Can Rule Conquer All? -Part Six
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kew Palace, early July, 1836-[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It’s all set, Your Majesty!” The Prime Minister Lord Melbourne exclaimed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Good, the sooner this issue is resolved the better!” exclaimed Alexander as he searched for the Royal Seal to make the final impression in the wax securing the letter but kicked it beneath the writing desk, then kicked the chair hard enough to break it. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “May I ask what is bothering, Your Majesty?” Lord Melbourne gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know I’m doing what needs to be done but I can’t help but wish there was a way for us to be reconciled,” Alexander sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “If I may say so, Your Majesty, I know many in Society believe my greatest regret is how my late wife allowed Lord Byron to make a fool of both of us but even that pales in comparison to what befell our son Augustus,” Lord Melbourne sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Forgive me, Lord Melbourne, but I didn’t know that you ever had a son,” Alexander gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “He’s been blessed with a strong body like Your Majesty but cursed with feeblemindedness and seizures. He would have been a beggar or asylum inmate had he been not been cared for by us,” Lord Melbourne sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, I’m sorry, Lord Melbourne. I didn’t know. Odd that the vicious gossip about your late wife still swirls about yet none mention the burden the two of you had to shoulder all that time,” Alexander sighed as he patted Lord Melbourne on the shoulder.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ Thank you, Your Majesty. Sir, as you get older you will find that the plights of the truly suffering aren’t anywhere as entertaining to the smallminded as the pettiest gossip, ”Lord Melbourne groaned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “So, you think I’m doing wrong by the action towards His Highness Prince Leopold?” Alexander asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “On the contrary. Had I been fated to have a son like you I would have done everything to support him at the expense of my own ambitions- not treat him as though he were an imbecile to be exploited! I only hope His Highness comes to realize how it was
he who failed to appreciate the gift given to him not vice versa,” Lord Melbourne proclaimed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]. .[/FONT]
[FONT="] . .[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Coburg, mid July 1836[/FONT]
[FONT="] At Ehrenburg Palace, Leopold had just arrived all set to help arrange his nephew Prince Ferdinand to Queen Maria II of Portugal having insisted negotiations be delayed until his arrival in the aftermath of Alexander’s Majority.[/FONT]
[FONT="] There a messenger presented him with the following letter:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Kew Palace, July 2nd, 1836[/FONT]
[FONT="] The King[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]To His Highness Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg Gotha,[/FONT]
[FONT="] In the action of pointedly rejecting His Majesty’s Invitation to the Coronation [issued in an effort to attempt to include His Highness in a historic event that can never be duplicated- for the sakes of seeking civility, Christian charity and keeping the Fifth Commandment which His Highness has endlessly accused His Majesty of not honoring] as well His Highness’s departure from His Majesty’s domain without any attempt at notification, His Majesty has no choice but to conclude that His Highness has quitclaim all his properties and monies within Great Britain. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Said properties and monies [including the Clairmont Estate which had been so generously provided by the People of Great Britain upon His Highness’s marriage to Her Late Highness Princess Charlotte of Wales as well as the £50,000 annum allowance] will be considered henceforth to be the sole property of His Majesty as compensation for avoiding any further public trials in which His Majesty’s Court could easily render His Highness guilty of such crimes- including abetting and participating in assaults on His Majesty’s Person and Character in the time following His Late Majesty, King George IV’s Death. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Furthermore, by His Highness’s relocation to his birthplace, it is understood that His Highness is no longer a British subject [almost every one of whom would have happily taken His Highness’s Seat in Westminster for the Coronation] and will be addressed as by his premarital title of His Serene Highness from this point onwards on the Continent. Lastly, His Majesty would like to take this opportunity to notify His Highness that his brethren that compose the Durham Regiment are forever free to address His Majesty by his Christian name but His Highness has forfeited that privilege.. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Most Sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT="] Alexander Rex[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Leopold wasted no time to get Stockmar to contact his legal team to appeal to Parliament and have these measures overturned- only to find out that Alexander had already anticipated these actions and had had issued Letters Patent as well as had the necessary Parliamentary decrees enacted to enforce these measures.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But why are you rejecting my nephew as a husband to Her Majesty? He hasn’t done anything!” Leopold sputtered-in German was then translated to the head of the Portuguese Delegation a few days later as they started their departure from Coburg.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “If his own family has this much instability, how can we expect him to establish any authority with Her Majesty over Portugal and all its overseas domains?” sniffed the Portuguese Delegation leader as he and the rest exited while his response was translated back to German as the Portuguese team quickly made their exit.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] . . .[/FONT]
[FONT="] . . .[/FONT]
