The Queen and Lord M (16 page)

Trouble came from another direction.

Lord Melbourne, during the course of some of their interesting and amusing conversations, had told the Queen that the Dutch, the French and the Belgians were being somewhat tiresome over Luxembourg. The Dutch and the Belgians desired possession of this Province and the French who had signed a Treaty with Belgium were supporting that country’s claims against those of Holland.

‘I am sure Uncle Leopold will take the right action,’ Victoria had said.

But now came a disturbing letter from her royal Uncle. He wanted the support of England for Belgium in this matter, and he was appealing, not through her ambassador to her Foreign Minister, but to her as his niece.

‘You have given me so many proofs of affection … that it would be very wrong in me to think that in so short a time and without any cause, those feelings which are so
precious
to me could have changed. This makes me appeal to these sentiments.’

She frowned. Of course she loved her Uncle and would never forget that he had been a second father to her, but this was not a matter for tenderness or sentiment. She was experienced enough to know that matters which concern the welfare of the country were not to be settled because of her private family feelings. He went on:

‘The independent existence of the Provinces which form this Kingdom has always been an object of importance to England … The last time I saw the late King at Windsor, in 1836, he said to me: “If ever France or any other Power invades your country it will be a question of immediate war for England; we cannot suffer that …” All I want from your kind Majesty is, that you will occasionally express to your Ministers, and particularly to good Lord Melbourne, that as far as is compatible with the interests of your own dominions you do not wish that your Government should take the lead in such measures as might in a short time bring on the destruction of this country as well as that of your Uncle and his family …’

She was very disturbed. He was asking her to
advise
her Government on a matter of which she was well aware that she knew very little. One of her great qualities, Lord Melbourne had told her, was her awareness of her inexperience and her ability to listen and take advice. She wanted very much to please Uncle Leopold and it would have been easy to write and say: ‘Yes, I will speak to Lord Melbourne and I will tell him that I wish him to do as you say,’ but that would be unwise.

When Lord Melbourne called that day he knew at once that she was disturbed.

‘I think I cannot do better,’ she said, ‘than to show you letter I have received from my Uncle, the King of the Belgians.’

Lord Melbourne took the letter and when he read it, his expression became a little grave.

‘How wise of you,’ he said, ‘to show me this letter before answering it. Indeed, it is what I have come to expect of Your Majesty. You quite rightly assume that this is a matter for Lord Palmerston and your Government and I will take the matter up immediately with your Foreign Secretary.’

She sighed with relief, but she was apprehensive.

‘You see,’ she explained, ‘he was so good to me when I was young, and you know how insecure I always felt at Kensington.’

‘It was most unfortunate,’ replied Lord Melbourne tenderly. ‘How much better it would have been had
that
Uncle the late King William and his Queen Adelaide been able to show you something of Court ways before you ascended the throne.’

‘I was always very much aware of it.’

‘This insecurity made you turn to your Uncle Leopold, of course, and it was, at the time, a very satisfactory relationship, but nothing remains static.
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
. The times are changed and we with them.’ Lord Melbourne always thoughtfully translated his Greek and Latin to her to save her the embarrassment of asking if she did not happen to know. ‘Now of course the King of the Belgians is still a dear relation and Your Majesty’s loyalty and fidelity are strong, but we have to see him as two in one – the charming relation and the head of a foreign power.’

‘How right you are … as always.’

‘So,’ went on Lord Melbourne, ‘Cupid and I will put our heads together over this.’

The reference to the Foreign Secretary’s nickname was an indication that the matter was no longer very serious and lightness returned to the conversation.

As she had spoken of her childhood Lord Melbourne talked of his days at Eton and described how on one occasion he had eaten too many sweet cakes and come out in spots because of this indulgence.

‘I fear you were very greedy,’ said the Queen severely.

‘Those spots cured me of greed in that direction.’

Then he told her how he had his hair cut and picturing him in his Eton uniform she thought he must have looked very handsome indeed. Thus she was able to shelve the unpleasant matter of Uncle Leopold.

Lord Melbourne again referred to the Belgian affair but characteristically threw it in lightly. She had been asking him how her Court compared with those of her predecessors and Lord Melbourne had launched into one of his amusing accounts of the past. He told her how her Uncle William had once gone to the Royal Academy and threatened to throw the President into the street because he said the picture of a certain sea-going gentleman was good, and William did not admire the gentleman.

‘But what had the picture to do with the man’s character?’ asked Victoria.

‘Precisely nothing,’ replied Lord Melbourne. ‘But the King did not like the man.’

Then there was her own christening when her Uncle George IV (at that time Prince Regent) had refused to have her called Georgiana or Charlotte, and had insisted on Alexandrina Victoria.

‘How do you think Victoria sounds as a queen’s name?’ she asked.

‘I prophesy that it will one day seem more queenly than any.’

‘I am glad Alexandrina is never used now. Victoria is much better for a queen.’

‘Victoria,’ said Lord Melbourne, ‘is perfect for a queen.’

