GV: Part One, Chapter 21: A Mother's Wish
King George V
Part One, Chapter Twenty-One: A Mother’s Wish
Part One, Chapter Twenty-One: A Mother’s Wish
The Earl of Effingham clung fast to the window rail of his carriage as it rocked and lurched from side to side on its way along the Long Walk towards the recently renamed George IV Gateway at Windsor Castle. Effingham’s journey from his comfortable farmhouse in Essex had taken two days which included an overnight stay at a particularly grim lodging house. To make matters worse, the old man had just recovered from an especially nasty cold that his doctor pessimistically predicted would “sink His Lordship within the week”. Fortunately for Effingham, his doctor had been mistaken. The Earl had not intended to return to Windsor so soon having departed just a month earlier after a summons from the Duke of Cambridge. Elevated from the rank of Baron to Earl for his services as Deputy Earl Marshal following the state funeral of the Duke of Clarence (which Effingham had arranged), another great occasion of state was scheduled for a year’s time and Cambridge wanted Effingham to take charge of the committee which would deliver it.
By rights, the Dukes of Norfolk (hereditary Earl Marshals since 1672) should have been given the responsibility. However, as the Dukes of Norfolk were practising Roman Catholics it was felt unsuitable for any state occasion which included acts of religious worship (and most did) to be arranged by somebody who sat so proudly outside of the Anglican Communion. Norfolk was left to arrange state visits and the State Opening of Parliament, but royal births, marriages and deaths were left to his Anglican brother Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard as his Deputy. With Lord Henry’s death in 1824, the Duke of Norfolk had recommended Lord Effingham, his third cousin, to step up to the task. Regardless of Catholic emancipation laws, Norfolk was to be cheated of the opportunity to oversee the most important occasion of state possibly just as he had been in 1820. Lord Effingham would therefore have sole responsibility for planning the coronation of King George V.
The Earl of Effingham.
As with the previous ceremony in 1820, the government was required to allocate a budget for the event which would be added to the Civil List for 1838. Whilst everybody agreed that the previous coronation had been a fine example of its type, Lord Melbourne was determined that the 1838 coronation would not exceed the budget set by the government as it had in 1820. Indeed, Effingham’s predecessor had managed to spend almost double the amount allocated but this time the public finances remained in dire shape and there were no French war reparations to fall back on to pick up the tab for any overspend. Lord Melbourne believed a dignified and impressive coronation could be delivered on just £50,000 but when the addendum to the Civil List was proposed in committee, even his Cabinet colleagues had to agree with Melbourne’s critics that the sum was paltry.
Melbourne had assumed the modest budget would send a message ahead of the 1838 general election that the Whigs were taking the economic difficulties seriously and that the monarchy was not above the same spending cuts made in other areas. The public felt differently. He was jeered at in the street for trying to foist a “Penny Coronation” [1] on the British people and eventually he had to give in and allow a further £35,000. Even this vast sum was considered to be lacking (the coronation of 1820 had cost around £140,000) and when parliament passed the Civil List that year, the Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, was heard to remark; “Should we ask Ede & Ravenscroft to substitute our robes of state for night shirts?”
The Coronation Robe of George III & George IV. The gold suit is a replica of that worn by George III, George IV chose to wear the robe over his army uniform instead.
Willoughby had a reputation for pomposity. He was also no friend to Lord Melbourne. Having defected from the Whigs to the Tories, he assumed the hereditary post of Lord Great Chamberlain in 1828.* Though he received no salary, Willoughby was the most important figure in the Royal Household and had special responsibility to oversee the goings on at the Palace at Westminster. It was only natural therefore that he might expect to take charge of the Coronation Committee as His Majesty’s most senior courtier, but that honour was to go to the Earl of Effingham. An insulted Willoughby pointed out that Effingham was only Deputy Earl Marshal and so a convenient but confusing compromise was agreed whereby Willoughby served as Chief Commissioner of the Coronation Committee whilst Effingham served as Chairman. He did not occupy the Chair at sessions of the committee but had the authority to approve the most important arrangements for the great event itself. By contrast, Willoughby had the authority to chair the sessions but no power to approve the arrangements agreed.
As if this were not complicated enough, the Committee also had to include representatives of the most important offices of state. Below Willoughby and Effingham was the Treasurer of the Committee, Sir Henry Wheatley, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, who was deputising for the (Catholic) Earl of Surrey (eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk) in his role as Treasurer of the Household. The Permanent Secretary to the Committee was the Honourable George Byng (future Earl of Strafford) in his role as Comptroller of the Household whilst Major Billy Smith represented the young King as Crown Equerry and Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty. Curiously, Major Smith was expected to excuse himself from every session of the committee to avoid any conflict of interest with the Court of Claims. The Court of Claims was a special court usually established after the accession of the new monarch to judge the validity of the claims of persons of the nobility to perform certain honorary services to the sovereign, especially at their coronation. Because there had been such a long delay between King George V’s accession and his upcoming coronation, an extra-ordinary session of the Court of Claims was to be held overseen by the Lord Steward who was to be assisted by Major Smith. Thus, Honest Billy was only nominally a member of the coronation committee.
