Crown Imperial: An Alt British Monarchy

Is there a possibility that Agnes’s demeanor will change now that she is now a queen?
I mean, I think it will be hard for her to maintain a naive personality when she is in a position of power.
 
With HUGE apologies for my delay in responding to these amazing comments - and for a lack of updates - I've been laid low with a chest infection which hasn't been at all pleasant - luckily the antibiotics are kicking in and I'm on the mend!

When we get to part 4 do you plan on adding a little more flavor with the united states, as we creep towards the Civil war
Absolutely, there'll be more mention of Canada/Australia/New Zealand too, Part 4 will definitely be dominated by a "Foreign Affairs" theme as we haven't gone into that too much. But what I would say is that (as with our brushes with Russian/French/Spanish politics) it'll be very much handled from a UK point of view. That is to say, how it affects the UK and how our alt establishment responds to those events. I hope that helps - I'm sure I've not worded that very well but I'm still a little groggy!
Remind me isn’t the king against slavery? Maybe he would drift more towards neutrality.
It's not something we've really explored yet but certainly we'll be addressing George's views on slavery in Part Four.
I’m enjoying this, as ever, and looking forward to the next Part.

I’m not even that into this genre of AH- royal family sagas and intrigue from more recent centuries are not usually the type of thing I’d choose to seek out. But I enjoy good writing, and super characterisation, regardless of genre. And this is certainly that.

It’s also very noticeable how complex this has all become, yet it doesn’t feel so. We feel we know the characters and can keep track of them. That’s a rather skilful thing to accomplish.

I’m looking forward to 1848 in this changed Europe!
This was just so wonderful to read @Llamastrangler, thank you so so much for your very kind and generous words! And I'm so glad that you're not only enjoying TTL but that you feel that you know all the characters! At my last count, I think we have around 30 in play and I always worry that people will be put off by such a big cast list. It's an awful lot of plate spinning but if readers still feel they know the characters and can enjoy them? I'm thrilled. Once again, thank you for this, I really am very touched.
Thank you so much for your feedback. Because you've raised quite a few questions, I'm going to respond in a post below this so that I can give you a proper response as your effort deserves. So please bear with me!
I think George would be completely uninterested in the Oxford movement: he would find the theology boring, the emotional aspects slightly distasteful and the practical actions ridiculous (fish days? fasting? Come on now). He might get along with Cardinal Manning though, but only because Manning is a practical minded and competent administrator.
Absolutely, we've seen that George isn't really a very religious person - at least, his relationship with his faith isn't expressed in the same way as the OTL Queen Victoria's was. So I think you're right, he'd probably find the Oxford thing a little dull and tedious and not really involve himself all that much. I gave the King this attitude toward religion however so that we could explore this very theme - in the OTL, Victoria fought quite enthusiastically against the Oxford Movement and made a keen effort to reform "her" church (which is how she saw the CofE) to protect it. If you don't have that kind of patronage and interest from the Head of the Church? The outcome may be very different.
I can totally understand why Agnes assumed George was in love with Rosa. Pretty much anyone would've assumed back in the times, heck, even nowadays male-female friendship is seen as a rarity and most people assume there MUST be something more going on
This is spot on. But then, the Victorians/Edwardians were masters at seeing only what they wanted to see. For example, in the OTL the court and those who came into contact with it, everybody knew that the Prince of Wales was having an affair with Lily Langtry. In private, people may have openly discussed this arrangement for what it was but in public? Lily was the King's friend. Nothing more. And so it was repeated with Daisy Warwick, Alice Keppel etc.

But he didn't always get a free pass. When he entered into an affair with Rosa Lewis, high society was appalled. Even Queen Alexandra couldn't turn her usual blind eye (she called Lewis "the dreadful Mrs Chamberpots") because Rosa was from a working class background. Unlike Lily, Daisy or Alice, Rosa wasn't brought into the Waleses social group and people did openly criticise Bertie for his "friendship with her". Tolerance had it's limits.
I mean, I think people are getting better at it now - like, most of my friends are women and I’m a guy, but nobody assumes anything - but you’re definitely right that it’s still an issue and was VERY pronounced then.
Very true - though oddly it didn't work so much the other way. Queen Alexandra was totally devoted to one of her equerries, Oliver Montagu, and he to her. Yet nobody ever dared question (even privately) that there might be anything between them. She was a lady, he was a gentleman. Whilst Edward VII had a string of lovers, Alexandra remained totally loyal and never so much as looked at another man...at least, that's what we're told by their contemporaries. I wonder today how their friendship would be seen?

Of course, you could look at Queen Victoria's relationship with John Brown and find a different view. Their friendship is still keenly debated today.
Is there a possibility that Agnes’s demeanor will change now that she is now a queen?
I mean, I think it will be hard for her to maintain a naive personality when she is in a position of power.
Absolutely, it's going to be a steep learning curve for Agnes but she will have to adapt...and quickly too...

As ever, a huge thanks for all your feedback and support of TTL. We are a little behind my planned schedule as the last few days I've been knocked out of action but I'm hoping to have something for you mid-week.
 
I really like how the story is continuing and I’m happy for George and Agnes.
Since George was mentioned in the previous chapter as the head of the church and the Oxford movement (and since you said that there will be a famine in Ireland) some suggestions came to my mind.