‘Tell me what other names you like?’

Lord Melbourne considered. Alice he thought was charming. Louise also.

‘Yes, I love them too. I wonder if I like Louise because of Aunt Louise. She is very charming.’

‘She needs to be. I should think Leopold is a little hard to live with.’

Victoria held her breath. This was a kind of sacrilege, but it was like one god attacking another. It was true that Uncle Leopold
was
very solemn … perhaps somewhat pompous? But only when compared with Lord Melbourne, who was a little racy and had had such experiences. How she wished she dared talk to him of them. She would have loved to hear from his lips stories of Lady Caroline Lamb, his wife, and those two women with whom he was involved. What a worldly man he was! No wonder Uncle Leopold seemed a little dull – oh, but Leopold could never be dull. Tame, perhaps in comparison – but only with Lord Melbourne.

‘By the way,’ went on Lord Melbourne, ‘the King of the Belgians in that somewhat indiscreet letter to Your Majesty was obviously referring to the declaration Lord Palmerston made at the beginning of last month to the Prussian Government. I mentioned it to you at the time. You remember?’

She couldn’t quite remember, she said.

‘It may have appeared that we were ready to support Holland in this, but of course it is purely a matter of the advantages to this country.’

‘Of course, but I should hate Uncle Leopold to think we are not on his side.’

‘Has he written again?’

‘No, there has been a long silence.’

‘Ah, a little sullen, eh?’

‘I don’t know. He has always written such tender letters, except when he accused me of being irritable. Then he was hurt more than angry.’

‘Ha! It is all he can afford to be with the Queen of England. Perhaps a letter from you would be useful. I am sure you do not wish to be on bad terms with such an old friend, even though you have ceased to be so intimate. Write and tell him that Cupid and I are anxious to see Belgium flourishing. I’ll have a letter drafted out and you can put it into your own words if that appeals to you.’

‘Oh yes, it does. I
hate
to be on bad terms with Uncle Leopold.’

‘It’s just a little cloud. It will blow over. It’s all due to this declaration to the Prussians. I notice you pronounce the “Pruss” part as in “brush” and I as in “Prue”.’

‘Yes, I have often noticed that. Which is correct?’

‘Well, it’s a matter of opinion, I dare say, and pronunciation comes about through usage.’

‘I feel it is important for the Queen to be correct,’ she said.

‘Queens have been known to set fashions,’ said Melbourne, ‘so it seems very probable that the fashionable way to say “Prussian” will very soon be in the “brush” manner.’

It was very easy to forget that unpleasant little contretemps with Uncle Leopold when in Lord Melbourne’s sparkling company.

She wrote to the King of the Belgians as Lord Melbourne had directed:

‘My dearest Uncle,

It is indeed a long time since I have written to you, and I fear you will think me very lazy; but I must in turn say, dearest Uncle, that your silence was longer than mine …

It would indeed, dearest Uncle, be very wrong of you if you thought my feelings of warm and devoted attachment to you and of great affection for you, could be changed.
Nothing
can ever change them! Independent of my feelings of affection for you, my beloved Uncle, you must be aware that the ancient and hereditary policy of this country with respect to Belgium must make me most anxious that my Government not only should not be parties to any measure that is prejudicial to Belgium, but that my Ministers should, as far as may not conflict with the interests or the engagements of this country, do everything in their power to promote the prosperity and welfare of this your Kingdom.’

That, Lord Melbourne had said, was the crux of the matter, ‘the interests or engagements of this country’. ‘Your uncle will understand what is meant by that. We are his friends as long as it is not against the interest of England for us to be so.’

‘I should like to think that we were always Uncle Leopold’s friends,’ she had said gravely.

Lord Melbourne had smiled at her tenderly. ‘Your Majesty will realise that he will be our friend as long as that friendship does not affect the interests of
his
country. This is the difference between love of country and love of family. And it is one of the penalties of sovereigns and sovereigns’ ministers that the country comes first.’

How right he was! As always, she thought. She went on:

‘My Ministers, I can assure you, share all my feelings on this subject and are most anxious to see everything settled in a satisfactory manner between Belgium and Holland …

You may be assured, beloved Uncle, that both Lord Melbourne and Lord Palmerston are most anxious at all times for the prosperity and welfare of Belgium … Allow me once more therefore, dearest Uncle, to beseech you to use your powerful influence over your subjects and to strive to moderate their excited feelings on these matters. Your situation is a very difficult one and nobody feels more for you than I do. I trust, dearest Uncle, that you will at all times believe me your devoted and most affectionate niece.

Victoria R.’

There! She had written it.

‘Sprinkle it lavishly with “dearest Uncles”,’ Lord Melbourne had said. ‘It will remind him that while you still feel affectionate towards him as an
Uncle
, there must be no meddling in the politics of this country.’

She was surprised that she could nod in agreement. A short while ago she would have been horrified that she could have allowed anyone to call Uncle Leopold’s interest ‘meddling’.

But Lord Melbourne had taught her so much and Lord Melbourne was, of course, right.