To confuse matters even further, there was a second committee known as the Coronation Council which dealt with the more mundane aspects of the event itself. Whilst the Committee debated changes to the service and which coaches should be used in the procession, the Council was charged with sourcing the cheapest white stockings for the pages to wear and where best to commission the 300 chairs required for the most senior courtiers who were always gifted the chairs when the ceremony was over. This Council was overseen by the Duke of Argyll and included Sir Frederick Beilby Watson as Master of the Household, the Earl of Durham as Lord President of the Council, the Dean of Windsor representing the Archbishop of Canterbury and Sir Charles Murray representing the Equerries, Private Secretaries, Chaplains, Pages, Clerks, Stewards and Comptrollers who served every member of the Royal Family from the King all the way down to Princess Sophia.
Fortunately for Lord Effingham, it was expected that the reports and recommendations sent from the Council to the Committee were delivered in precis but in the finest tradition of the Civil Service, every document had to be copied, circulated and approved by every member of the senior committee before that precis could be delivered to Lord Effingham for his approval. It was then passed to Lord Willoughby who had no authority to change anything Lord Effingham had approved but to give the impression that he did, Willoughby would spend hours poring over the minute details at long and exhausting sessions of the committee. It was Willoughby who then presented the updated programme to the Duke of Cambridge as the King’s Regent and to the Prime Minister who in turn sent copies to the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and so on and so forth.
Miraculously, this convoluted and bloated chain of command had delivered the last two coronations without a hitch and the idea of streamlining the process was totally unthinkable. After all, how could the Chief Commissioner approve the purchase of white stockings for the Pages of Honour if the Treasurer had not himself approved the cost which had been sought on his behalf by Sir Charles Murray’s private secretary and which had already been assessed by a clerk at Windsor against the same price paid for similar white stockings at the previous coronation? The alternative would clearly result in chaos and if the system was not broken, there was no need to fix it.
King George V in a portrait painted by Sir William Foley, 1837. It depicts the young King still in mourning attire for the late Duke of Clarence.
King George V himself had absolutely nothing to do with the planning of his coronation. He was far too busy studying for his higher examinations ahead of his departure for the Royal Military College in Berkshire and though he knew the committee had been officially gazetted, by curious convention he was not allowed to attend any of its meetings. It was as if the coronation was a great surprise birthday party and for months, he would have to get used to courtiers whispering in corners as they slyly swapped documents for the other’s opinion and approval. However, on that autumn weekend it was not the coronation his courtiers were gossiping about in the corridors of the State Apartments. Word travelled fast and from Cambridge House the news had reached the backstairs of Windsor that the Dowager Queen had finally put her foot down and was to force the King to marry the pretty young Duchess from Mecklenburg. The King himself had no idea and that particular weekend, he was tucked away at Royal Lodge with only Honest Billy for company as he worked through mock higher examination papers.
The Earl of Effingham was also oblivious to recent developments and when he was summoned to Windsor on such short notice by Dowager Queen, he assumed that she wished to discuss the progress of the coronation committee before it’s next session. Effingham did not relish a meeting with her and though he had fought Napoleon’s armies on the battlefields of Europe, he once remarked that he would rather have a fist fight with Napoleon himself than take tea with the Dowager Queen. For every recommendation the committee had thus far approved, the Dowager Queen had a comment or complaint that it was too expensive, not expensive enough, too long, too short, too old fashioned, too modern…her grievances seemed to be endless.
But on this particular day, the Dowager Queen completely disarmed Effingham. She was in a cheerful mood as she gave him tea in the Queen’s Closet, the modestly sized salon used most often at Windsor for family teas. As Effingham entered the room, he bowed to Her Majesty and steadied himself, hoping for their meeting would not take too long. The Dowager Queen never allowed anyone but her ladies of the bedchamber to sit in her presence and as such, even the oldest of courtiers with sciatica or rheumatism were forced to stand, sometimes for hours, until the Dowager Queen left the room. Effingham was therefore stunned when Queen Louise motioned for him to sit opposite her on a settee and was even more amazed to see that she poured his tea herself rather than leaving the task to Baroness Pallenberg as usual. The Dowager Queen disliked the English custom of the lady of the house serving guests but today, she made an exception. After tea was served, she clasped her hands in front of her and fixed Effingham with a smile.
“I’m afraid I must add to your workload Effingham”, Queen Louise joked. She did not do it well and the quip came across more as a barked order than as a friendly ribbing.
“I am only too happy to assist Your Majesty in any way I can”, Effingham replied, sipping his tea and waiting for the blow to fall.