[FONT="]. . [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kensington Palace, August, 1836-[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Your Highness, Lady Frances has arrived for tea!” exclaimed the footman named Jenkins in Victoria’s sitting room- which had Victoria’s beloved governess Baroness Louise Lehzen in attendance as well ‘Conroy barnacles’ Lady Flora Hastings and Conroy’s own 16-year-old daughter called Victoire.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Thank you, Jenkins. Please show her in straight away!” 17-year-old Princess Victoria of Kent replied as 14-year-old Lady Frances Vane was shown in.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Fanny, it’s so good to see you again!” exclaimed Victoria as she planted a kiss on the markedly taller Lady Frances’s chin and took her right hand.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Thank you, Your Highness, for inviting me to tea while Mother’s at the milliner’s,” Lady Frances replied as she sat down at the chair at the tea table which Victoria directed her.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You seemed to need the company and this would be a good time for us to be able to discuss matters. ..ALONE,” Victoria insisted while looking sharply at Lady Flora and Victoire Conroy.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But, Your Highness, you know Her Highness’s [ the Duchess of Kent] rule that we must be around to see that Your Highness doesn’t become overstrained with company,” Lady Flora replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “And Father would find us remiss!” Lady Victoire Conroy piped up.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, I have not forgotten Mamma’s rules,” Princess Victoria sighed as she started to walk over to an adjoining writing desk.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “They are for your own good, Your Highness,”Lady Flora sniffed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, I hope everyone will excuse for a minute while I dash off a brief letter to dear Feodora [Victoria’s elder half sister now married and living in Germany],” Princess Victoria of Kent insisted as she walked over to a nearby and opened a drawer took a small inkpot from a nearby desk along with some blank paper and a new quill pen.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Of course, Ma’am,” Lady Victoria Conroy smirked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh my! Lady Flora, this inkwell seems to have dried up. Could you go and fetch Grigsby and have him bring a fresh inkwell?” Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Ma’am, it was refilled just this morning and I don’t think I should take leave to. ..” Lady Flora protested as she approached the desk[/FONT]
[FONT="] At that moment, Princess Victoria shook it- then threw the entire contents onto Lady Flora’s turquoise silk gown.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, my! I think it was refilled,” Princess Victoria gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Why you little bit-. ..
bitty scamp!” Lady Flora seethed as she caught herself just in time.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, Lady Flora, you’re not suitably attired to attend tea. You’ll need to change clothes straight away!” Princess Victoria warned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But. ..but,” Lady Flora sputtered as she vainly tried to rub off the large ink stain with a tea soaked white linen napkin- which only spread the stain.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Lady Flora, I seriously doubt Her Highness the Duchess would want you to remain here in such stained attire,” Baroness Lehzen warned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Very well!” Lady Flora fumed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] At that, Lady Frances and Victoria exchanged a sly, secret smile while Lady Flora furiously exited.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Could I have some tea now?” Lady Victoire Conroy whined.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Not just yet. It will upset your digestion,” Baroness Lehzen insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But I’m thirsty and. .” Lady Victoire Conroy insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now, Baroness, if Miss Conroy wants tea. I’ll be happy to give her mine,” Princess Victoria insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Why thank you, Your Highness! ” Lady Victoire smirked as she took a large sip from the cup the Princess offered her.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Highness. The tea was good enough for ‘Dash’, correct?” Baroness Lehzen asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes, indeed! ‘Dash’ couldn’t lick the dish enough after I let him have some!” Princess Victoria laughed as she pointed the cup Victoire Conroy was drinking while hugging her adored King Charles spaniel.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You. ..you let me drink from the same dish as a DOG?!” Victoire Conroy gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now, Miss Conroy. It was perfectly clean and ‘Dash’ wasn’t the least perturbed,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Eww! I’ve drunk DOG SPITTLE!”Victoire Conroy shrieked as she ran from the room[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Ma’am, that was mean!” Lady Frances sputtered as she tried not to laugh.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Why? I can’t help it if Miss Conroy thought I had let ‘Dash’ drink from the teacup itself instead of the saucer,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Did you want their company, Lady Frances?” asked Baroness Lehzen.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, I can’t say I did. I know what horrible gossips and talebearers both of them are,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know the measures were a bit extreme but I know by your letter you wanted to speak to me alone and this is the only way to obtain even a few minutes respite,” Princess Victoria sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “As curious as to what you two young ladies may speak of, I will remove myself from the sitting room and stand guard against the reinforcements,” Baroness Lehzen volunteered.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Thank you, Baroness,” Princess Victoria replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Ma’am, I’m sorry you had to go to so much trouble,”Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Pay it no mind. Even a few minutes without those buzzards hovering is worth the many hours of lectures and privileges being taken away that will result,” Princess Victoria sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I only hope they won’t bar me from visiting you after this,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Neither stunt was your doing –just Her Highness’s, “Baroness Lehzen while patting both Lady Frances and Princess Victoria on the shoulders.