[115]Daughters of the fifth Earl of Jersey. Lady Sarah afterwards married Prince Nicholas Esterhazy (see p. 190), eldest son of the famous diplomatist. Lady Clementina died unmarried in 1858.
[116]Younger son of Prince and Princess de Lieven. The Prince had been for over twenty years Russian Minister or Ambassador in London; the Princess was the inveterate correspondent of Earl Grey.
[117]George Guy, afterwards fourth Earl of Warwick, and an A.D.C. to Queen Victoria. Died 1893. At this time he was fifteen years of age.
[118]Charles Henry, Earl of March, afterwards sixth Duke of Richmond and first Duke of Gordon of a new creation. He held several high offices in Conservative Administrations, being Lord President of the Council 1874–80, and Secretary for Scotland 1885–6. He, like Lord Brooke, was about fifteen at this time; and was at Westminster School. In after-years the Queen relied much upon his excellent political judgment.
[119]George, eighth Earl of Athlone (1820–43). The first Earl was Godert de Ginkell, the well-known General of William III.
[120]A younger brother of Lord March; drowned in thePresidentsteamer in 1841. He was at this time thirteen years old.
[121]John Frederick, afterwards M.P. for Pembrokeshire and second Earl Cawdor.
[122]Their father was Alexander, Duke of Würtemberg. Prince Alexander afterwards married Princess Marie, daughter of King Louis Philippe; she died in 1839, less than two years after their marriage.
[123]A cousin of the Princess Victoria and of Princes Alexander and Ernst, the mother of the Duchess of Kent, having been a Princess of Reuss-Ebersdorff.
[124]Afterwards Duchess of Argyll.
[125]Afterwards Lady Blantyre.
[126]Lady Caroline Lascelles, and her daughter, afterwards Mrs. Grenfell.
[127]Madame Malibran was now about twenty-five years of age. Seepost, p. 168.
[128]Henry Lynedoch Gardiner, son of General Sir Robert Gardiner. He was afterwards Equerry in Ordinary to Queen Victoria.
[129]Sir Colin Campbell (1792–1863), afterwards F.-M. Lord Clyde, Commander-in-Chief in India. He saw more active service than any British Field-Marshal before or since. No soldier was ever braver, more merciful, and more modest.
[130]Admiral Williams had rendered valuable services in conjunction with the army in the Low Counties, 1794–5; he was knighted in 1796, and became G.C.B. in 1831.
[131]John George Lambton (1792–1840), the first Baron (and afterwards first Earl of) Durham, son-in-law of Lord Grey, had been Ambassador to St. Petersburg, and was now Lord Privy Seal. Lord Melbourne sent him subsequently to Canada at a critical juncture in the history of British North America. The Ministry afterwards recalled him, but the report which he presented on Canadian affairs is regarded as having laid the foundations of all colonial self-government. He was a statesman of noble, unstained character; but his high-strung temperament made life difficult both for him and his colleagues.
[132]He was sixty-two years of age. Seeante, p. 78.
[133]Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore (1764–1843), G.C.M.G., afterwards Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth. He had been ordered in 1807–8 to escort the Royal Family of Portugal to Brazil; he married Dora, daughter of Thomas Eden.
[134]Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland (1776–1839). He commanded theBellerophonwhen Napoleon surrendered after Waterloo.
[135]Richard (1764–1839), second Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.
[136]Sir William Hargood had commanded theBelleisleunder Nelson at Trafalgar, becoming an Admiral and G.C.B. in 1831.
[137]Captain Charles Philip Yorke, R.N., then M.P. for Cambs., afterwards fourth Earl of Hardwicke.
[138]Sir John Cameron had had a distinguished record in the Peninsula. From 1823 to 1833 he commanded the Western District.
[139]Adjutant-General, 1830–50.
[140]Donna Maria da Gloria, then aged about fourteen. She was the daughter of Dom Pedro, who had been proclaimed Emperor of Brazil in the lifetime of his father, John VI., and abdicated the throne of Portugal in favour of Donna Maria. Dom Miguel, a younger brother of Pedro, claimed the throne. Pedro had designed a marriage between Donna Maria and Miguel, who in 1827 had been appointed Regent, but, having been himself driven from Brazil by a revolution, Pedro endeavoured to gain the throne decisively for his daughter. His second wife, now known as Duchess of Braganza, was sister to Augustus, Duke of Leuchtenberg, who at the age of twenty-five had married Donna Maria, then barely sixteen, and died two months later. See p. 110.