“In a day or two there shall be an announcement regarding the King’s marriage. To my niece you understand”, the Dowager Queen explained, “I should like you to make the arrangements for that occasion before the year is out”
Effingham felt his heart drop slightly. Whilst he considered it a great honour to be asked to organise a royal wedding, especially that of the Sovereign, his mind lingered on the mounting stacks of paperwork on his desk at his home in Blackmore End. A wedding would no doubt double it.
“I had no idea”, Effingham said in almost a whisper, “Then His Majesty is to be congratulated on such happy news”. Seeing the Dowager Queen pause slightly, he added hastily, “Oh and you too Ma’am, such happy news for you too”
The Dowager Queen waved her hand as if swatting flies.
“You flatter me Lord Effingham”, she said, taking a small notepad from a side table and turning to the first page, “Now as to the date, I believe it would be simply charming to have the wedding itself on Christmas Eve”
“Christmas Eve Ma’am?”
“Yes Effingham”, the Queen nodded, barely raising her eyes from her notepad, “But not in London, I could not bear to sit in that horrid little chapel at St James’. So cold and ugly it is. I believe His Majesty would much prefer St George’s here at Windsor and besides, we shall be here for Christmas at any rate”
The Dowager Queen then turned to every possible detail imaginable for the wedding ceremony. Invitations were to be restricted to members of the Royal Family, members of the Privy Council, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and a handful of the King’s personal acquaintances. The bride’s parents would not be attending, rather they would represented by Duchess Luise’s brother, Hereditary Grand Duke Frederick William. The Grand Duke and his wife, Queen Louise’s sister Marie, would no doubt feel they must match the show put on by the British and the Dowager Queen wished to avoid causing them any financial embarrassment. In reality, she simply wanted them out of the way to reinforce her own importance. Effingham made careful notes and thanked the Dowager Queen for her time before leaving the room. Something felt odd. Something was not quite right. Effingham did not know it but he had just agreed to arrange a wedding for two people who did not yet know they were to be married in less than three months’ time.
After changing into a new black crepe tea dress and matching lace cap, the Dowager Queen settled herself back in the Queen’s Closet. Baroness Pallenberg sat embroidering on a settee as the Queen stood by the window to catch a glimpse of Major Smith accompanying the King to see her from Royal Lodge. She allowed herself a wry smile. For years Royal Lodge had been a prison to her. Now she would once again enjoy the full run of the castle. And Buckingham Palace too. The King and his new bride could not be expected to have the first idea how the court should operate, or which rooms were suitable for the various ceremonies and receptions to be held in.
The Queen's Closet at Windsor Castle, photographed here in 1890 after it had been transformed into a study for the Queen consort.
The King and his new Queen consort would need her. Louise could finally clear out all those stuffy old Clarence courtiers who had always snubbed her and had never been welcoming. Things would change at Windsor. Indeed, life for the Dowager Queen would be exactly as she had wished it to be for so many years. She may have been denied her rightful place as King’s Regent, but she would now install herself as the true power behind the throne in the coming years. Perhaps her son might even see how wrong he had been to favour his uncles over her guidance. To Louise’s irritation, the King was forty minutes late to tea. Still, at least he was present and correct and at least her brother-in-law wasn’t around to interfere in the proceedings. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed Pallenberg and Smith until mother and son were left alone together in the Queen’s Closet, the silence broken only by the gentle clink of the porcelain as Louise poured tea and the ticking of a wall clock.
Before explaining what transpired between the two that day, it should first be understood that the relationship between the Queen and her son was possibly best described at this time as lukewarm. They still met each Sunday after church, when possible, but the King could never forget that his mother had effectively abandoned her children and had made no real attempt to forge any serious bonds of love and affection since her return. That being said, the King would always yearn for maternal approval. Indeed, some biographers have suggested that George’s need in later life to seek the company of slightly older women was an effort to replace the love he had never received from his mother. This sentiment, coupled with a fear of suddenly losing those he loved (no doubt the result of the tragic death of his younger brother Prince Edward) often led him to abandon common sense and to give in to the demands of those closest to him just in case they disappeared from his life forever.
When the King entered the Queen’s Closet, he bowed to his mother and waited to be invited to take a seat. In his mind, he thought of his usual teatime treat of a plate of Welsh Rarebit and a mug of drinking chocolate. His mother only served tea and bread and butter which was quite dull by comparison. There were no pleasantries. Louise did not even inquire as to his health or well-being. She came directly to the matter at hand, prepared for every eventuality.
“I received your Uncle Cambridge a few days ago”, she began, “We had a very interesting talk”
“Oh yes Mama?”, the King feigned interest in between mouthfuls of tea.