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Again, thank you, Ma’am. There’s so much I need to discuss that I don’t know where to begin,” Lady Frances replied as she took a sip of her tea but with a quick glance to ‘Dash’ to make sure he didn’t want any.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Could this have anything to do with the attentions my Majestic Cousin has been paying to you since Queen Charlotte’s Birthday Ball?” Princess Victoria asked which provoked a gasp on Lady Frances’s part.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Ma’am. I swear I’ve never so much as been in his company alone since then,” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know, Fanny, but Alley’s hardly made a secret of his infatuation for you. Having you and your family seated in the one of the best rows during the Coronation- and giving you the Royal Eye throughout,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It’s somewhat embarrassing. I never asked for His Majesty’s attention and now to be targeted as though I’m to be . ..Oh, I don’t want to say,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Fanny, do you think his intentions are dishonourable?” Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I don’t know what to think- to be honest,” Lady Frances groaned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ Has he made any more . .. gestures since the Coronation?” Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes. He’s extended an invitation to my entire family to Windsor Castle to view The Mosaic,” Lady Frances explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ Do you mean The Mosaic itself and not the painted reproduction in the Great Hall?” Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes, The Mosaic itself,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh My! That does sound serious. He’s allowed very few people to see it since he had it reassembled.
I’ve never seen it,” Princess Victoria gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “As curious as I am to see the work and. . .other curiosities, I’m not entirely sure it would be worth the outcome,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “If you don’t want to see His Majesty again, then you need to tell him so he may pursue other . . .interests,” Princess Victoria replied as she poured another cup of tea for herself.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “That’s just it, Ma’am. I . .. I would hope to become . ..better acquainted with him and. ..”Lady Frances said with a blush.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You and virtually every other young girl who has seen his profile on the Sovereign coins,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It’s not like that, Ma’am. Yes, I admit that I find him quite handsome in looks and would even if he were a mere ditchdigger but that’s not it,” Lady Frances confessed- as she spooned some sugar into her tea and stirred it.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “What it is then, Fanny?” Princess Victoria asked-as she took Lady Frances’s right hand.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I just wish there was a way I could split in two halves. One half following my impulses and becoming acquainted with him even to that half’s ruin- and the other half aloof and able to choose my own destiny unscathed,” Lady Frances explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I see. Perhaps, you can, Fanny!” Princess Victoria exclaimed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “How could I possibly. ..?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Perhaps if you made it clear that you were to be always chaperoned if he is to court you,” Princess Victoria opined.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “
Court me?! He’d never consider marrying someone of such rank as myself,” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Don’t be so certain. Cousin Alley has been known to flout convention even with Parliament. Would you not want to be Queen ?”Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Queen?! Isn’t that a bit premature?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Besides Alley’s looks and his Crown, what could possibly interest. ..?” Princess Victoria started to ask.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I think there is far more to His Majesty that just that , ” Lady Frances admitted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “That’s quite an astute observation. You know, ‘Dash’ loves it when Alley visits us here,” Princess Victoria laughed-as she patted her dog.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ He does?” Lady Frances asked as the dog barked while Princess Victoria petted him.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, indeed! It’s not often ‘Alley’ comes here what with Mama and the Aunts being so meddlesome but ‘Dashy’ jumps up and down and can’t wait for ‘Alley’ to wrestle him,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I can’t imagine a
bear would want His Majesty to wrestle him. I mean, His Majesty bends steel bars like treacle[ taffy],” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, ‘Alley’ lets him win every time!” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Well, if ‘Dash’ likes His Majesty, then that’s a good endorsement beyond the Crown,” Lady Frances laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ ‘Dash’ is an excellent judge of character. He’s never liked Sir John despite Sir John presenting him to me,” Princess Victoria whispered.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Do you think I should . .. become better acquainted with His Majesty?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Well, if you want my opinion, perhaps you should see if he’s amenable to seeing you properly chaperoned while you become better acquainted,” Princess Victoria opined.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But what if he and I prove entirely incompatible? Even with the chaperones there could be the risk of. . .” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Isn’t just living itself a risk?” Princess Victoria asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I suppose so, Ma’am,” Lady Frances half-laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Besides- even if you only just got to see The Mosaic and the bond went no further, that alone would be worth telling future generations,” Princess Victoria laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “VICTORIA!” the Duchess of Kent was heard screaming from down the hall.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, no. It appears our talk has come to an end,” Lady Frances sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “True but the talk itself will maintain me as they attempt to break me- yet again. No worries. This won’t go any further than me,” Princess Victoria sighed as she and Lady Frances clutched hands before the Duchess of Kent, Sir John Conroy stormed past Baroness Lehzen then proceeded to make barely civil conversation with Lady Frances Vane before abruptly sending her home then screaming insults and accusations for some hours at Princess Victoria as soon as Lady Frances’s carriage door closed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]. .. .[/FONT]
