Status Updates From The Young Victoria

‘The duchess may have made mistakes in the raising of her daughter, but she never left Victoria in any doubt as to her unswerving devotion. This was mainly expressed in a series of affectionate little notes that she placed in her daughter’s bedroom at Kensington. These required the same effort that the duchess urged in her daughter, because they were written in English’

‘In 1824 Louise Lehzen was appointed governess to Princess Victoria. The daughter of a village clergyman from Lagenhagen, near Hanover, Lehzen was 40 when she took up her new position. She had previously been governess to Princess Feodore, and had travelled with her to England five years earlier. A rather stern woman, she was nevertheless devoted to her new charge.’

‘Managing the duchess’s public and private accounts was Conroy’s most important responsibility. Having been appointed comptroller of her household, he approved staff salaries and household expenses and signed off the accounts every months. By 1826 he was actively controlling Victoria’s education with the duchess and was approving payments to tutors for the princess’s lessons’

‘Tender letters that the duke and duchess wrote to one another in the weeks and months following the christening of their baby daughter reveal their genuine affection for one another. While he was away, she supplied her ‘sweet husband’ with loving reports of the daily activities of their ‘little angel’.’