[141]The death of Ferdinand without male issue caused a disputed succession in Spain. His brother Don Carlos relied on the Salic Law as established by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1711, which Ferdinand had revoked. Don Carlos and Dom Miguel subsequently entered into an alliance, while the young Queens Maria and Isabella mutually recognised each other, and were supported by England and France.
[142]William Charles Macready (1793–1851), afterwards successively manager of Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres.
[143]An actress, and mother of Helen Faucit.
[144]Benjamin Webster, an excellent and humorous comedian from about 1819 to 1874.
[145]Frances Maria Kelly (1790–1882), for many years a popular favourite at Drury Lane, and a friend of Charles and Mary Lamb.
[146]This was the first of many Foreign Orders received by Queen Victoria. They have been carefully collected and arranged by King George and Queen Mary, and are displayed in Queen Mary’s audience room in Windsor Castle.
[147]Lady Theresa Fox-Strangways, elder daughter of the third Earl of Ilchester, afterwards wife of the ninth Lord Digby.
[148]Afterwards Lady Ebury. Sister of the first Earl Cowley. See p. 50.
[149]Giulia Grisi (1815–69) made her début at Florence, aged fourteen. Théophile Gautier said of her that under her spell what was only an opera became a tragedy and a poem. She first appeared in London in 1834. She was afterwards married to the Count of Candia (Mario).
[150]Henry Stephen, third Earl (1787–1812).
[151]Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg (1786–1851), uncle of the Prince Consort.
[152]Charles Emich, Prince Leiningen, son of the Duchess of Kent by her first husband, and half-brother of Princess Victoria.
[153]Emmanuel, Count Mensdorff-Pouilly (1777–1862), husband of Princess Sophia, eldest sister of the Prince Consort’s father and of the Duchess of Kent. An emigrant from France in 1793, he attained high rank in the Austrian service. His sons were intimate companions of the Prince Consort.
[154]Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (1784–1844), father of the Prince Consort.
[155]Seeante, p. 49.
[156]Eldest daughter of Francis, first Marquess of Hastings, Lady of the Bedchamber to the Duchess of Kent. This unfortunate lady died in 1839.
[157]Charles, fifth Duke (1791–1860). As Lord March he is often mentioned in the Duke of Wellington’s correspondence. He was one of the very few male human beings ever alluded to by the Iron Duke in terms of affection. The Duchess was Caroline, daughter of the Marquess of Anglesey.
[158]George Henry (1760–1844), fourth Duke. An obscure Whig potentate.
[159]Charles, fifth Duke, but fourteenth Earl of Dorset, K.G. Master of the Horse in various Tory Administrations. On his death, unmarried, in 1843, his honours (including the Earldom of Middlesex) became extinct. A favourite of George IV. One of the first gentlemen jockeys. He and his brother Germaine were famous at Newmarket as race riders. He established Bibury races. He was of tiny physique, but smart, and a great favourite with ladies.
[160]William Harry, first Duke of Cleveland, of a new creation, a great-grandson in the male line of a daughter of Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleveland. He died in 1842, and his income was computed at £110,000 per annum. Seeante, p. 68.
[161]Francis, second Marquess (1797–1876), who, three years later, brought to the Princess at Kensington the news of her accession. Lady Conyngham was a daughter of Lord Anglesey.
[162]Second son of William IV. and Mrs. Jordan. The eldest son was created Earl of Munster, 1831; the younger children (except those who had attained higher rank by marriage) were granted the style of younger children of a marquess. Lady Frederick was a daughter of the Earl of Glasgow.
[163]William Basil Percy (1796–1865), seventh Earl of Denbigh, Chamberlain to Queen Adelaide.
[164]Lady Sophia Fitzclarence, daughter of William IV. She married Sir Philip Sidney, afterwards created Lord De l’Isle and Dudley of Penshurst.
[165]Emily, sister of the second Lord Auckland.
[166]Seeante, p. 69.
[167]Edward, fourth son of the first Earl Beauchamp.
[168]Afterwards Sir Charles Wood (1800–85) and first Viscount Halifax. Married the daughter of Charles, Earl Grey. He served in many administrations; finally as Secretary of State for India and Lord Privy Seal. A typical Whig statesman of high probity and wisdom.
[169]Seeante, p. 86.
