 33rd Regiment arrived and appeased further worries about insurrection in the city, especially concerning another Muslim festival, the Muharram. But just when he had more security, he was under orders to whittle his defences further when Canning’s agent in Rajputana province asked for a further column of troops to be sent to central India, along with reinforcements for the first column, which began putting down the rebels at Mau.

  The thinning of his armed force caused Elphinstone to further concentrate his thoughts on how to prevent a riot or even an uprising in Bombay. He told Forjett to address a gathering of 500 influential Muslims on 8 August 1857 at the home of their leader, Mohammed Ali Rogay.The governor told the superintendent to be firm and direct. Forjett’s subsequent speech was masterful yet vicious. He began by congratulating the Muslim community for maintaining a sagacious ‘tranquility’. Then he boasted of the Raj’s handling of the crisis and how it had withstood all challenges or efforts to subdue it. The British rulers, he claimed, ‘had, as usual, emerged as the victors . . .only persons fit to be inmates of the [Bombay] Colaba Asylum would attempt to threaten the peace, for every guilty man will be strung up before his own door.’