How he will face famine will be a challenge in which the link between the new King (George) and the Irish will be tested, where it will be possible to understand if loyalty or xenophobia will win with the fierce British antipapism. The King will have to face a difficult situation having to decide how to relate to his Catholic subjects for two reasons. One is antipapism, the other is the fact that your nation will find itself interacting especially with Pope Pius IX .
We haven't really explored Ireland much recently, though we did "visit" in the last reign and that's because I wanted to make Part Four less domestic and more international in it's outlook. So these are definitely themes we'll be exploring. That said, George hasn't really taken much of an interest in Ireland thus far and that was a deliberate choice. He's far more concerned with Hanover and as that "relationship" is tested in the lead up to 1848, we may well see the King have to make a decision as to where his interests really lie. The question is, will those coincidence with the interests of his government?
Relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See at this time were almost non-existent, by direct means, but since Britain and Prussia were the nation with a good Catholic minority not to continue having a diplomatic relationship was impossible, especially after the problems in Ireland.
I've quoted this part of your post but really this response is to cover the wider theme of how Catholics were viewed/treated in the UK at this time and how that might differ here. As I mentioned in my last, George V isn't as interested in theology or even in the Church of England as his OTL counterpart was. We know that Victoria had anti-Catholic views, we know that she sought out Chaplains etc who were opposed to the Oxford Movement and we know that in later years, she took a very firm stance on insisting that "her" church adopt it's own identity to protect it from what she saw as growing indifference. She stood opposed to liberal reforms of the church - though she never vetoed legislation which reformed it - and she worshipped very much as one might expect a Victorian Anglican to worship.

George V is (deliberately) different. He isn't overly religious, though he would absolutely see himself as a Christian. He's more liberal in his theology and his approach to formal/organised worship which sets up a very interesting dynamic. Especially if the Whigs remain in power and want to explore some of themes you've raised. With a monarch who takes a very hands-off approach to his role in the Church, it does open the door to a different outcome - though it would never be that simple of course, for reasons you describe. So what I would say is, as we begin to bring Ireland into focus, these are things we can look at in a little more detail and I'm grateful for your suggestions which I'll definitely be taking into account when we get there.
P.S. I have some curiosity, after George bought Balmoral Castle in Scotland he will buy one in Ireland to appease people?
No. That I can rule out. If George wanted to visit/stay in Ireland for a time, he would make use of Dublin Castle.
We know of Queen Agnes' love of medicine, will it be the equivalent of Florence Nightingale in royal sauce?
Very possibly, though obviously she can only do so much - she isn't really a nurse and the demands on her time would be pretty varied. So she will make her mark where nursing is concerned but she wouldn't be a Nightingale #2.
I know that the royal princess has a serious problem, she is deaf-mute, since the Pope in 1850 made a unique law in Europe where it establishes the care and training of all disabled people, including deaf-mutes, this law has allowed the birth of very famous specialists. Will we see any at court?
At the moment, the Princess Royal is under the care of the specialist Heidecke School so she's really incredibly lucky as most deaf children at this time would not have had that advantage. As time goes on, she'll naturally spend more time in England and I think realistically she would have a permanent tutor outside of her school who would accompany her to court etc - and he would probably have experience of the establishments you describe in Europe.
What is happening in South Africa?
I'm planning a kind of Empire-wide look into Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa in Part 4. :happyblush
Thanks in advance.
And forgive me for the too long comment written with my bad English.
Not at all! Thank you for your great feedback and interesting questions, I hope I've given you the responses you hoped for!
 
Just dropping in to say that over the last few weeks i've been reading my way through this timeline, and I have absolutely loved it, though I'm now in that awful position of having to wait for updates rather than binging at one's leisure.

I think it's really a incredible bit of work how you've managed to diversify these characters @Opo in a period that personalities are often lost behind formality, manners and uniforms. The way you've made these people likable, or irritating, or charming, offensive, vulgar, etc., in such diversity while keeping them all compelling and complex is really wonderful, and can't praise you enough.

It's been an absolute treat getting to know this alternative extended family, their many failings, and contentious relationships. As well as the promise of how different Britain and her Empire could have been. An Empire that isn't dominated by the dower, petty, neurotic, and at sometimes horny Victoria, along with it's politicians finding different posts, it's very fun and I look forward to how it progresses. I obviously hope the worst imperial tendencies in Ireland and India in particular can be at least curtailed, but Imperialism is inevitable in it's horrors I suppose, regardless of constitutional monarch.

One last thing I have to say, is that you have got fantastic taste. Both Lissom and Hanover House are absolutely exquisite. While our Regent's Park has it's charms, I have often found it too formal and, well, Victorian. I should have reservations about it turning into a royal gated community, but I imagine the grounds will be opened out in the 20th century anyway. I am very much looking forward to the plans for Balmoral.
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer me I am very honored, and I hope it will heal soon. I’m glad to have worked out good arguments, at the time I was not very convinced even now I feel the same thing, another thing that I love is the fact that you’re contenting on foreign policy with George especially on Hanover ( in fact I am curious to see the viceroy struggling with the other German princes ) and that your characters are so real and alive.
thanks again for answering I am very happy
 
Are we going to hear about the doomed Franklin Expedition where two ships went missing while looking for the Northwest Passage?
Also, I was wondering if we would hear about the steamship Great Britain which made a transatlantic crossing in 1845.
 
Just dropping in to say that over the last few weeks i've been reading my way through this timeline, and I have absolutely loved it, though I'm now in that awful position of having to wait for updates rather than binging at one's leisure.

I think it's really a incredible bit of work how you've managed to diversify these characters @Opo in a period that personalities are often lost behind formality, manners and uniforms. The way you've made these people likable, or irritating, or charming, offensive, vulgar, etc., in such diversity while keeping them all compelling and complex is really wonderful, and can't praise you enough.

It's been an absolute treat getting to know this alternative extended family, their many failings, and contentious relationships. As well as the promise of how different Britain and her Empire could have been. An Empire that isn't dominated by the dower, petty, neurotic, and at sometimes horny Victoria, along with it's politicians finding different posts, it's very fun and I look forward to how it progresses. I obviously hope the worst imperial tendencies in Ireland and India in particular can be at least curtailed, but Imperialism is inevitable in it's horrors I suppose, regardless of constitutional monarch.