[170]Charlotte, daughter of Robert Adamson of Westmeath and wife of Sir Godfrey Vassal Webster, of Battle Abbey, formerly M.P. for Sussex. Sir Godfrey’s mother, Elizabeth Vassal, eloped from her husband with Lord Holland, and was the famous “Old Madagascar†of Holland House coteries.
[171]He was made a baronet in 1838 for this act. Seepost, p. 355.
[172]William Frederick (1776–1834), second Duke, was the son of William Henry, first Duke, by Maria, Countess-Dowager Waldegrave, illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole, a younger son of the great Minister. The Duke was an inoffensive man of quiet and mild disposition, familiarly known as “Silly Billy.†He married his cousin, Princess Mary, daughter of George III. He was proud of his rank, but of little else. Seeante, p. 65.
[173]Brother of the Duchess of Braganza. Seeante, p. 86.
[174]Princess Elizabeth (1770–1840), daughter of George III., widow of Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. This Princess settled down into an atmosphere of venerated old age at Homburg. A statue was recently erected there and unveiled by the German Emperor to commemorate her virtues.
[175]Emma Sophia, daughter of the second Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, second wife of John, first Earl Brownlow.
[176]Daughter of William IV. Her husband had been raised to the Peerage in Jan. 1835. Seeante, p. 99.
[177]Another daughter of William IV., wife of Lucius, tenth Viscount Falkland.
[178]Richard William Penn (1796–1870), first Earl Howe, Chamberlain to Queen Adelaide. He was believed to have encouraged her in inciting the King against the Ministry of Lord Grey.
[179]William Basil Percy, seventh Earl of Denbigh. Seeante, p. 99.
[180]Adelaide Cottage, built for Queen Adelaide, but never occupied by her except as a tea-house. It has been used ever since by successive Sovereigns for a similar purpose. The Cottage stands surrounded by charming gardens in the eastern corner of the private grounds of Windsor Castle.
[181]Luigi Lablache (1794–1858), a first-rate comedian and the finest bass singer of his time. He made his début in London in 1830, in Cimarosa’s operaIl Matrimonio Segreto. He taught Princess Victoria singing, and of all her teachers he was the favourite.
[182]Michael (afterwards Sir Michael) Costa, for many years the conductor of the orchestra at Covent Garden. His musical taste was considerable, but he was famous for his dominating personality, the hauteur of his demeanour, and above all for the perfect fit of his spotless white gloves.
[183]General Sir Frederick Trench had served in Sicily and in the Walcheren expedition, and was afterwards Aide-de-Camp to George IV. He was M.P. for Scarborough at this time. A man of discernment and taste. He advocated a scheme for making an embankment along the Thames from Charing Cross to Blackfriars. He was half a century ahead of his contemporaries!
[184]Augusta, youngest daughter of the Landgrave Frederick of Hesse. She was married to H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge in 1818. “I am the happiest of men,†wrote the Duke to Lady Harcourt from Cassel, soon after his engagement, and he added, “The Princess is really everything both as to heart, mind and person that I could wish.†There never was a happier marriage. This Princess was the mother of George, Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies, of the Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and of Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck. She was the grandmother of Queen Mary, and died, regretted by all, in 1889.
[185]Joseph Goodall (1760–1840), Provost of Eton for thirty-one years. An excellent but obscure scholar. It was his misfortune to be the nominal superior of Dr. Keate. He had the temerity on one occasion at Windsor, in the presence of William IV., to tell Sir Henry Halford, who was vain of his scholarship and fond of quoting Latin, that he ought to be whipped for having made a false quantity.
[186]Dr. Hawtrey (1789–1862), Headmaster of Eton for 18 years, he then presided over the college as Provost for another 10. A profound and elegant scholar, a man of lofty ideals, intrepid soul and warm heart, he raised the tone of masters and boys by sheer force of his delightful personality. He doubled the numbers of the school as well as its efficiency and influence.
[187]Countess Mensdorff was the sister of the Duchess of Kent, a Princess of Saxe-Coburg. Seeante, p. 95.
[188]Grand Duchess Marie, daughter of the Emperor Paul I. of Russia, married Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in 1804.
[189]Dr. Charles James Blomfield (1786–1857), a fine scholar, and a Bishop of unusual administrative capacity. His influence in the Church of England, both as Bishop of Chester and Bishop of London, was second to none, until the day of his retirement in 1856. He died at Fulham Palace in August 1857.
