Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 209

The disappearance of Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg

Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg was born Lady Anne Savile on 25 May 1864 as the daughter of John Savile, 4th Earl of Mexborough and Agnes Louisa Elizabeth Raphael.

On 15 May 1897, at the age of 33, Anne married Prince Ludwig of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, the eighth child and sixth son of Wilhelm, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and his first wife, Countess Olga Clara of Schönburg-Glauchau. However, he disappeared just one year later in the Philippines in the Spanish-American War and was killed. Anne never remarried and remained known as Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg.

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Anne had a lifelong passion for aviation and began flying as a passenger in 1914. She also joined Captain Leslie Hamilton, “Flying Gypsy”, as a passenger in the 1923 King’s Cup Race, though she would often use her maiden name when flying. In 1925, Anne and Captain Hamilton tried to fly from London to Paris but their aircraft went missing after passing Folkestone. It was eventually found near Pontoise, a suburb of Paris, where they had been forced to land due to engine trouble.

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In 1927, Anna financed Captain Hamilton’s attempt to become the first aviator to fly over the Atlantic Ocean from England to Canada. She wanted to join him during his attempt as she wanted to become the first woman to “fly the sea.” On 31 August 1927 at 7.32 a.m., Captain Hamilton, Colonel Frederick F. Minchin and Princess Anne took off from Upavon in Wiltshire in a Fokker known as the Saint Raphael. Anne was dressed in royal purple and the Archbishop of Cardiff blessed the Fokker. A newspaper reported, “Clad in royal purple, built along modish lines, the princess expects to show the western world what she thinks women should wear when they hop over the ocean in aeroplanes. The first woman to set out for an air jaunt over the broad spaces of the Atlantic dressed the part. She sailed away wearing leather knee-breeches of purple with a jacket to match, a black crush hat, black silk stocking, and high-heeled, fur-lined boots. The 62-year-old princess is no stranger to the air and aircraft. She has been flying for 13 years, getting her first overhead thrill from an air journey in 1914. She and Captain Hamilton are old friends and they have challenged the hazards of the air together before.”1

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The Fokker first headed west from the coast of Ireland and it was last spotted by the crew of the SS Josiah Macy. The aircraft was never seen again. Several searches failed to find any sign of the aircraft and five days after the crash her brothers announced they believed that Anne and the crew had died.2 Anne now had another record to her name, she became the second woman to disappear while attempting a transoceanic flight – the first being Mildred Doran who disappeared on 16 August 1927 during a flight from California to Hawaii.

On 6 February 1928, Anne was declared dead by court order, and there has been no trace of her or the aircraft until now.

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Louise of Stolberg-Gedern – Countess of Albany and wife of the Young Pretender (Part two)

Read part one here.

Louise finally found some measure of happiness again. Count Vittorio Alfieri wrote of their time together, “During these two years in Rome, I led a truly happy existence. This Villa Strozzi, near the Baths of Diocletian, afforded me a delightful retreat. The long mornings I spent wholly in my study, never moving from the house, except for an hour or two spent in riding over those boundless solitudes of the deserted neighbourhood of Rome, that invited me to reflect, to mourn, and to compose verses.” Louise’s brother-in-law caught on to the affair after two years, and Count Vittorio Alfieri left Rome before being expelled. He wrote, “It was the fourth day of May 1783 – which will ever be, and has been till now, my bitterest remembrance – that I then removed from Her who was more than half of myself.” However, their relationship wasn’t truly over, and they kept in touch. In 1783, Charles obtained a legal separation from Louise, and it permitted her to reside only in the Papal States. At the end of 1784, she wrote, “I am quite comfortable in this place. I am staying with the Princess Lambertini, of whom I am very fond and whom I am helping to divert in her present situation, for she has just been brought to bed.”

Louise kept up her correspondence with Count Vittorio Alfieri, who was in Pisa. However, this correspondence has not survived. She then travelled to France – with the permission of the Pope – with no intention of returning until her husband had died. Count Vittorio Alfieri joined her at least part of the time. This would cost her the support of her brother-in-law, however. Luckily, Louise had secured a pension from the French Queen Marie Antoinette, whom she had known as a child and her wish came true – her husband finally died.