One last thing I have to say, is that you have got fantastic taste. Both Lissom and Hanover House are absolutely exquisite. While our Regent's Park has it's charms, I have often found it too formal and, well, Victorian. I should have reservations about it turning into a royal gated community, but I imagine the grounds will be opened out in the 20th century anyway. I am very much looking forward to the plans for Balmoral.
I honestly can't say how genuinely touched I was to read your very kind and generous feedback! I'm always amazed when people discover TTL some 18 months in and work their way through it until they're up to date and I'm so grateful for your support of this project. Thank you so, so much!

On Regent's Park, that's a perfect assessment! I don't really think this is a spoiler but certainly Home Farm would probably be turned over to grass and opened to the public at some point, giving two points of entry to Lisson Park - because of the "terraces", it would (in the very distant future) be possible for the public not only to enjoy the gardens but to visit the main house on a limited schedule - a bit like Sandringham perhaps? I'm so glad you enjoyed the OTL George IV's vision brought to life!
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer me I am very honored, and I hope it will heal soon. I’m glad to have worked out good arguments, at the time I was not very convinced even now I feel the same thing, another thing that I love is the fact that you’re contenting on foreign policy with George especially on Hanover ( in fact I am curious to see the viceroy struggling with the other German princes ) and that your characters are so real and alive.
thanks again for answering I am very happy
I think that's a great way of looking at the Earl of Armagh's role! A Viceroy Amongst Princes - thankyou in advance for giving me a great chapter title ;)
Are we going to hear about the doomed Franklin Expedition where two ships went missing while looking for the Northwest Passage?
Also, I was wondering if we would hear about the steamship Great Britain which made a transatlantic crossing in 1845.
As much as possible I try to include OTL events from the period for balance and plausibility - the Great Britain will certainly get a mention!

I'm now pretty much 90% over my germs of the last week so provisionally the first chapter of Part Four will go out tomorrow or Friday. I did promise an Appendix on what life had been like thus far for Victoria and Lottie but in my workings out, I've decided that it would be far more fun and organic to do this as an actual chapter - I've been dropping hints that George may visit Russia and it's entirely possible he would stop off to stay with Victoria en route. I hope this is the sort of thing people want to see in relation to our girls and thanks again for your patience, support and very kind words!
 
I'm now pretty much 90% over my germs of the last week so provisionally the first chapter of Part Four will go out tomorrow or Friday. I did promise an Appendix on what life had been like thus far for Victoria and Lottie but in my workings out, I've decided that it would be far more fun and organic to do this as an actual chapter - I've been dropping hints that George may visit Russia and it's entirely possible he would stop off to stay with Victoria en route. I hope this is the sort of thing people want to see in relation to our girls and thanks again for your patience, support and very kind words!
Hurray! Sounds good to me!!
 
I think a good way to introduce America in this chapter is if George met Frederick Douglass who was in England in 1845. I don’t know if this meeting could realistically happen but I think it’s a good idea.
 
GV: Part Four, Chapter One: Setting Sail
King George V

Part Four, Chapter One: Setting Sail

Whilst the vast majority of newly weds might be able to enjoy a few days of recuperation from the festivities of their big day, this privilege was not extended to King George V and Queen Agnes after their marriage on the 11th of July 1845. They were to have a honeymoon of course but it could not take place until the last of their guests had left London – and some deliberately lingered a little longer to take full advantage of the kind of royal hospitality they might not be able to indulge in on a regular basis at home. For the King, this was actually quite welcome in the case of two guests in particular; his sister Maria Georgievna and her husband the Tsarevich of Russia. It must be said that until now, George V had few opportunities to build a friendship with Alexander and he slightly resented the man who had won his sister’s heart and taken her far away from her homeland. Political expediency had seen the Tsarevna avoid visits to England for almost five years but the warm reception she was shown by the crowds who came to see the King married cheered her greatly. Delighted that she was to stay in England a little longer, George V decided to host an intimate family reunion at Marlborough House (diplomatically allowing those not so closely connected to remain at Buckingham Palace without an obvious snub) which included the Tsarevich and Tsarevna, the Prince and Princess of Orange, Princess Mary, the Cambridges and their two daughters, the Earl of Armagh and the Dowager Duchesses of Clarence and Sussex. [1]

Noticeable by their absence however were the Queen’s family. Though he dearly wished to remain in London for a little longer, the Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau demanded they return home – possibly because she had grown tired of being outranked at the British court and wanted the reassurance of her own superiority in her own palace. This parting was particularly difficult for Agnes who suddenly realised that opportunities to see her father and her siblings may be few and far between. When the Duke left Buckingham Palace, he promised Agnes that he would write to her at every opportunity and in his first letter, we see how deeply Leopold IV felt the “loss” of his eldest daughter; “For you have been my treasure all these years and whilst your happiness brings me much joy, I cannot deceive you my dearest daughter and must confess that our parting brought me such anguish that I dare not recall it here”. As for the Duchess, her first letter to her daughter after Agnes was married and became Queen consort advised her daughter “not to tarry with the reorganisation of the Household for under Mary Gloucester the Palace has become so very dirty and old fashioned and the servants utterly hopeless”.

