Читать книгу The Public Life of Queen Victoria - John McGilchrist - Страница 8

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EDUCATION OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.

Additional Grant by Parliament for the Maintenance and Education of the Princess—Wise Lessons learned at her Mother’s Knees—A Visit to George IV. at Windsor—Assiduous Pursuit of Knowledge—Accession of William IV.—Victoria becomes next in succession to the Crown—Regency Bill—Satisfaction of the good Grandmother at Coburg—Her Death—Joy of Victoria at the Elevation of her Uncle to the Belgian Throne—Parliamentary Inquiry into the Progress of her Education—Satisfactory Report in Response—Presented at Court—Great Ball on her Twelfth Birthday at St. James’s Palace—Court Scandal and Baseless Rumours—The Duchess of Northumberland appointed Governess—The Princess and the Poet Southey.

The time had now arrived when, in the opinion, not only of the private friends of the Duchess of Kent, but of the Ministers of the Crown, it was held that a more liberal provision should be made for the increasing cost of the training of the Princess, than the very moderate annual allowance which the Duchess of Kent had as yet received. This matter was formally brought before Parliament on the occasion of the Princess attaining her sixth birthday. Up to this date, and for some little time subsequently to it, King George IV. seems to have hardly paid the slightest heed to his niece and ultimate successor. On her fifth birthday, Prince Leopold, who throughout filled a true father’s place, gave a banquet in her honour, at which most of the members of the English Royal Family, and the Prince Leiningen, son of the Duchess of Kent and half-brother of Victoria, were present. On this occasion, the child was much admired for her frankness, quickness, and talent, but especially for her deep attachment to her mother. Her mother took occasion to impress upon her the consideration that such attentions as those which were then shown her were rendered in the hope that she would cultivate the qualities and graces which alone could make her a worthy and acceptable ruler of the British empire. “It is not you,” said she, “but your future office and rank which are regarded by the country; and you must so act as never to bring that office and that rank into disgrace or disrespect.” And when the Duchess took her child to see for the first time the statue which had just been erected at the top of Portland Place to her father’s memory, she was careful to make her know and feel that “dear papa’s likeness was placed there, not merely because he was a prince, but because he was a good man, was kind to the poor, caused little boys and girls to be taught to read and write, helped to get money from good people to cure the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf, and did all he could to make bad people good.”

In May, 1825, the sixth birthday of the Princess arrived. It became desirable, not merely to extend the sphere of her knowledge, but to introduce her to society at unavoidable expense; and, when she appeared in public and took trips in the country, to surround her with some of the splendour which properly belonged to her position. Accordingly, Lord Liverpool, the Premier, presented a Message from the King, requesting that some provision should be made for the Princess. His lordship spoke in the highest terms of the Duchess of Kent; eulogised her for having supported and educated her daughter without making any application to Parliament; and demonstrated, that her education must, from that date, be much more wide and costly. He proposed an additional grant of £6,000 per annum to the Duchess, to continue throughout the minority of her daughter. The House of Lords cordially acquiesced in the proposal. In the Lower House, Mr. Brougham, although uniting mother and daughter in one common eulogy, objected to the amount proposed. Mr. Hume supported him, suggesting an annuity increasing from year to year; but, on a division, the original proposal was carried by a majority of fifty.

GEORGE IV. AND THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.

Only after this formal act of national recognition does it appear that the King deigned to turn his personal attention in the direction of his niece. The year after, we find the Duchess of Coburg writing to her daughter, and referring to the fact that she had seen by the English papers, that “His Majesty, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and the Princess Victoria, went on Virginia Water.” “The little monkey,” she writes, “must have pleased him. She is such a pretty, clever child.” It was reported at the time that the King, on the occasion of this visit to Windsor, shared the general delight at the intelligence and sprightliness of his charming little niece. He caused her to dine in state with him, and when he asked her what tune she would like the band to play during dinner, she courteously and naïvely replied, “God save the King.”

The years intervening until 1830 were passed in almost complete quietude and seclusion by the Princess; her education being now most assiduously pursued.