Count Vittorio Alfieri wrote, “The February (of 1788) had scarcely begun when my Lady received news of the death of her husband, which took place in Rome, whither he had retired after leaving Florence two years before. [..] And indeed, despite the disparity of age, her husband might have found in her an admirable companion and a true friend, if not a loving wife, had he but refrained from harassing her continually with his peevish, cruel and drunken ways.”

Surprisingly, in 1791, Louise paid a visit to England, causing some excitement in society, she had, after all, been married to the Pretender. A courtier wrote,” Well, I have had an exact account of the interview of the two Queens, from one who stood close to them. The Dowager was announced as Princess of Stolberg. She was well dressed, and not at all embarrassed. The King talked to her a good deal, but always about her passage, the sea and general topics; the Queen in the same way but less. Then she stood between the Dukes of Gloucester and Clarence and had a good deal of conversation with the former, who may perhaps have met her in Italy.”

Count Vittorio Alfieri and Louise now began to live together in Paris, but the French Revolution forced them to flee, and they barely escaped being arrested. Louise at, last, returned to Florence and begged for financial help from the British government. They settled together in Florence, but the loss of income and the threat of revolution hung over their heads. Louise and Count Vittorio Alfieri would live together until his death in 1803. He died in his chair by the fire on 8 October. According to Louise, he passed away, “like a bird without a struggle, like a lamp whose oil had escaped.” She wrote to a friend, “You know by experience how deadly a blow it is for me to lose One with whom I have lived for twenty-six years, and who had never caused me a moment’s annoyance; One whom I have ever loved, respected and adored. I am the most unhappy creature alive. By this cruel blow, I have lost my consolation, my companion, and almost my very mind. I am lone now in a world that had grown odious to me. The greatest happiness, and indeed, the only happiness I can look for, will be to go and join this Incomparable Friend.” Louise was determined to stay in Florence and began to edit Count Vittorio Alfieri’s poetry with the help of François Xavier Fabre.

In 1809, Louise was summoned to Paris by Napoleon Bonaparte who demanded to know if she had ever given birth to the Pretender’s child. She denied it, and he replied, “Then it’s a pity!” He had hoped to cause an insurrection in England. She returned to Florence a year after this meeting. She never liked Napoleon though she did know Joséphine from her Paris salon. After the death of the Cardinal-Duke of York, Louise once more applied for a pension from the British government and this time her request was granted.

Louise spent the final years of her life in Florence, corresponding with friends all over the world. They were years of peace, and she followed the same routine. Louise died on 29 January 1824 at the age of 71.

Her final days were described, “The Countess of Albany was naturally inclined to dropsy, and certain symptoms had for many years past caused her some degree of ill-health. But four years before her death, very grave symptoms appeared, while finally she was attacked by a feverish catarrh, causing an intolerable thirst, constant accessions of high fever, a weakness of the pulse, lack of appetite and other distressing signs of illness. Still, she suffered no acute pain and never thought her end was near. At last, however, she was warned by faithful friends that her malady was gaining on her and that her life was threatened, where she fortified herself with those aides that pious Mother Church offers to her own children at their last moments on earth. And thus in the full possession of all her faculties, by turns prating and comforting her grief-stricken friends, she passed away.”1

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Louise of Stolberg-Gedern – Countess of Albany and wife of the Young Pretender (Part one)

Louise of Stolberg-Gedern was born on 20 September 1752 as the daughter of Prince Gustav Adolf of Stolberg-Gedern and his wife, Princess Elisabeth of Hornes. She was one of four siblings, all girls. She was baptised in the Cathedral of Mons and had the following godparents: Prince Maximilien-Emanuel of Hornes, Prince Frederic Charles, Prince of Stolberg, Alexandrine, Princesse de Croy, who was acting on the part of the Princess Louise of Stolberg (née Princesse de Nassau), and Princess Albertine of Hornes (née Princesse de Gavre). Shortly after the birth of her youngest sister Gustavine, her father died in battle at Leuthen. Her mother, now a widow at the age of 24, received help from Empress Maria Theresa.