In fact, the Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau couldn’t have been more mistaken. Charlie Phipps had prepared the reconstitution of the Queen’s Household so adeptly that those now taking up their new roles at court simply slotted into their positions without fuss or disruption. In the Queen’s Private Apartments, Charles Arbuthnot (known to the Queen as Butty) was given his own office adjoining the Queen’s study from which he established the nerve centre of the new household which would faithfully serve Agnes for the next 40 years. Each morning at breakfast, the Queen was presented with a light blue leather bound ledger embossed with her new coat of arms in which Butty carefully listed each engagement, the names and brief biographies of those the Queen would be meeting and a few recommended talking points. Agnes made her own notes in this ledger with questions which Butty took to his office and studied as the Queen was dressed by her ladies in her bedroom, returning to her with the answers promptly before she set off to wherever she may be going.

Elizabeth Knollys (Bessie) was not a lady of the bedchamber and was instead referred to as “the Queen’s Companion” and it was Bessie who was often called upon to explain the history of a charity or to pass on important social titbits, allowing the Queen to meet the grand ladies who often headed charities at this time without being wrong footed. The ladies of the bedchamber were rotated with two accompanying Agnes on every engagement, though this quickly saw the Mistress of the Robes, Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton (known as May), as a staple with a more junior lady in waiting bringing up the rear. The King was delighted to see just how smoothly the Queen’s Household had fallen into place and it was agreed that Their Majesties should undertake a week of public engagements to test this new infrastructure in the week proceeding their departure for their honeymoon in Scotland. If Agnes had hoped for a gentle introduction to her new role, she was to be disappointed yet Agnes expressed no sense of anxiety or concern, rather she was eager to discover exactly what her new life had in store for her.

In January 1845, the King had been contacted by the directors of the Great Western Steamship Company to ask if His Majesty would consider attending a ceremony to mark the maiden voyage of the firm’s newest acquisition, the SS Great Britain. The Great Britain was to be the largest passenger steamship in the world, designed by the King of Engineering himself, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. She could carry as many as 360 passengers on her crossings from Bristol to New York City and at the time, she was the most luxurious and comfortable (not to mention most efficient) vessel in service. Launched in 1843, the ship had suffered a string of setbacks and had spent a year trapped in Bristol harbour because the harbour was nowhere near as modern as the ship itself and thus, when the Captain tried to sail her out of Bristol harbour, the SS Great Britain got stuck. But the Great Britain was more than a ship. She was a hallmark of progress and of Britain’s place as a leader of technology, innovation and design. In short, she was a flagship for British ingenuity. Keen to protect and preserve this image, the GWSC wanted to stage a kind of re-launch in 1845 to restore public interest - and their company's success which was now in danger of being overshadowed by the impeccable record of the rival Cunard Line. George V had been delighted to accept the invitation to this event in January and when his engagement was made public in February, he wrote to the GWSC asking if the honour of "sponsoring" the Great Britain might instead be given to Queen Agnes. So it was that on July the 19th 1845, the King and Queen were to travel to Bristol aboard the King’s private railway carriage from London for a whistlestop visit to the city where huge crowds were forming to watch the Great Britain set out on her maiden voyage to New York. [2]

640px-SS_Great_Britain_by_Talbot.jpg

The Great Britain being fitted out in 1844. This photograph is believed to be the very first ever taken of a ship.

This formed the centre point of “Introduction Week” and would come amidst several high-profile engagements which would serve to be a baptism of fire for Queen Agnes. On the 17th of July, the King and Queen were invited to a grand luncheon at the Guildhall to celebrate their marriage given by the Lord Mayor of London on behalf of the City of London Corporation. The Corporation can trace its roots back to the 11th century and despite a brief suspension of its privileges by King Charles II in 1683, these were restored after the Glorious Revolution in 1690. The Lord Mayor and the Council of Aldermen naturally wished to express their good wishes for the royal couple and so too did the Livery Companies, representing some of London’s most ancient trade guilds. So as well as a luncheon at the Guildhall on the 17th, a gala dinner was given for Their Majesties at the Fishmonger’s Hall on the 18th. But there was a slight problem. In the usual way of things, any invitations extended to the King or Queen would be put through their Private Secretary. Phipps or Arbuthnot would accept or decline as directed and then the engagement was entered into the book for publication in the Court Circular. But Agnes was not yet familiar with this and instead, she presented Butty with the news on the morning of the 17th of July that on the 18th she was to go to Pinner with May Grafton and Lady Holland (Gussie). Butty explained that the Queen had already been scheduled to meet with representatives from several charities seeking her patronage that afternoon (including the Disabled Missionaries Widows and Orphans Fund of the London City Mission, the Foreign Aid Society and the Colonial Bishoprics' Fund) but the Queen would not hear of changing her plans. [3]

Shortly after her visit to the Asylum for Fatherless Children in Richmond in January 1845, Queen Agnes received a letter from Mrs Irene Lowe of the Commercial Traveller’s School for Orphans and Necessitous Children in Pinner. Mrs Lowe invited the Queen to visit the school where the children had been working especially hard to produce gifts for Her Majesty to commemorate her wedding day and so touched was the Queen by this, that she immediately wrote back to Mrs Lowe accepting her invitation to tea. Agnes could not bear the thought of disappointing the children and insisted that her meetings at Buckingham Palace would simply have to be kept to no more than twenty minutes to allow her to get to Pinner and back before she had to dress for the dinner at the Fishmonger’s Hall. Arbuthnot was not pleased but accepted there would naturally be teething troubles like this and he did his best to fit everything into the Queen’s schedule.