The year 1830 made an important difference in the position of the Princess. By the death of George IV., the Duke of Clarence became King, and—the Duke of York having died in 1827—she now stood next in direct succession to the throne. In the last month of the year a Regency Bill was passed, of which these were the chief provisions:—In the event of Queen Adelaide bearing a posthumous child, Her Majesty should be guardian and Regent during the minority. If that event should not occur, the Duchess of Kent was to be guardian and Regent during the minority of her daughter, the Princess Victoria, the heiress-presumptive. That Princess should not marry while a minor, without the consent of the King; or, if he died, without the consent of both Houses. When the Report of the Regency Bill was brought up, Lord Lyndhurst moved and carried a clause to the effect that in case the Duchess of Kent should marry a foreigner in the lifetime of His Majesty, but without his consent, she should, by that act, forfeit all pretensions to the Regency.

The Duke of Buckingham, in his “Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria,” thus remarked on this proviso:—

The position of the Princess attracted towards her Royal Highness the solicitude and sympathy of all classes of the people. A proper consideration of her chance of succeeding to the throne showed that there was much at stake, and the bitter disappointment caused by the untimely fate of the last female heiress presumptive, gave deeper feeling to the interest with which she was regarded. It was desirable that her youth should be, as much as possible, watched over to protect it from all evil contingencies, and though there could not be a better guardian for the Princess than the one nature had provided her with, the anxiety of a nation demanded precautions that, under other circumstances, would have been considered totally unnecessary. We can now (1861) afford to smile on the jealous affection with which Her Royal Highness was fenced round thirty years ago.

THE QUEEN’S GRANDMOTHER.

The satisfactory settlement of the Regency question gave great satisfaction to the good grandmother at Coburg. She wrote to her daughter, on receipt of the news—

I should have been sorry if the Regency had been given into other hands than yours. It would not have been a just return for your constant devotion and care to your child, if this had not been done. May God give you wisdom and strength to do your duty, if called upon to undertake it. May God bless and protect my little darling!—If I could but once see her again! The print you have sent to me is not like the dear picture I have; the quantity of curls hide the well-shaped head, and make it look too large for the lovely little figure.

It was not fated that the Duchess of Coburg should ever see her granddaughter again; she died within a twelvemonth of writing the above. Her latest letters to her daughter were characterised by a peculiar warmth of affection for the Princess. Writing in the summer of 1830, on the occasion of Victoria’s birthday, she said—

My blessings and good wishes for the day which gave you the sweet Blossom of May! May God preserve and protect the valuable life of that lovely flower from all the dangers that will beset her mind and heart!

And when the news of the death of George IV. reached her, she wrote—

God bless Old England, where my beloved children live, and where the sweet Blossom of May may one day reign! May God yet for many years keep the weight of a crown from her young head, and let the intelligent, clever child grow up to girlhood, before this dangerous grandeur devolves upon her!

England owes a deep debt of gratitude to this excellent and intelligent woman, for to her we are indebted for that training of her daughter, which fitted that daughter to train in turn, for us and for our advantage, Queen Victoria.

An event of considerable influence upon the well-being and happiness of the Queen we must not omit to chronicle, ere we pass onwards in the course of our narrative. Prince Leopold had been designated by the great guaranteeing Powers as the ruler of the newly emancipated state of Greece. He was prepared to accept the position. This distressed his niece, who had been brought up under his kindly tutelage from her birth; but circumstances which it does not concern our purpose to dwell upon, induced Leopold to break off the Greek negotiation. Shortly after, to the great delight of Victoria, he was nominated by the Powers, and accepted by his future subjects, as King of the Belgians. This ensured his being constantly comparatively near to his niece. How frequent were his visits to England, as long as his life lasted, no resident in London needs to be informed; up till within the last few years, his face was almost as familiar in the parks as those of the members of the Queen’s own family. He often appeared in London suddenly, and without announcement, having been summoned, it was generally believed, on such occasions, to consult with the Queen on some point of imminent moment. Such summonses he always responded to with instant alacrity.