This help extended to Louise, who was sent to live and be educated at a school attached to the chapter of St. Wandru in Mons, which was specifically for impoverished noble ladies. Her mother was thankful, but Louise would later not look back to this time with gratefulness. She would accuse her mother of indifference, and she claimed that the education was not so good. Her second sister Caroline-Augusta also attended the school. In 1766, Empress Maria Theresa arranged for the convent to give to Louise one of its endowed prebends. Louise and her sister often left the school to attend assemblies in Brussels, where they both attracted attention. Caroline-Augusta was the first to receive an offer of marriage from Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, son and heir of the Duke of Berwick and a descendant of James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of King James II and Arabella Churchill. This ultimately led to the groom’s uncle to contact Louise’s mother for a betrothal between her and Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII and known as the Young Pretender. James II had been deposed by his son-in-law and daughter, and the succession was eventually settled in favour of a protestant one through the House of Hanover. However, James had also left a son who would continue to press his claim to the throne and his son Charles in turn.

Charles was already 50 years old, but it was desired that he father children to continue the Stuart line of claimants. Ignoring the political complications with Empress Maria Theresa, Louise’s mother consented to the match and took the then 19-year-old Louise to Paris where a proxy wedding took place on 28 March 1772. Charles himself was in Rome. A supporter wrote, “She is pretty and young, he strong and vigorous. They may produce a race of pretenders that never will finish, which the French will be always playing upon every quarrel.” Charles and Louise finally met on 14 April and a second ceremony took place in a private chapel, and Charles was delighted with her youthful charms and good looks. Louise was not quite so impressed, and she would later know him to be a drunkard with a temper. Their life in Rome began pleasantly, and she enjoyed her high place in society. She would later write, “Women are well off in Rome, the town is beautiful, and there is good society there. It is my favourite of all the places in the world, and how I should love to inhabit it, for the sake of its charming surroundings especially!”

Then a whole year passed without any signs of pregnancy and Charles grew annoyed with his young wife. When a second year passed, his sense of anger increased. After two years of marriage, Charles took his wife to live in Florence. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and his wife ignored all his claims and so Charles began to style himself and Louise as the Count and Countess of Albany. Louise grew more and more unhappy. Even the purchase of their own palace in 1777 could not lift her spirits. Louise also found love in another place – with Count Vittorio Alfieri of Asti. We don’t know exactly when their relationship began to grow more intimate, and we don’t know how much Charles knew exactly. Charles was already known to be violent with his wife, and he exploded on 30 November 1780, drunkenly attacking Louise in her bedchamber and accusing her of infidelity. Her screams of fear brought servants running to her room, and they saved her from his anger. Louise appealed to Count Vittorio Alfieri, and a few days later, an escape plan was hatched. Louise fled to a convent as the rumour mill ran wild in Florence. She wrote to her brother-in-law, the Cardinal-Duke of York, and she found him sympathetic to her plight. He wrote, “It is enough to say that you may rely on being in good hands, and that I shall never fail openly to admit my protection of you as a duty owing to you in your present situation, since I am perfectly convinced you will be ready to accept counsel and advice I may occasionally give, with no other object in view than that of your own good before God and man.”

Louise travelled to the Ursuline convent in the Via Vittoria in Rome where she received rooms once belonging to her mother-in-law, and she was welcomed by her brother-in-law. Count Vittorio Alfieri also travelled from Florence to Naples via Rome. He met with Louise briefly and later wrote, “I came, I saw her (but, O God! my heart seems to break now at the mere recollection of it), I saw her behind a grating, less tortured than in Florence, but for a certain reason no less unhappy. For we were separated, and who could tell how long that separation might endure? And yet I solaced myself amid my tears that here she could at least gradually recover her health, could breathe freer air, enjoy quiet sleep, and no more be trembling for fear of that dire ever-present shadow of her tipsy husband.” Louise soon moved from the convent to her brother-in-law’s official residence.1

Part two coming soon.