[FONT="]. .0000[/FONT]
[FONT="] Late August, 1836- Windsor Castle[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Alley, should we make ourselves scarce?” asked Lord Sholto Douglas while the other members of the Durham Regiment nodded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, if I am to become acquainted with Fanny and the Vane Family, they need to know who
my family is,” Alexander sighed as patted all of them on the shoulders while they all stood in the Great Hall dressed in their finest Dragoon uniforms.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But she’s still quite young and. ..” Lord George Lyttleton tried to say.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know there are four years between us but, in a few years, she will mature into a fine Queen – if that is her destiny,” Alexander admitted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Do you believe that showing them The Mosaic will seal the deal?” Lord Sholto asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It could be a good step,” Alexander shrugged.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty, may I present Lord Charles and Lady Frances Vane, 3rd Marquess and Marchioness of Londonberry and their children ”proclaimed the Lord Chamberlain.[/FONT]
[FONT="] At once the Vane Family with Lady Frances and two of her four brothers as well as her two sisters ranging in age from 6 to 15 were shown in [her eldest half-brother Lord Frederick Stewart(aged 31)was detained by jury duty- while her youngest Lord Ernest Vane was just months old and at home with his nursemaid].[/FONT]
[FONT="] All of them bowed at the sight of Alexander.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You may rise now! I thank all of you for accepting my invitation to view The Mosaic,”Alexander proclaimed- as he and the Durham Regiment led the Vane family down into the Great Hall.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I don’t recall it being displayed here during the Birthday Ball,” proclaimed Lady Frances’ 36-year-old mother Lady Vane.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “We have the Reproduction here but the original is somewhat less public,”Alexander explained as they soon walked towards the back.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Why are walking to the back staircase?” asked Lord Vane.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It’s the way towards the Mosaic,”explained Alexander as he and the Regiment approached a table with awaiting candle sticks that Alexander approached with a large wooden match which he struck then lit for them and their guests.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Are we going somewhere without its own regular candle supply?” asked Lady Frances.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Very astute observation- and I trust all of you will be careful with the wicks,” Alexander warned as they all took glass lamps while he led the way down the stairs into the lengthy basement.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Although almost all the doors were locked and sealed, a few were cracked open enough to reveal the used furniture and stores of coal and kindling wood found within. Finally, at the very end of the corridor, Alexander unlocked a door from a set of keys he’d had tied to his waist- then turned on a knob directly inside.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It looks like. You have gaslight here? But nowhere else in Windsor Castle has it!” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Correct, I can’t chance candles spilling their wax and forever spoiling what took so long to build, excavate and re-assemble,” Alexander admonished-as he turned a knob that released the gas, then used his candle to light the gas jets before snuffing it out at the base of a short staircase just inside the door.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “There’s another staircase and a catwalk inside- and it appears to be a steel staircase. Why not wood?” asked Lady Frances’s brother 15-year-old Lord George Vane.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Wood?! Too easily to catch fire and all wood eventually crumbles to dust and rots. No steel’s the only thing for this room!” Alexander explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] They all climbed the three feet tall staircase to the platform from which catwalks branched from but then. .. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Where’s The Mosaic? All we see are these stone walls!” scoffed Lady Vane while the rest of the family nodded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Happens every time, Your Majesty!” laughed Lord Sholto.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It had originally built in one of Pompeii’s finest homes but then buried by Vesuvius’s ashes for over almost 18 centuries before it was excavated. When His Majesty of Naples gave this to strengthen our nations’ ties, he wrote me that he was afraid the individual tiles would fall off again if displayed on a wall as most art is- which is why it’s been reconstructed on the FLOOR!” Alexander laughed as pointed to beneath the catwalk they were standing on to the glass-encased Mosaic.