Page 83 - All About History - Issue 29-15

The secret life of Victoria

Vicky, an intelligent and precocious child, Victoria also fiercely protected Leopold, who
was the queen’s favourite for a time, but it did was suffering with haemophilia, and who she
notmeanshewouldescapearebuke–evenin sawasthemostintelligentofhersons.Shetried
adulthood. Victoria was upset when Vicky had her to keep him close and objected to him studying
firstchild,buthervitriolwastameincomparison atCambridge.Atthesametime,sheallowed
toherwordsforAlbertEdward, whowas widely himtobelookedafterbyArchie,thebrother
consideredherthorn.Bertie,ashewasalsoknown, of her attendant from Scotland, John Brown.
was noted to be a disappointment. “His intellect – Archie bullied Leopold, but Victoria was said to
alas!isweakwhichisnothisfaultbut,whatishis have ignored it. It is speculated that she allowed
fault is his shocking laziness,” she wrote. thisbehaviourtocontinuebecauseofherclose
Bertie had a reputation as a playboy prince, relationship with John Brown.
whichjarredagainstthestraight-lacedupbringing Having lost confidence in her own abilities,
that was fostered by Albert. Although Bertie would Victoria became depressed, but during the 1860s
become king and successfully tour North America she grew close to Brown, calling him “friend more
and the Indian subcontinent as the prince of than servant.” He became the queen’s Highland
Wales, he struggled with his studies, was barred Servant in 1865 and his influence on her was so
from seeing state papers and was also vetoed from greatthatVictoria’shouseholdbegantocallherMrs
serving in the military. Brownbehindherback.
HisseriesofaffairsangeredVictoriathemost. Victoria had known Brown since 1849 and Albert
Duringaten-weekspellatCurraghCampin had liked him. Following the prince’s death, it
Ireland with the Grenadier Guards in 1861, Bertie’s wasBrown’sjobtoleadthequeenin dailypony
fellow officers arranged for the Irish actress Nellie rides.Shelavishedhimwithgifts,commissioned
Clifden to sleep with him. It appalled his parents aportraitofhimanddidlittletowaveawaythe
andAlbertvisitedhissoninCambridge, gossip. She would almost certainly have
where Bertie was studying, in order known that the satirical magazine
to discuss the matter. Father Punch was ridiculing him often
and son took a long walk in and that the Swiss newspaper
thepouringrainbutAlbert VICTORIA’S Gazette de Lausanne was
returned feeling very ill. He SECRETS claiming she had secretly
died three weeks later, aged Inoneofsevenattempts married Brown and even
42,on7December1861at on her life, Edward bourneachildbyhim.
Windsor Castle. While doctors Oxfordtriedtokilla Biographer AN Wilson
diagnosed the cause of death pregnant Victoria in disputesapregnancy,though.
as having been typhoid, Victoria 1840 He believes Victoria and Brown
blamed their son. slept in the same bed and hugged,
The queen entered into a period but that was as far as the physical
of deep mourning that would last for relationship went. He also claims they
theremainderofherreign.Itwasmadeharder hadasmallmarriageceremonyatCrathie
by her mother – with whom she’d reconciled and Kirk in Scotland. Even so, artist Edhar Boehn,
become close to – passing away earlier in the whosculptedaheadofBrownatBalmoral,said
year.Victoriafeltveryaloneandshewentinto thequeenhadallowedthemanshereferredtoas
isolation,onlythistimeoutofherownfreewill. “darling” in her letters “every conjugal privilege.”
Nicknamed the ‘widow of Windsor’, she divided When Brown died, in 1883 aged 56, of the skin
hertimebetweenWindsorCastle,OsborneHouse diseaseerysipelas,hisdeathcrushedher.Victoria
and Balmoral Castle, and was forever wearing wanted to write a biography of him, for he was her
black.Theonlytimepeoplesawherwasduring rockandconfidantifnothingelse.
rare public appearances and for official government Still,shecarriedon.Victoriacametohave42
duties. There’s no doubt that the remaining 40 grandchildren (37 of which were born during
years of her life saw a very different Victoria. her life) and – thanks to having family members
Her stifling refusal to let her children live their scatteredacrossthecontinent–shealsobecame
ownlivesintensifiedafterAlbert’sdeath. Doctors nicknamed ‘the grandmother of Europe’. She had
and servants would be ordered to report back on achieved plenty, becoming the proud Empress of
their progress, according to Ridley. Meanwhile, IndiaandBritain’slongest-reigningmonarch.She
beingcheerfulwasfrownedupon,incaseit celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1896 and, as she
upsetthememoryof theirfather. Victoriawould become older, the mists of depression began to lift
emotionally manipulate her children via letters to a small degree.
that they would feel compelled to reply to. The At the start of 1901, Victoria was ill. Her son
queen wanted Alice and her husband Prince Louis Albert Edward and eldest grandson Emperor
ofHesse-DarmstadttolivewithherinBritain,and WilhelmIIofGermanywereatherdeathbed,and
she wanted Helena and her husband to reside at thereweresignsoflovebetweenmotherandson.
Windsor. Louise’s marriage to a subject, Lord Lorne, Victoriaknewthat,attheageof59,Bertie–King
displeased her, but Beatrice’s marriage to Prince EdwardVII–wouldtaketothethrone,butshe
Victoria photographed HenryBattenbergsatisfiedthequeen,asthepair seemed at peace. On 22 January, Victoria died. Now
by JE Mayall in 1860
stayed close by. itwastimeforhercountrytomourn.
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