The post Louise of Stolberg-Gedern – Countess of Albany and wife of the Young Pretender (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Dame Helen Mirren announces release date for Catherine The Great

We’re under orders from Dame Helen Mirren. And now so are you.

All episodes of brand new Sky Original #CatherineTheGreat are available 3 October starring Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke, Gina McKee and Rory Kinnear. pic.twitter.com/FcltemniPT

— Sky Atlantic (@skyatlantic) August 27, 2019

See the full trailer below:

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Queen Rosalie Gicanda – Victim of the Rwandan Genocide

Rosalie Gicanda was born in 1928 as the daughter of Martin Gatsinzi and Mukwindigir in the eastern region of Buganza. She was one of five siblings.

Rosalie was about 14 years old when she married King Mutara III Rudahigwa of Rwanda. She was his second wife and he had divorced his first wife Nyiramakomali in 1941. He was 17 years older than her and became King in 1931. He was the first Rwandan King to convert to Catholicism and Rosalie was a Catholic too. His reign coincided with a period of famine during which about 10% of the population died. Rudahigwa died on 25 July 1959 shortly after visiting a Belgian doctor at a hospital. His cause of death could not be determined as an autopsy was carried out due to the objections of his mother. Rumours soon arose that he had been killed by the Belgian authorities. As he had no issue by either of his wives, he was succeeded by King Kigeli V – his half-brother.

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Her mother-in-law Kankazi

Rosalie had been a beloved and revered Queen during her husband’s reign and she remained so after his death and even after the abolishment of the monarchy – just two years later. Her brother later told Rwandan newspaper The New Times, “She would serve milk to any visitor without discrimination. Some people even used to come to the palace only because of her welcoming character. She was accessible to all. She was a queen for the masses.”

In 1962, Rosalie was expelled from the palace and forced to relocate to Butare where she lived in a modest house with her mother. Even there, people continued to visit her. She lived there quietly until the Rwandan Genocide began in its earnest. Rosalie had been worried for her safety after receiving threatening phone calls. She called on Burgomaster Kanyabashi for protection but he said he could not help her.

On 20 April 1994, soldiers invaded her home and abducted Rosalie and six others – who had been taking care of her and her mother – leaving behind her bed-ridden mother and one girl to care for her. They were taken to the back of the Ethnographic Museum where they were shot and killed. One girl was left for dead and survived. The soldiers returned two days later to loot her home and they killed her mother. Another source states that both Rosalie and her mother were crucified naked in the flea market in front of horrified onlookers.1

Rosalie was initially buried in a yard near her house before she was moved to the Mwima hill in Nyanza where she was placed next to the tomb of her husband. Her youngest brother learned of her death two days after the murder and later told The New Times, “I was shocked. Only God will reward her for what she did for the people of Rwanda. She taught me to always be humble, love everyone without any distinction or discrimination, respect everyone and fight injustice.”

In 2012, Captain Idelphonse Nizeyimana, the head of intelligence and military operations, who had ordered the Queen’s death, was given a life sentence after he was found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the murder of Queen Rosalie. He was nicknamed the “Butcher of Butare.”2

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Netflix releases trailer for “The King”

Netflix has released a trailer for their 2019 release “The King” based on several Shakespearean plays. It will feature Timothée Chalamet as King Henry V, Robert Pattinson as The Dauphin, Ben Mendelsohn as King Henry IV, Lily-Rose Depp as Catherine of Valois, Tom Glynn-Carney as Henry “Hotspur” Percy and Thomasin McKenzie as Phillippa of England (Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway).

It will have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Prince Albert: King in all but name (Part two)

Read part one here.