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “So THAT is where you derived your Coronation Uniform from!” Lord GeorgeVane surmised while see[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Precisely. Look at how my Namesake has just turned the tide of a decisive battle into his favor! I had considered just having it constructed on the floor with selected guests being able to see it under their feet but even with the cleanest feet and stockings, eventually grime would be tracked onto it. No, it sits beneath the glass lit by coal gaslamp so no wax may drip on it or dirt may collect,” Alexander proudly explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“And with the criss-crossing catwalks, we can walk to virtually any part of it and admire it from above,” Lord Michael explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Or even better- crawl on one’s knees!” Alexander added as he got down on all fours to demonstrate.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Quite impressive, Your Majesty. We are honoured that you have selected us to view this,” Lord Vane proclaimed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Charles, I seriously doubt that His Majesty has brought our family all this way solely to show us his newly prized possession,” Lady Vane –the Marchioness cautioned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now, Frances. ..” Lord Vane warned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Lady Vane is quite correctly, Lord Vane. Lord Sholto, Lord Michael, Lord Edward, Lord George- could you show the Vane children to the Round Tower? There’s a matter I need to discuss with Lord and Lady Vane,” Alexander insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Pardon me, Your Majesty but since I am certain it involves me, I think I should stay here instead of being herded with the others,” Lady Frances insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “And I’m the heir to Mother’s domains so I should, also,” Lord George Vane insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Young Vane, I understand you’re Lady Frances’s elder brother but you’re not her father and these are matters I need to discuss with your parents,” Alexander replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Very well, Your Majesty,” Lord George Vane fumed- as he and the younger siblings were herded out of the Mosaic Chamber leaving Alexander alone with Lady Frances and their parents. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now that we are alone. Lord and Lady Vane, I approach you not as the King of Great Britain and Ireland and all its overseas dominions but as a young gentleman who would like the opportunity to become acquainted with your daughter,” Alexander explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Acquainted? To what end?” Lady Vane asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I realize that it would be a few years before your daughter would be ready to make any momentous changes in her life but I would like to take the chance to get to become acquainted with her so that we may each decide what fate may be for us,” Alexander pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty, as much we appreciate you attempting to approach us as though you were a fellow Subject rather than crushing us like ants beneath your Royal feet, we do want to ensure that Fanny’s reputation does not suffer as a result of being acquainted with you,” Lord Vane cautioned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes, Your Majesty. It is not as though I seek to reject Your Majesty’s offer to become acquainted but I don’t want to be thought of as a girl with a sullied reputation for having spent so much time in your company if we decide to part ways,” Lady Frances explained.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I don’t want us to part ways,”Alexander pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ Your Majesty says that now but what about when it comes time Your Majesty to seek a Consort. Surely, Your Majesty will need to suit a suitable Protestant Princess. Then what would become of our Fanny?” asked Lady Vane.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “To have to choose amongst the spendthrift churchmice Germans or the few eligible but inbred cousins instead of bringing some actual fresh British blood back into The Bloodline? I’m the one who Rules not to be Ruled by some outmoded conventions,”Alexander scoffed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But I don’t want Your Majesty to suffer from a choice either!” Lady Frances pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “A true King is one who leads through what is best for his Country not what will cause him the least convenience,” Alexander declared.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I know His Majesty leads but I was wondering if His Majesty would be amenable at this time to a correspondence- and time together chaperoned by Mother?” Lady Frances proposed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Hmm, that might take the wind out of some tonguewaggers’ sails- and perhaps what might also help is if we were further chaperoned by Lord and Lady Henry Herbert- the Dean of Windsor and his wife,” Alexander opined.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Do you think they would be willing to ?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “It doesn’t matter. I can command . ..” Alexander sniffed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “If Your Majesty truly is willing to adhere to the presence of chaperones, then Your Majesty needs to abide by their wishes rather than command them,” cautioned Lady Vane.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You are correct, Lady Vane. I can understand why Lord Vane was willing to give up his family name for you!” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “That’s not all I gave up for her,” Lord Vane chuckled.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know but now’s not the time nor place to detail that,” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]. … [/FONT]
[FONT="]. .[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Alley, I don’t understand why you are so smitten with her. I mean, girls throw themselves at your feet all the time,” Lord Sholto gulped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Afraid of losing your part of the overflow, Sholto?” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “We don’t deny that but why Lady Frances? She won’t be as pliable as the others and. ..” Lord Michael sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “As much as I’ve enjoyed their attentions down the years, how many of them would think to see beyond my Crown or physique?” Alexander asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]. ..[/FONT]
[FONT="] . ..[/FONT]