Naturally Her Majesty’s visit to Pinner was not only well-received by Mrs Lowe and the board of the Commercial Traveller’s School but by the press. People were charmed by the Queen’s interest in poor children which would become one of her three most important “causes” throughout her tenure as Queen consort. But when the Queen returned to Buckingham Palace late on the 18th, the King was not best pleased to be kept waiting as her ladies rushed to help her change for the Liverymen’s dinner and he was even less impressed when her dithering at Pinner meant they arrived at the Fishmonger’s Hall half an hour late. Still, he agreed with Butty that these things were to be expected and that in time, these little wrinkles would soon be smoothed out. May Grafton was not so easily reassured. She felt the Queen was taking on far too much too soon and in a letter to Dr Alison, she noted that “Her Majesty appears pale and she is not sleeping well, a sure sign that she should not be so eager in her exertions”. The Queen herself had other ideas. During her “training” with Princess Mary, she had been advised to choose one or two of the aforementioned “causes” she wished to make her own after her marriage. This was not so much a formal declaration of interest but it was seen as quite proper for all ladies of means to select a charitable cause or two that resonated with them and which could benefit from their patronage. For Queen Agnes however, this discussion germinated the seed of an idea that would prove to cement her place in the affection’s of the British people for decades to come – even if the workload it brought did little to ease the Duchess of Grafton’s anxieties.

In 1838, the late Queen Louise had formed the Royal Committee for the Hungarian Emergency to raise funds for people of Pest who had experienced a terrible flood. This generosity was so warmly received that the King had no hesitation in giving Agnes permission to form her own Royal Committee for a cause she cared about after their marriage. Though she would always champion the plight of poor children, there were already charities in place which assisted them – though her fundraising efforts over the years undoubtedly helped many not only to survive but to thrive. It must be remembered that in 1870, Queen Agnes personally gave a donation of £5,000 to assist with the foundation and operations of a new boy’s orphanage at 18 Stepney Causeway – the founder of this orphanage was none other than Dr Thomas John Barnardo and Queen Agnes would personally visit his many homes for “waif children” as much as five times a year from 1870 until her death. However, when Agnes began to think about the charities she might wish to work with, one cause in particular took her interest more than any other – nursing. Like many women of her class, she had been given a moderate training in the basics of nursing as it was also considered quite proper for young unmarried girls to have a rudimentary knowledge of how to care for an infirm aunt or a sick child. But for Agnes, nursing meant something far more than dispensing Cod Liver Oil or knowing how to apply a crepe bandage. For Agnes, nursing was the profession she admired most and indeed, in her later years she admitted “I should have liked to have been a matron far more than a patron”.

Nursing in Britain in the 1840s had it’s roots in alms-houses (hence the use of ‘Sister’ for nurses) but hospitals themselves were totally disparate establishments dependent on donations and on their location, which determined their size and efficiency. Most “nurses” were middle class spinsters who saw their work in voluntary hospitals as their Christian duty but they received almost no formal training and they could not expect any real renumeration for their efforts – the average rate of pay was 9s 6d a week and only those in London could expect board and lodging to be provided. Nurses were taken from uneducated backgrounds and so long as a woman could cook and clean, the medical side of her profession was considered secondary for most hospitals were more in the business of keeping patients comfortable than they were curing diseases. However, this was changing and many were making concerted efforts to improve the standard of nursing in the capital and beyond. To this end, Agnes invited representatives of four charities to Buckingham Palace on the 18th of July 1845 to gain a greater insight into their work and how she might help.

The first of these was St Luke’s Hospital and Convalescent Establishment which had facilities at Old Street, Nether Court, Ramsgate and Gerrard’s Cross. The hospital (established as a charity) sought to treat and cure mental diseases free of charge at the point of access. Many had come to rely on St Luke’s but it had been denied any state grant by successive governments and existed by seeking donations from wealthy patrons. The second organisation was the Royal Hospital Greenwich which provided assistance to aged and maimed seamen (in addition to providing financial support for naval widows and educational programmes for their children) and came under the purview of the Admiralty. The third was the Friendly Female Society (est in 1802) which had Almshouses at Camberwell and Brixton and provided “poor relief and nursing care to single women and inform widows of good character who have seen better days and have less than 8s a week and who reside within 7 miles of St Paul’s”. But the final deputation was to come from an organisation which really fascinated Agnes most; the Nursing Sister’s Institution based in Devonshire Square, Bishopsgate. Founded in 1840, this charity was established to provide “experienced, conscientious and Christian nurses for the sick” and to “raise the standards of the occupation of nursing”. Four sisters from the Institute were invited to the Palace but their delegation was to be headed by their founder: Mrs Elizabeth Fry.

Elizabeth-Fry-engraving-1920.jpg

Elizabeth Fry.

Elizabeth Fry, born in 1780, was best known as the “Angel of Prisons” and was instrumental in seeing the introduction of Gaols Act in 1823 which mandated that prisons not only be sex-segregated but that female prisoners should be protected from sexual exploitation by the provision of female warders. Her efforts for prison reform as well as other social causes brought her nationwide fame and this helped her to raise enormous sums of money to establish projects like the Nursing Sister’s Institute. The King himself had donated to this project in 1840 and other royal benefactors included the King of Prussia and the Tsar of Russia. Limited royal patronage had been given to Fry by the Dowager Duchess of Clarence too, the Nursing Sister’s Institute almost exclusively providing private nurses to the wealthy at this time (and to the Duchess personally) but it wasn’t until 1845 that the Royal Family forged it’s strongest association yet with Mrs Fry’s endeavours and that was solely the achievement of Queen Agnes. When she was introduced to Mrs Fry on the 18th of July 1845, she told the elderly campaigner “I have read of your efforts and I hope you shall allow me to help in any way I can”. Fry replied, “There is always work for willing hands Your Majesty”. Agnes was certainly willing, so much so that her enthusiasm for finding a way she could help Mrs Fry became an obsession that dominated everything.