It was to be expected that Albert was initially lonely after the wedding, but the expansion of his family was soon to come. On 21 March, Victoria awoke feeling nauseous – the first sign of pregnancy. Victoria was “furious” as she had dreaded this part. However, he remained shut out of her working routine. He wrote, “I am only the husband and not the master of the house.” He did accept the presidency of the Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and for the Civilization of Africa and learned to do public speeches. The Regency Bill gave Prince Albert a role to play if Victoria died before their heir reached their 18th birthday and he was introduced at a Privy Council meeting. On 21 November, Victoria gave birth to a daughter named for her. Princess Victoria was created Princess Royal the following year. Albert wrote to his brother, “Albert, father of a daughter; you will laugh at me.” He became devoted to his daughter, who resembled him so much. Victoria was soon pregnant again, and on 9 November 1841 she gave birth to a son named Albert Edward, and he was created Prince of Wales by December. Meanwhile, Albert had slowly worked his way into Victoria’s confidence and became involved with the running of the country.

They would have nine children in total: Victoria (born 1840), Albert Edward (born 1841), Alice (born 1843), Alfred (born 1844), Helena (born 1846), Louise (born 1848), Arthur (born 1850), Leopold (born 1853) and Beatrice (born 1857). Albert’s influence grew as Victoria resented each pregnancy and even suffered from postpartum depression.  When Queen Victoria’s main influence Baroness Lehzen was finally out of the way, Albert was finally the master of the house. On 29 January 1844, Albert’s father died and his brother Ernst – who had married Princess Alexandrine of Baden in 1842 – became the new Duke. Albert returned to Germany to console his brother but also to caution him about his excesses. Ernst was being frequently treated for venereal diseases, and he would be unable to father children. Victoria was horrified at being separated from Albert and wrote, “I have never been separated from him for even one night, and the thought of such separation is quite dreadful.” That same year, Albert and Victoria purchased Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

(public domain)

Perhaps Prince Albert’s great accomplishment was the Great Exhibition of 1851, held in a specially built crystal palace, where countries from around the world could display their achievements. It was a great success, and the surplus of £180,000 was used to purchase land in South Kensington where educational and cultural institutions were to be established. This included the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Imperial College London and what would later be named the Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum. On 25 June 1857, he was given the title of Prince Consort.

As their children grew up, Albert devised the perfect education for them – especially for the Prince of Wales. But young Albert could never live up to his father’s expectations. Victoria and Albert’s plans for their children were already taking shape. The Princess Royal would marry the future King of Prussia – and eventually Emperor of Germany. On 17 May 1856, her engagement to Prince Frederick William of Prussia was announced, and they were married on 25 January 1858. Albert accompanied her and her new husband to Gravesend, and he later wrote to her, “My heart was very full when yesterday you leaned your forehead on my breast to give free vent to your tears. I am not of a demonstrative nature, and therefore you can hardly know how dear you have always been to me, and what a void you have left behind in my heart: yet not in my heart, for there assuredly you will abide henceforth, as till now you have done, but in my daily life, which is evermore reminding my heart of your absence.”

Albert and Victoria had created the perfect Victorian family and Albert had become the model of organisation and efficiency. He was disappointed in his eldest son, who had proven to take more after his Hanoverian side of the family. However, Albert had worked himself practically to death to prove himself to the British. He was still only 39, but he looked much older. In 1861, Albert was informed of his eldest son’s involvement with an actress named Nellie Clifden, and he feared a scandal. By then, Albert was already seriously ill, but he continued to push himself. He went to inspect the new buildings for the Staff College and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and returned to Windsor drenched from the rain and exhausted. The following morning, he travelled to Cambridge to talk to his eldest son, and they walked in the inclement weather for a heart-to-heart. Young Albert promised to do better, and Albert forgave his son. He returned home with pains in his back and legs. At the end of November, he moved into a different bedroom to avoid disturbing Victoria as he could not sleep. On 1 December, he wrote that he was so weak that he could barely hold his pen.

Albert’s condition continued to deteriorate, and he could not hold down food. Eventually, a fever was confirmed, and doctors were now in attendance day and night. He was diagnosed with typhoid fever, but his actual illness could have been something else since he was sick for quite some time. By the 13th, Albert was sinking fast. In the afternoon of the 14th, there was no more hope. The doctors checked his pulse but could do nothing else. Their daughter Alice stayed at one side of the bed with the Prince of Wales, Helena, Louise and Arthur also in the room. Leopold was in France for his health and Beatrice was considered too young. Victoria sat on the other side of the bed, and as his breathing became laboured, she told him “Es ist Fraüchen” (it is (your) little woman) and kissed him. She could not hold back tears and ran from the room. Alice then recognised the death rattle and Victoria was fetched to return. She cried, “Oh, yes, this is death! I know it. I have seen it before.” She threw herself onto the bed and was finally led away when it was all over.

Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861, still only 42 years old. He was buried firstly in St. George’s Chapel before being moved to the Frogmore Mausoleum where he would eventually rest with his wife. She survived him for 40 years, overwhelmed with grief.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Prince Albert: King in all but name (Part one)

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born on 26 August 1819 as the second son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Frau Siebold, who had also delivered the future Queen Victoria in May, had arrived only three hours before “the little one uttered his first cry in the world and looked around him, like a squirrel, with big black eyes.” Louise wrote gushingly of her second son to a friend, “You should see him, he is pretty like an angel, he has big blue eyes, a beautiful nose, quite a small mouth and dimples in his cheeks. He is friendly and smiles the whole time, and he is so big that a cap which Ernst wore when three months is too small for him, and he is only seven weeks yet.”

Louise and Ernst were divorced in 1826 after she allegedly committed adultery with Lieutenant Alexander von Haustein, who was created Count Pölzig when they married later that same year. Louise never denied or admitted to the charges and wrote to a friend, “I am to separate from the Duke… We came to an understanding and parted with tears, for life.” Ernst himself had, of course, not been faithful to her either. She later wrote, “Leaving my children was the most painful thing of all.” In March 1831, Louise and Alexander went to see a performance at the theatre, and she fainted after suffering a haemorrhage and had to be carried out. She never recovered and died of uterine cancer on 30 August 1831. She had collapsed with Alexander in the next room. On 13 December 1832, she was buried in the churchyard at Pfesselbach, but she was moved 14 years later by her sons to the Ducal tomb in the Church of St Moritz in Coburg to lay by her first husband’s side in defiance of her last wishes.

Louise and her two sons (public domain)

Meanwhile, Ernst and Albert were left to their own devices. Shortly after their mother’s exile, their father went on a shooting holiday with his brother Leopold. Nevertheless, they would often remember him fondly in later years. The boys were raised almost like twins, due to their closeness in age. Albert was just three years old when he and his brother were assigned a tutor. Their education was often interrupted by their father but was otherwise quite relentless. At the age of 11, Albert wrote in his journal, “I intend to train myself to be a good and useful man.” And soon, uncle Leopold would have a future in mind for young Albert. He would become the husband of the Queen of England – and perhaps even King himself.

In 1832, their father remarried to his niece, Marie of Württemberg – the daughter of his sister Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Thus Albert’s new stepmother was also his first cousin. This second marriage would remain childless and as loveless as his first. On Palm Sunday 1835, Albert and Ernst were confirmed together in Coburg, and soon their education was being continued by Dr Seebode, the director of the Gymnasium at Coburg. He and Ernst were invited for a visit to England in 1836. He first met his future wife on 18 May in the hallway at Kensington Palace. Victoria was impressed, describing him as “extremely handsome.” The meeting was a great success, but marriage was not on the cards quite yet. Victoria had something else waiting for her – her uncle was dying, and soon she would be Queen. Albert and Ernst went to attend university at Bonn in the meantime.

The hallway where Victoria first met Albert – Photo by Moniek Bloks

On 20 June 1837, King William IV died, and Victoria became Queen. Just six days later, Albert wrote to her to offer “his sincerest felicitations on that great change which had taken place in your life.” For now, they would just write, and the boys were invited to spend Christmas with Leopold in Brussels. However, Albert injured his knee, and he stayed back at Bonn. Victoria invited their father to her coronation but not Albert and Ernst and professed that she did not wish to marry yet. Albert continued his studies, and at the end of 1838 he set off for Italy for a few months. He even had an audience with Pope Gregory XVI, and they conversed in Italian about art. In October 1839, he and Ernst were reluctantly invited back to England, but Victoria was struck when she saw Albert again. “It was with some emotion that I beheld Albert – who is beautiful. I embraced them both and took them to Mamma.” Victoria soon changed her mind about marriage and by the 14th she had made up her mind. On 15 October, she sent for Albert and proposed to him. He agreed and said he would be very happy to share life with her.