[FONT="] Over the next two years with Lady Vane and the Dean of Windsor[&his wife] chaperoning, Alexander courted and corresponded with Lady Frances and hoped this would lead to something more.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Meantime, in June, 1837, the 19-year-old Alexander reluctantly heeded his cousin Victoria’s pleas and went to the trouble to become the first reigning Sovereign to cross the Channel in centuries for the ostensible purpose of paying a visit with Princess Victoria and the Duchess of Kent to his dying Great-Uncle William I of Hanover . Although William warmly welcomed both his great-nephew and niece[ representing the tall and short height extremities of the family], he was incensed enough at the presence of his loathed sister-in-law, the Duchess of Kent, that he actually spat at her while on his deathbed –despite Queen Adelaide’s attempting to reason with him that their niece could not have been able to make the journey without her mother. The British Royals stayed long enough for William’s funeral and the Hanoverian subjects quite openly expressed sadness that neither Alexander nor Victoria would be able to rule them due to their Salic Law- and dreaded William I’s eldest surviving brother Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland being their new king. After inviting William’s 45-year-old widow, the Queen Dowager Adelaide to return to Great Britain if she wished, Alexander departed the large port namesake capital city of Hanover then pressed forth on his ultimate Continental goal- Coburg.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] While Victoria would rapturously recount her first sight of the ancestral town and palace in her Journal [to say nothing of her first sight of her cousin Albert], Alexander considered it to be a place where he had to confront his lifelong fears.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “So, His Majesty, has come to haunt our home like a specter,” Leopold sniffed at Erhenberg Palace at the first sight of his son in nearly two years- still wearing his mourning attire for his Great-Uncle.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, His Highness is mistaken. I am here to see to it that justice is done,” Alexander glared.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now, Uncle Leopold, I’m sure Alley doesn’t mean any harm,” the 18-year-old Princess Victoria pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No harm? His Majesty cut me off from my house and properties to make me beggar back to this anthill,” Leopold seethed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Beggar?! You’re a healthy man of 47 who received a £50,000 annum Parliamentary stipend for 20 years. Surely His Highness somehow can eke an existence from the interest of the £1 million provided for him,” Alexander snarled.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Well, it’s not just my brother who needs providing for Your Majesty, “Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha[aged 53] implored.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “We know, Ernest. That’s why Alexander is here,” the 51-year-old Duchess of Kent insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Aunt Kent, don’t you dare put words in my mouth. I said I’d come for Her Highness’s sake as well as. . .” Alexander seethed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Highness, come quickly! You have a son but Her Highness. ..” implored a female voice from the palace’s upper story.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Mathilde! If anything happens to her due to your meddling, I’ll. .” Leopold seethed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I pray that nothing happens to Her Highness but know that your new son has a defender capable of decimating the mightiest foes of Great Britain so don’t you dare ill treat him as you did His Majesty,”Alexander warned as he ran upstairs with his father. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] “My Mathilde, you live!” Leopold exclaimed at the sight of his 2nd wife born Princess Mathilde of Bavaria [aged 24] cradling their newborn son in her arms as she prepared to hand him over to the wetnurse. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes, some say I was mad to turn down the proposal of the Grand Duke of Hesse’s heir but I have no regrets,” Mathilde beamed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Brother, what will you name him? He’s somewhat down the line of succeeding even to Coburg,” Duke Ernest scoffed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I think if we named him Leopold Ernest Charles, the newest Prince of Saxe-Coburg Gotha would suit him well even if he’s not destined for the grandeur of his elder brother,” Leopold sniffed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “He may have to find his own way in the world instead of having his life mapped out but he has one advantage over me- both parents,” Alexander proclaimed as he let his new half-brother grip his right pinky finger. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Although Alexander would not relax a single of his previous edicts against Leopold, his amiability towards nearly everyone and his protectiveness of his stepmother and baby brother won over most of the population of Coburg.[/FONT]
[FONT="] . . .[/FONT]
[FONT="]. ..[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kew Palace gardens-October,1838[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] 16-year-old Lady Frances Vane [and her chaperones] came across 19-year-old Alexander wearing a Royal Stewart tartan kilt – and tossing large logs high into the air.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “What is His Majesty doing?” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Haven’t you ever heard of caber tossing? It’s a time honored Scottish tradition!” Alexander grunted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But that log must weigh 300 pounds- and there’s frost on the ground but Your Majesty’s barefoot!” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “As are most authentic Scots in tartans. Oh, it’s a good remedy to vent frustrations,” Alexander grunted- as he picked up the log and tossed it 30 feet.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But what can His Majesty be frustrated with?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Is it not true that your parents invited Lord Blanford to a tea last week?” Alexander snarled- as he ran towards where the log landed with Lady Frances [and the others] running after him at a much slower pace with the ladies picking up their skirts.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Well, yes, but what does that have to do with. .?” Lady Frances asked as she caught up to Alexander.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “If I weren’t King, would you be willing to wed him?” Alexander asked- as he kicked up up a horseshoe tossed on the ground hard enough to make it ricochet off an oak tree fifteen feet away.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Well, he’ll be the Duke of Marlborough and . ..”Lady Frances started to explain.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “So you think being the Duchess of Malborough and queening it over Blenheim would suit you?” Alexander fumed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty. ..” Lady Frances gulped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Yes, they have their OWN palace built by the