[190]She married in 1856 Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, and was the mother of the present German Empress.
[191]Fanny Kemble, daughter of Charles Kemble, the actor, after attaining considerable success on the stage in England, went to America, and in 1834 married Pierce Butler. In 1835 she published an indiscreet journal which had considerable success.
[192]Edward Vernon-Harcourt (1757–1847), Archbishop of York, was the third son of the first Lord Vernon. He assumed his mother’s name of Harcourt on succeeding to the family estates of Stanton Harcourt and Nuneham Courtenay. He married Anne, third daughter of first Marquess of Stafford. A most sumptuous prelate. He was the grandfather of Sir William Vernon Harcourt, M.P.
[193]Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Granville Harcourt, and wife of Montagu, Lord Norreys, M.P. for Oxfordshire, afterwards sixth Earl of Abingdon.
[194]Sir John, second Baronet (1799–1869), father of Lord Derwent. His wife was Louise, second daughter of Archbishop Harcourt.
[195]George Granville Harcourt, M.P. for Oxfordshire and eldest son of the Archbishop. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of the second Earl of Lucan. She died in 1838, and in 1847 Mr. Harcourt married Lady Waldegrave, the well-known and much-liked chatelaine of Strawberry Hill. The last of the great Ladies (she was the daughter of John Braham, the singer) who knew how to combine hospitality with fine political and social discernment.
[196]See p. 135.
[197]Owner of Newstead Abbey, bought from Lord Byron in 1818.
[198]Matthew Camidge, organist at York Minster 1799–1842. For five generations the family of Camidge supplied organists in the county of York.
[199]She afterwards married Major-General George A. Malcolm, C.B.
[200]At Nuneham there is a snuff-box, inset with diamonds, given by Queen Victoria to Col. Francis Harcourt, and engraved “for services rendered to her while still at Kensington.â€
[201]Rev. William Harcourt (1789–1871), Canon of York. He inherited the Harcourt estates and was the father of Sir William Vernon Harcourt, M.P. His wife was Matilda Mary, daughter of Col. W. Gooch.
[202]Rev. Charles Harcourt, Canon of Carlisle.
[203]Albert Joseph Goblet, Count d’Alviella, a Belgian officer of distinction much esteemed by King Leopold. He was often a guest of M. Van de Weyer, and was well known in London Society. When sent as Belgian Minister to Berlin, the King of Prussia refused to receive him on the ground that he had deserted the King of Holland.
[204]General Comte Baudrand (1774–1848). Originally intended for the Bar, he became, by choice, a soldier, and served with distinction in Italy under the Republic, and under Napoleon at Waterloo he was Chief of Staff of the Army of the North. After the Restoration he was appointed Governor of the Prince Royal, with whom he paid many visits to England.
[205]Afterwards Sir James Clark (1788–1870). He was physician to Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and afterwards to the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria. He was not only the Queen’s most trusted physician, but an adviser and friend. He recommended Balmoral to the Queen and the Prince as their Highland home. He attended the Prince during his last hours.
[206]This room was in later years the room of Princess Mary, now H.M. the Queen. It forms part of the Palace temporarily appropriated to the London Museum, and is dedicated to the relics of Queen Victoria’s childhood. In this room Queen Mary was born.
[207]The partitions were taken down after the accession of King Edward, and the great gallery restored to the condition in which it was left by William III.
[208]Now occupied as a sitting-room by Princess Henry of Battenberg.
[209]When King Louis Philippe was Duc d’Orléans his eldest son was Duc de Chartres, and the earlier name survived. In later years the Comte de Paris’ younger brother became Duc de Chartres. See p. 72.
[210]Prince Ferdinand was nephew of the Duchess of Kent (the son of her brother Ferdinand), and was married to Maria da Gloria, Queen of Portugal. Their sons Pedro V. and Luis both succeeded to the Throne. Count Lavradio had been sent to Coburg to negotiate the alliance.
[211]Mrs. Anderson was Princess Victoria’s music-mistress. She was a pupil of Felix Mendelssohn’s, and a most beautiful musician. She taught music to all the Queen’s children and died between 1870 and 1880. Her husband was for many years “Master of the Queen’s Musick,â€i.e.Private Band.
[212]Fieschi had attempted to assassinate King Louis Philippe.
[213]Ernest (born 1789), brother of the reigning Landgrave.