From her audience with the four nursing charities she selected, Agnes embarked on an extensive study of the state of nursing in the United Kingdom and highlighted what she thought each organisation could offer to a new approach whilst also pointing out where she thought their work was limited in it’s outreach and effect. This took some time of course but given her enthusiasm, it is perhaps understandable that when she awoke to head to Bristol for the launch of the SS Great Britain, she had slept very little and had instead spent half the night documenting her talks with Mrs Fry and the other delegates. Worthy of note here is a conversation the Queen had with her husband after Mrs Fry’s visit. In 1838, Queen Louise had established an order of chivalry to recognise the efforts made by women in Britain and beyond for their charitable causes. However, there had been very few appointments to this order which was considered to be dormant since the death of Queen Louise in 1842. Now, the Queen asked the King if he would have any objection to an appointment being made to it – specifically for Mrs Elizabeth Fry. George promised to think on the matter. Finally he concluded that he did not feel the Order of Queen Louise should be revived but instead, he proposed that a new order be constituted – the Order of Queen Agnes – following the precedent of the Royal Family Orders which had begun in the reign of his father, King George IV. The Order of Queen Agnes followed the same constitution as that which had been introduced for the Order of Queen Louise. The insignia of the old order featured a profile of the late Queen on a gold medallion affixed to a badge made of pink and white ribbon; the new order featured a portrait of Queen Agnes with a pale yellow and white ribbon, the yellow taken from the colour of the insignia of the Royal Family Order of King George V. A second class was introduced with a silver medal rather than gold but the motto “With Gratitude” remained the same for both. Agnes was appointed Lady Chancellor of the Order (the King serving as Sovereign) and it was agreed that the annual thanksgiving service held on the 31st of May (Queen Louise’s birthday) should be moved to the 24th of June (Queen Agnes’ birthday). The order was formally established on the 31st of July 1845 and its first recipient was Mrs Elizabeth Fry in the degree of 1st Class.

As the Duchess of Grafton had predicted, Queen Agnes’ exertions were indeed taking their toll. May noted in her journal on the day of the launch of the SS Great Britain that rousing the Queen at 5.30am on the 19th July proved “an impossible task and Her Majesty did not rise from her bed until at least a quarter past six” [4]. So engrossed was she in her notes from the previous day that Agnes paid no attention to her breakfast and had to be “practically pinned to the dressing table so that we might fashion her hair” all the while “endlessly chattering in a most unbecoming and erratic fashion”. When the Duchess complained of this to Princess Mary, she was surprised to hear the grand old dowager actually approved; “An abundance of energy is quickly calmed by good works”, she said, “And it does sound as if my niece has adopted intentions for the good”. The King was thrilled too as he saw his young wife assume her new responsibilities with gusto but this soon became a little testing. George V adored railways and he was always delighted when he had an opportunity to use his own private carriage, as he did that day when the royal couple made their progress to Bristol. As he tried to explain the intricacies of the new network, how the engine worked and what innovations had been included in the carriage itself, all Agnes could talk of was Mrs Fry and her nurses. Phipps referred to this in his diary as “the battle of great interests” which ultimately was declared a truce when their train pulled into the station and they disembarked to board a horse-drawn carriage which would take them the rest of the way to Bristol.

The city itself was teeming with people in buoyant mood. A processional route had been carved out through the streets all decorated with flags, flowers, bunting and ribbons. Schoolchildren were lined up to present posies and there was a guard of honour provided by the local police, soldiers and dragoons. Amidst crashing military marches, the sun broke through the crowds and the atmosphere gave itself over to that of a public holiday with a huge roar of approval as the King and Queen’s carriage reached the dais at the dockside where the almighty SS Great Britain lay waiting for her "re-launch", a magnificent ship dwarfing those who gazed up in wonder at this fine example of British engineering and craftsmanship. The King gave a brief address with the Queen at his side, paying tribute to Mr Brunel and the Great Western Steamship Company which had made the vessel a reality. As she had already been named, it was decided that the Queen should make a brief statement announcing her new role as the ship's "sponsor". Having never performed such a task, the Queen was a little nervous. The Director of the GWSC handed her a piece of paper but she dropped it and as he scrabbled for it on the ground, Agnes simply said loudly, “I am very happy to see this ship and I shall follow it's many voyages with interest and affection”. Then, as the director righted himself, she pulled a lever which sent a bottle of champagne smashing against the bow (not entirely the done thing but which nobody much minded) to the wild applause and delighted cheers of the crowds. The Bristol Mirror reported that “our young and beautiful Queen was most enthusiastically received by the people who all hoped for a moment in her company. Her Majesty happily swung a bottle of champagne at the bow of the great ship which to the delight of all present was thereupon smashed about, a sure sign of good fortune for this most miraculous feat of British engineering”.

At the luncheon at City Hall that followed, the Queen was noted by those present (though not in the press) to be a little withdrawn. Within an hour or so, the couple were whizzing back to London and at Buckingham Palace, Agnes had to be bathed and dressed for a dinner being held for Anglican Bishops before she could be put to bed. The following morning, she again woke late but thankfully her only obligation that day was a small family dinner in the evening which would allow Princess Mary, the Cambridges et al to wish the King and Queen well before they departed for their honeymoon the following morning. Agnes spent the entire day furiously engaged in her work, asking for her luncheon to be served on a tray rather than her private dining room which the Duchess of Grafton refused to do and insisted that Her Majesty cease work and actually eat something substantial. May won where luncheon was concerned but Agnes was victorious when it came to tea time and the Queen worked on. At 7pm, half an hour before the King and Queen were due to receive their guests, George V left his rooms fully attired and availed himself of a brief moment to smoke a cigarette and walk up and down the corridor to help break in his new pair of evening shoes. But by 7.15pm, there was still no sign of the Queen. By 7.30pm, the King was fast becoming impatient and so he sent Phipps to hurry Agnes along a little. When Phipps reached the Queen’s Apartments, he found a distraught Duchess of Grafton. Plead as she might, the Queen would not allow herself to be bathed and dressed. She wanted to continue her work. Phipps relayed this to the King who made his way to the Queen’s bedroom. What he saw shocked him. Agnes was clearly unwell, pale and drawn and very overwrought.