People of Great Britain to honor the First Duke and they love to remind everyone of the First Duke’s military prowess but what has that family done in the last century?” Alexander asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I really think Your Majesty is being unfair,” Lady Frances fumed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “And I can guarantee that any sons or grandsons of yours by Blanford would be just as dull and useless to the Nation as the rest of the First Duke’s progeny, “ Alexander fumed-as he kicked another horseshoe lying on the grass- then picked it up and bent it.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty’s JEALOUS!” Lady Frances gasped. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Jealous? What have I to be jealous about? I have more wealth, power and strength than he could wish for,” Alexander sneered –as he stomped the grass and flexed his biceps. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty needs to listen to himself! There’s nothing more than a vague friendship between the Marlboroughs and Vanes between us –yet Your Majesty seem to think he could be a threat!,” Lady Frances fumed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I just don’t want to lose you,” Alexander confessed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Lose me? I know that beneath that Crown, bluster and imposing physique, there’s a motherless boy wanting a family,” Lady Frances sighed-as she took his arm.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Is that what you think? How presumptuous can you. .?” Alexander asked- as he lifted the large log to attempt to toss it again.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Can Your Majesty deny that?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Alexander put down the log- then nodded to three nearby groundskeepers to haul it away which they did with great strain. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, I cannot. I’ve missed her every day of my life. I always envied other children who had theirs,”Alexander groaned.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But you had His Late Majesty raising you and the promise of the Crown,” Lady Frances reminded him.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know but I’d trade it all and become the meanest day labourer if I could just have one memory of Mama,” Alexander confessed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Even with His Majesty raising you?” Lady Frances asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I I loved Grandpapa and always will- even though I’ve long since understood that he had many flaws and didn’t always treat others right.
He knew it,too. That’s why he raised me to be his opposite,” Alexander recalled.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “You mean, you became Samson Reborn because - and
not in spite of His Late Majesty?” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “He suffered many years due to his habits’ snares and loved me enough to want to spare me that fate and I loved him enough to want to grow to be as big, healthy and strong as possible- in addition to enjoying everyone’s shock and awe at my prowess,” Alexander laughed. [/FONT]
[FONT="] “ I know that there’s more to Your Majesty than that,” Lady Frances laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Quite true –as I know there’s more to you than your conventionality. May I ask you a question, Lady Frances?” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Of course, Your Majesty,” Lady Frances replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Now that we’ve gotten to know each other- save Biblically, would you be willing for me to ask Lord Vane’s consent to wed you- and would you be willing to endure the battle I may need to wage with Parliament for you to be Queen?”Alexander asked- as he got on one knee.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty has read Jane Austen!” Lady Frances laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Just answer the question,” Alexander sighed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I. . I accept,” Lady Frances gulped [having mentally rehearsed this moment many times during the previous two years].[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, thank you! You’ve made me so happy, My Francesca!” Alexander beamed as he hugged her –as Lady Vane and the Dean & his wife emerged from their discreet distance.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “What did you call me, Your Majesty?” Lady Frances laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Francesca!” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But we all call her ‘Fanny’,” Lady Vane protested.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I know, Lady Vane, but ‘Fanny’ sounds as though she’s either ready to faint from vapours at any moment- or her backside’s more worth being acquainted with than the rest of her,” Alexander laughed as he made fanning motions with his hand then spanked his own rear.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Your Majesty,” Lady Frances gasped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Oh, come now. You have Medici blood. Why not use the Italian version which means ‘French girl’?” Alexander laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But. ..”Lady Vane sputtered.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “What’s in a name as long as she can be my Queen? Do you think Lord Vane will be amenable?” Alexander asked as he kissed Lady Vane’s hand.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I think so,” Lady Vane gulped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Then we should adjourn inside to celebrate our engagement,” Alexander proclaimed. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]. .Parliament, November 1838[/FONT]