The wedding date was set for 10 February 1840 and for the time being Albert would return to Coburg. His future position in England would need to be discussed. Parliament was determined that Albert should play no role in politics and he was not granted a rank in the army nor made a peer which would have allowed to sit in the House of Lords. In early February 1840, Albert returned to England with his father and brother. On the afternoon of his arrival, the Lord Chancellor administered the formal oath of naturalisation to Albert. Monday was the day of the wedding, and it was a rainy day. The wedding took place at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace before the bridal party returned to Buckingham Palace for the wedding breakfast. The following morning Victoria confided in her journal that they did not sleep much.

Part two coming soon.

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Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace

In 1837, Queen Victoria came to the throne, and Buckingham Palace had remained empty for nearly 20 years. Her uncle King George IV had spent vast amounts on it, but he had died leaving it unfinished. King William IV had no interest in taking on the project and almost gave the palace away.

Photo by Moniek Bloks

Although Queen Victoria must have finally felt free when she moved into her Palace, it was quite in need of modernisation. Between 1840 and 1861, Victoria and her husband Prince Albert set about transforming the Palace, including adding the facade and the balcony that are so recognisable today. She loved living there with its “high, pleasant and cheerful” interiors. In 1838, her coronation procession departed from Bucking Palace for Westminster Abbey. As her family grew, the Palace was adapted around the needs of their children.

After the death of Prince Albert, Victoria found it difficult to return to the Palace. However, by the end of her life, Buckingham Palace was once more the centre of sovereignty, and after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, it patiently awaited its new residents.

The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace are open to the public every year in the summer months, and this year’s exhibition is appropriately named “Queen Victoria’s Palace.” After being provided with an audio guide – which has a word of welcome from the Prince of Wales – you are led through the amazing staterooms. The audioguide includes extra options for the exhibition all throughout the staterooms. I especially enjoyed the throne designed for Queen Victoria and her clothing that was on display. The Pepper’s Ghost technique for the ballroom was fun as well. It was also amazing to see the painting of Queen Victoria’s coronation and her wedding to Prince Albert in real-life.

If you are ever in London during the summer months, you simply cannot miss the opening of the staterooms. Do get tickets in advance because it can get quite busy! The current opening and the exhibition of Queen Victoria’s Palace will be until 29 September 2019. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication, which can also be bought online (US & UK).

Click to view slideshow.

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From Queen Victoria to the German Crown Princess – 24 August 1887

From Queen Victoria to the German Crown Princess – On the train after Basingstoke, 24 August 1887

Darling, Beloved Child, I must write you a few lines and say how truly grieved I was to part from you again.1 I only pray it may not be very long. The older one grows, especially at my age, one feels it more and more. To feel that this memorable time, this large family meeting, is all over is sad. And to part from you, knowing you in the midst of such uncertainty and difficulties, though thank God, without any real cause for alarm, distresses me doubly. Only be firm. Don’t on any account let Fritz2 go to Potsdam or Baden, or take those two useless doctors with you who will counteract all Mackenzie’s treatment. He must write a letter which can be shown to the Emperor and, if necessary, the wicked man.3

I feel very sad to have parted from you. I can hardly believe it. It was nice to see the five cousins so happy together. I could not go out this afternoon and was soon then so hurried. You would have been amused to see me take my tea with little children 4 alone in my room, only two good Indians waiting on me. They follow tomorrow. The welcome tomorrow at dear Balmoral will be full of very vorherundjetze (then and now) feelings, such kind, true, loving ones, who would have rejoiced to see it and join, are no longer in this world.

I hope you will get this tomorrow or next morning. How beautiful the evening was! And now there is a lovely moon. Forgive this writing, but the train shakes.

 

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