“Agnes darling, you are late again”, he said somewhat sternly, “Don’t you think you ought to leave all that now and let May and Daisy dress you for dinner?”

“Oh Georgie”, Agnes said softly, her voice breaking with emotion, “I shall never get it all right, never!”

The King looked down at the reams of paper covered in scribble. Suddenly he was not quite so petulant.

“And I don’t know half of the words!”, she cried, “It is slowing me down so much and this beastly dictionary is so hard to understand and I…I just wanted to make you proud of me”

Tears rolled down the Queen’s cheeks. George's frown was replaced by a kind smile as he knelt down beside his wife.

“Agnes…I am very proud of you…very, very proud”, he began, “But Rome was not built in a day my darling. I know how important these things are to you but…”

“No you can’t know, you can’t possibly know!”, Agnes wailed.

“Then you tell me”, the King said encouragingly.

“It’s just that…”, Agnes sniffed, pausing to look into the King’s eyes, perhaps a little nervous at what his reaction might be to her words, “Aunt Mary told me how much everybody loved Louise because she did so many good things for people…and I…well…I….”

“You are worried that you won’t meet her example?”, George said soberly, nodding slowly, “I see…”

“I’m sorry”, Agnes sighed, “I’ve made a dreadful mess of things. And now I’ve upset you”

George leaned forward gently and kissed Agnes on the cheek.

“You’ve done no such thing”, he whispered, “It is true that Sunny did many good things. And it is also true that people loved her for it. But you shall do equally good things, great things, I am sure of it. And the people will love you too. Just as much as I already do”

Agnes smiled, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

“And now I think you had better wipe your tears, get dressed and come and have supper with your family. Because they love you and they have come to see you. And if we wait any longer, Aunt Mary may start buttering the furniture…”

Agnes laughed. “Oh Georgie!”, she cried happily, throwing her arms around the King, “Have I been a silly little Nessa?”

“Maybe. But it doesn't matter”, the King grinned, “Now hurry along, I’m ravenous myself”.

Four days later and the King and Queen were safely ensconced together at Birkhall, their honeymoon providing Agnes with the perfect setting to take a breath and slow down a little. Though the King had acquired the larger house at Balmoral, it was nowhere near ready for the couple to stay in and so whilst they made use of the estate, it was Birkhall where the pair spent their first holiday together in Scotland…and perusing a calendar (though it is perhaps indecorous to point out such things) where it is almost certain their first child was conceived. Of course, the King already had three children and though the royal honeymoon was a time for George and Agnes to spend together, Agnes insisted that the Princess Royal (allowed to remain in England a little longer after her father’s wedding), Princess Victoria and the Prince of Wales accompany them so that she might have time with her new step-children away from the hustle and bustle of the court.

The Princess Royal was now seven years old and her time at the Heidecke School had been extremely advantageous to her development. As she grew older, it also became clear as to just how severe her deafness was. It is estimated that she had at least 30% in her left ear even though her right had none at all and this perhaps meant that unlike some of her contemporaries at the school in Leipzig, she not only found it far easier to form words – but also to speak them. The Heidecke school was particularly proud of the fact that many of it’s pupils could speak well and without trace of their deafness but this was not guaranteed for all. Thankfully, in Missy’s case, this proved (mostly) to be true and though she took far longer than her siblings to begin talking, by the age of 7 she was fully able to communicate, to comprehend and to express herself with only a few traces of her disability in her speech patterns. That said, the sound of her voice would always be a little nasal which the Heidecke method later advanced to correct [5]. But she was still profoundly deaf and all her life she would depend on lip-reading which everybody in her family both in England and later Darmstadt had to accommodate.

Right from the very start, the Princess Royal formed a close bond with her stepmother. Perhaps because she was the eldest or perhaps because she had spent so long abroad in her childhood, she fully accepted that Agnes was now a part of her family. One sensitive issue was what the children should call Agnes but this was resolved immediately by Missy who called Agnes “Mama” from the very beginning. George accepted this for if his children were comfortable in addressing his second wife as “Mama”, he did not wish to forbid it. That said, he perhaps saw it as a term of affection similar to that which he used for his mother-in-law and he did ensure that Louise’s portraits were always on prominent display in the children’s rooms. When the King had time to read to his children at bedtime, it was never from story books but rather, he would relay his own memories of their mother and in this way, Queen Louise’s memory was honoured and kept alive. Willy followed Missy’s example, after all, Agnes was the only mother figure he had ever really known. Over the years, he came to adore Agnes and their relationship developed into a close one. But there was one exception: Princess Victoria.

Sammy-S-19th-century-portrait-head-and-shoulders-five-year-old-g-87e53cae-bdfc-4373-b16f-a8a7e54d5e7.png

Princess Victoria, aged 5, by Winterhalter.

Princess Victoria was just two years old when her mother died and only five years old when her father remarried. As a child, she was as close to Agnes as her siblings and even when her half-brothers and sisters arrived on the scene, she never resented them or felt that she was in any way second place in either her father’s, or her stepmother’s, affections. But in later years, Victoria’s attitude toward Agnes changed until, by the time her father died, she only tolerated being in the Queen’s company when her presence was unavoidable. She did not write to her stepmother as her siblings did, neither did she holiday with her and by the time Toria reached her 50s, she had developed an outright dislike of her stepmother for reasons which may become clear as we progress further. This saddened Agnes who could never understand why the close relationship she had built with Toria broke down as the years went by but in 1845, nobody could deny that though her introduction to the British Royal Family had not been without it’s teething problems, those closest to the King and Queen (and even those who saw them from afar) could delight in a new era in which the United Kingdom once again had a happy (and even a model) Royal Family at the helm.