[FONT="] Although Lord Vane immediately eagerly gave his consent, the next step with Parliament would not be so easy.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Why can’t His Majesty wed a Princess instead of a Commoner?” asked Sir Robert Peel of the Conservative Party.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “She is a Protestant and her reputation is spotless,” countered Alexander.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But she’s your Subject and. .” Sir Robert Peel replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I am well aware of that- as would any Princess I would wed. Lady Frances comes from several distinctive families- and any Prince or Princess that Almighty God would bless us with would be the first since Good Queen Bess to have more British blood than otherwise, “Alexander pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But surely His Majesty could form more suitable alliances if like wed like. .” Sir Robert Peel argued.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “How many Queen Regnants are there at this time? Spain and Portugal have the only ones in Christendom with none of us being willing to sacrifice our respective Faiths for another’s Kingdom- and the Queen of Spain being a mere child,” Alexander countered.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “A princess then. ..”Sir Robert Peel pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “How many Royal marriages made for that purpose proved happy or even fulfilled the minimal requirements of providing an unquestioned heir?” Alexander fumed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “But it would be the first time since the Tudors that. .” Sir Robert Peel pleaded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “Our Nation is quite stable without needing to an alliance of a loveless union to keep its borders safe and if my Subjects are now making marriages for the sake of love, then why should their King be any making one for any other reason,” Alexander pleaded- and with that the Parliamentary approval for the Marriage of Alexander, King of Great Britain and Ireland and Lady Frances Vane, daughter of the 3rd Marquis of Londonberry was voted for [after a mere ten sessions and eighteen hours].[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Although there was not a small amount of jealousy from other nobles’ families at the prospect of a ‘commoner’ marrying a king, in the months ahead, the wedding which Alexander insisted by held at Westminster Abbey progressed on schedule.[/FONT]
[FONT="] . . [/FONT]
[FONT="]. ..[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Having lodged at St. James’s Palace the night before[ with Alexander residing in Buckingham Palace- a discreet yet close remove], Lady Frances Vane[aged 17] emerged from the Gold Coach on Saturday, June 8th, 1839 looking quite refreshed with orange blossoms over her white silk, embroidered lace veil which covered her face yet translucent enough for all to see [and for her to see through]. Stepping gingerly onto the paving stones at Westminster’s West Portacle, Lady Frances was careful not to trip on white silk gown in her white satin slippers while the attendants straightened out her 30 foot bridal train as the crowds wildly cheered her on while her father Lord Vane, the Marquis of Londonberry escorted her up into the Abbey. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Her Maid of Honour was the Heiress Presumptive , Princess Victoria of Kent who, contrary to her own mother and aunts, wasn’t the least upset at the prospect of this 17-year-old commoner about to become the Most Senior Royal Lady in rank . The Duchess of Kent was so perturbed that she had attempted to forbid Victoria’s participation over Victoria’s objections and it was only with Alexander himself ordering Victoria to attend Lady Frances that this was able to be overcome. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Waiting inside the Abbey was Alexander [aged 21]- wearing the Macedonian Armor of his Coronation [somewhat at odds with Lady Frances who had flatly refused to consider attiring herself as the Bactrian princess, Queen Roxana] who was seen to rise on his toes at the sight of her entrance . [/FONT]
[FONT="] The Durham Regiment were all at the ready to be his Groomsmen [though, they’d be leaving his residences for their own independent homes from this point forward] but in Field Marshalls’ uniforms. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] The wedding ceremony itself went rather smoothly- albeit with Alexander laughing when Frances said his full name during the vows- as it had been the very first time she had addressed him by his given names rather than ‘His Majesty’. Then as soon as the Archbishop of Canterbury presented them as man and wife, Frances had her own Coronation as Queen complete with her own personal crown -though on a much smaller scale than her spouse’s Coronation had been three years earlier.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Although they consummated their union that night in Buckingham Palace, after one last bridal ball, they were soon off to Brighton for their honeymoon in which Alexander gave strict instructions that they were to be left alone for an entire week [save,of course, for the innumerable servants and attendants].[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] “Is there something troubling, His Majesty?” asked Lord Melbourne upon their return to Windsor.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “I discovered something most distressing upon our honeymoon” Alexander shuddered.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “ Is there some defect of Her Majesty or . .?” Lord Melbourne gulped.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “No, nothing like that. We’re in a universe of our own during our times together. It’s just that. ..why does it have to take so much time and with the help of so many for ladies to dress and undress?! I should have the corset makers harpooned rather than the whales,”Alexander fumed while Lord Melbourne laughed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] Despite their divergent views of attire and some other matters, the Royal Couple had quite an intense bond –some would say even rivaling that of George III and Queen Charlotte in their earliest days. Barely a month after the wedding, Her Majesty Frances, Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland became known to be ‘in that interesting condition’ and all the Nation felt like celebrating – not knowing that the impending heir’s birth wouldn’t be enough to sweep the yellow clouds away that drifted from the other side of the world. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]