[214]Son of Count Pozzo di Borgo, Russian Ambassador. This diplomatist was born in Corsica in 1768, and he began life as a Corsican Deputy to the National Assembly. Agent of the Holy Alliance in Europe, he was the most ardent advocate of the Legitimist cause in France. His talents were remarkable, and his causerie was much appreciated in London society.
[215]Henry, Earl of Lincoln (1811–64), afterwards fifth Duke of Newcastle, a Peelite and Secretary for War during the campaign in the Crimea. He was a holder of other high posts in the Government. An able man, but no one except Mr. Gladstone ever thought him capable of holding the highest. His father returned Mr. Gladstone for his close borough of Newark. Lady Lincoln was a daughter of the tenth Duke of Hamilton, and was divorced in 1850.
[216]William Carr Beresford (1770–1854), better known as Marshal Beresford, so called from his supreme command of Portuguese troops in the Peninsula, the hero of Albuera, the bloodiest battle of the war. Created Baron Beresford of Albuera and Dungarvan 1814, and Viscount in 1823. He married Louisa, widow of Thomas Hope of Deepdene.
[217]Daughter of third Earl of Dartmouth.
[218]Miss Joanna Baillie (1762–1851), a writer of many plays, now forgotten. She is remembered as a lady to whom Sir Walter Scott wrote freely. She resided at Hampstead, and was visited by many distinguished men of letters. Sir Walter edited, and Kemble acted, one of her plays.
[219]Charles Kemble (1775–1854), the youngest of the family whose chief ornament was Mrs. Siddons. A meritorious comedian.
[220]Helen Faucit was now nineteen, and had just made her debut as Julia inThe Hunchback. The “Margaret†of the present occasion was her first original part. She married Mr. (afterwards Sir) Theodore Martin in 1851, and was as much esteemed by Queen Victoria for her womanly qualities as by the public for her impersonation of Rosalind. She died in 1898.
[221]George John Bennett, an actor never in the front rank. He was associated with Phelps throughout his long management of Sadler’s Wells, and played respectable parts.
[222]When, as Lady Martin, forty years later, she appeared as Rosalind on a special occasion, in the interests of charity, these characteristics were found to be unimpaired.
[223]Madame Vestris (1797–1856), daughter of Bartolozzi the engraver. She married at sixteen Armand Vestris, and secondly Charles Mathews. Her histrionic powers were not remarkable, but her reputation as a singer and producer of extravaganza stood high.
[224]Charles Mathews (1803–78), one of the most delightful comedians of all time. Destined for the Church, educated as an architect, he did not make his debut on the stage until he was thirty-two years old. He married Madame Vestris, and his Autobiography and Letters were edited by Charles Dickens.
[225]He was thirty-three years old.
[226]Priscilla, daughter of William, first Lord Maryborough and afterwards third Earl of Mornington, was the Duke of Wellington’s niece. Her husband, Lord Burghersh, was afterwards eleventh Earl of Westmorland.
[227]This room is now known as “the State Drawing-room.â€
[228]Prince Ernest of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeldt. See p. 145.
[229]Anna Maria, wife of second Marquess of Ely. She was the daughter of Sir H. W. Dashwood, Bart. She died in 1857.
[230]Seepost, p. 297.
[231]A landscape painter.
[232]Olivia Cecilia, daughter of Charlotte, Baroness de Ros. She married (1833) Henry Richard Wellesley, afterwards first Earl Cowley and British Ambassador at Paris. She died in 1885.
[233]King Leopold used Stockmar for the purpose of educating Prince Ferdinand very much as he used him to train Prince Albert and Princess Victoria in the duties of a Sovereign. King Leopold believed that he had reduced the rules of Sovereignty to a science. See p. 196.
[234]In later years Queen Victoria used similar language about the Prince Consort. In her case it was not an altogether accurate description of the facts. Her dominant character occasionally asserted itself.
[235]His portrait by Winterhalter hangs among Queen Victoria’s “friends†in the ante-room to the Corridor at Windsor. See p. 114.
[236]Madame Malibran. Seepost, p. 168.
[237]This is the first indication in the Journals that Princess Victoria realised her future position. It is known that for many years knowledge of her possible accession to the Throne was withheld from her. When it was determined that she should be enlightened, a Family Tree was inserted by her governess between the pages of an English history. The child examined it minutely for some time, and turning to Baroness Lehzen said, “Then I shall be Queen.â€