Notes

[1] For those anxious for the promised Lottie and Drina update, fear not! They’ve gone back home but George will be going to them so we can explore what’s been going on with the Tsarevna and the Princess of Orange in a bit more detail on their home turf.

[2] With thanks to @nathanael1234 for his suggestion that we might include the Great Britain in some way.

[3] A key resource for this chapter has been Herbert Fry’s Guide to the Royal Charities which you can find here: https://www.victorianlondon.org/charities/charities.htm

[4] A minor point here but I’ve had to shift the dates slightly to accommodate the maiden voyage and the King’s honeymoon – so the maiden voyage here uses the same date as the launch in 1843 to avoid a clash!

[5] In finding a plausible outcome for Missy's time at the Heidecke School, I've researched accounts of their success stories, how the method changed and how the most severe cases benefitted from it. In Missy's case, I feel this is a fair resolution which doesn't magic away her deafness and retains the challenges that poses but it doesn't doom her to the sad fate of many deaf people in this period who really had no hope of any real, practical help or progress with their disability. She will find life difficult but she can still have the life the King would wish for her and though she will struggle at times, the door to things like marriage and children won't be closed to her - neither will her involving herself fully in the hustle and bustle of court and family life as she grows older.

So here we begin Part Four!

Once again, a huge thankyou to all who have kept with Crown Imperial for such a long time - nearly 18 months now!

I apologise for the delay in returning to TTL but I've been laid low with this blasted chest infection which took far longer to shake than was comfortable. We're now back into the swing of things and I hope to be able to accommodate as many of the themes and things you'd like to see as we go forward. This was quite a domestic chapter but I felt it important to address how Agnes was settling in - and also many of you had asked for some news on how the children were doing. In our next few chapters, we'll be moving away from the British court and looking much further afield...

As ever, many thanks for reading!
 
It's great to see that Agnes is doing all she can to make her georgie and her adoptive country proud but she should listen to her love, rome wasnt built in a day, we wouslnt want her to overwork herself to death.

Adn it warms my hearth that Agnes is so close with her step-children although it saddens me deeply that her relationship with little vicky broke down.
 
It's great to see that Agnes is doing all she can to make her georgie and her adoptive country proud but she should listen to her love, rome wasnt built in a day, we wouslnt want her to overwork herself to death.

Adn it warms my hearth that Agnes is so close with her step-children although it saddens me deeply that her relationship with little vicky broke down.
Thank you so much!

I've written Agnes at this stage to be very aware of her situation but a little unsure of how she should start her new life. Princess Mary's intentions were good, she's tried to impress upon the new Queen what a hard act she has to follow but I think Agnes has taken this very much to heart and she'll need to learn that she can't do everything she has in mind in one afternoon.
Oh dear, it seems that both Victorias will be challenges ttl... At least it's good to know that we have another prince or princess on the way
We've a fair few babies yet to come! And a very astute comment on the Victorias - apart from possibly the OTL Princess Royal (Empress Frederick), "Victorias" were often problematic for the British Royal Family so I decided to keep the tradition. ;)
With men’s facial hair, how hard will it be for Missy to lip read?
That's actually a very good point I hadn't considered! Hold that thought, I'll see what I can find.
Great chapter
I loved how Agnes is throwing herself into her role but hopefully she doesn’t exhaust herself.
Thankyou and again, thank you for your suggestion because it was a great vehicle (no pun intended) for the opening of Part Four!
 
I'm finding it somewhat unsurprising that Victoria while warm at first, comes to resent her stepmother later. While sad, it makes sense in an environment such as a court, where the King's attention and wealth are flaunted
 
I'm finding it somewhat unsurprising that Victoria while warm at first, comes to resent her stepmother later. While sad, it makes sense in an environment such as a court, where the King's attention and wealth are flaunted
That's a great assessment and without giving too much away, in the future we have the arrival of more children, whom they might marry, where they might live, what their allowances might be etc etc and that's bound to see some level of resentment or disagreement from at least one corner - which in this case is Toria.
 
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those who very, very kindly nominated this TL for a Turtledove Award. I'm really very touched that it would even be considered among so many brilliant TLs that have appeared here in the last year and it really does give me the encouragement to keep our story going.

Our next update will go up tomorrow, I'm just waiting to hear back from a friend who is very kindly fact-checking a few things for me. Once again, many many thanks!
 
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those who very, very kindly nominated this TL for a Turtledove Award. I'm really very touched that it would even be considered among so many brilliant TLs that have appeared here in the last year and it really does give me the encouragement to keep our story going.

Our next update will go up tomorrow, I'm just waiting to hear back from a friend who is very kindly fact-checking a few things for me. Once again, many many thanks!
Of course it deserves the nom! 😄 The level of detail, the quality of the characters and the speed with which you manage to put out the chapters more than makes it worthy of a turtledove!
 
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those who very, very kindly nominated this TL for a Turtledove Award. I'm really very touched that it would even be considered among so many brilliant TLs that have appeared here in the last year and it really does give me the encouragement to keep our story going.

Our next update will go up tomorrow, I'm just waiting to hear back from a friend who is very kindly fact-checking a few things for me. Once again, many many thanks!
I’m glad I got the chance to second the nomination for this timeline. This is my favorite timeline on this site and I think it deserves all the praise it has been getting.
 
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