“Yes, we spoke of your marriage”
The room fell silent. The King looked up from his teacup. The wall clock chimed five. Then he allowed himself a small chuckle. Had everybody caught wedding fever all of a sudden? First Princess Victoria disappearing to the Netherlands with her new husband, then his sister Princess Charlotte Louise pining for news from Albert in Germany about their own future. He was not naïve of course; he knew only too well that his mother had brought his cousin Luise to England for a very clear purpose but he did not see that there was any urgency in the matter. Indeed, he had discussed marriage with Major Smith (relating to another first cousin named Louise) in months past and both had agreed that however fine the institution might be, there was no need to rush headfirst into it.
“It is no laughing matter Georgie”, the Queen chided, “I have been most patient with you until now, but we cannot delay any longer. Things must be settled before your coronation”
The Dowager Queen spoke with an authority that made it clear she was not to be disagreed with. Yet however much the King knew he must respect his mother and however sympathetic he might be to her wishes, he could not make such an important decision here and now. He protested that he needed more time, that after his coronation he could give more serious consideration to things. But right now he was entirely focused on his higher examinations and preparations to attend the Royal Military College. His mother shook her head; “Playing soldiers indeed. You must grow up Georgie, you cannot run about the fields in your silly uniforms forever”. George felt hurt. He took his interest in the military seriously. It was the only real connection he had to his late father. To hear it reduced to a childish play activity stung.
At that moment, the door to the Queen’s Closet flew open and Princess Charlotte Louise, her hair slightly loose from running and her cheeks flushed, entered the room. The Dowager Queen snapped to her feet.
“What is the meaning of this?”, she barked, “I did not ask to receive you”
Princess Charlotte Louise took a deep breath and curtseyed deeply. She had rehearsed every word and now, she intended to give her very best recitation.
“Mama, I am sorry but I must insist that you listen to me”, she barely paused, “Albert has written to Uncle Cambridge and has asked for my hand in marriage and I love him Mama, very deeply, and if you would give your permission for us to be promised to each other I should be-“
Queen Louise charged towards her daughter and slapped her face.
“Impudent girl!”, she hollered, “You will go to your room and remain out of my sight until I leave this castle. How dare you intrude upon us like this. I have dealt with Albert’s letter and Stockmar’s interference. You will marry whomsoever I choose and until then, you shall obey me or else you shall never marry. Now go from sight at once”
The King stood to comfort his sister, but she was gone, dashing from the Queen’s Closet in a flurry of tears, her cries echoing through the corridors as she ran. The Dowager Queen closed the door and returned to her chair, falling into it and shaking her head.
“So like that girl to cause my heart so much trouble”, she spat angrily, “Sharper than the serpent’s tooth is an ungrateful child Georgie, I pray you shall never have such a daughter as I”. After a few moments, the Dowager Queen calmed herself and allowed the interruption to pass by. Then, from the table by her chairside, the Dowager Queen brought forward an engraving of the coronation of King George IV. She smiled down at the picture, sweeping her hand over it and laying it before her son. She pointed to her late husband.
“Papa…you see him there?”, she cooed, “And look…right there…next to him…it is me!”. George gave the drawing a cursory glance. “We were very happy Georgie”, the Queen said wistfully, “And do you know, your Papa trusted my judgement in everything?”
“Yes Mama”, the King nodded. He was desperate to tear after his sister and console her.
“It will be hard for you Georgie”, his mother continued, “To be without a wife when you are crowned. That is why your Papa asked me to find you a bride when the time came”
The King had always known that one day, his mother would present him with a wife. This was not a custom particular to the British Royal Family, but one commonly practised across Europe. Mothers sought out the best candidates whilst Fathers negotiated the diplomatic and financial aspects. The bride and groom had little say in the matter, though things were slightly different when the groom was already the monarch. In the usual way of things, Georgie would have married as Prince of Wales before his accession. Once he reached the age of majority, nobody could force him to marry against his will, though he had always intended to respect any young lady his mother (or any of his female relatives for that matter) seemed suitable.
“That time has now come”. The Dowager Queen smiled. It was not a warm smile.
“Oh Mama!”, George protested, “I need time to think about this!”
“We do not have time Georgie!”, Louise snapped, “When you are crowned, not one moment will be your own, you will have new advisors, new courtiers, they will push and pull you to their own plots and schemes, you must rule them all and you cannot do that as a child!”
“I am not a child Mama”
“Oh, but you are”, his mother hissed, “Too long you have played your games and wasted the hours on nonsenses but now you will be a man. You will face up to your duty, you will honour your late father and you will respect my wishes. You will marry Luise”.
“Uncle Clarence said-“
“Do not talk to me of Clarence!”, the Dowager Queen spat back at him, “Do you think that old man would have hesitated in forcing that hideous niece of his upon you if I had not forbad it? You didn’t know that did you? How I fought for you, how I kept you away from his foolish plans”
It was the first the King had ever heard of any such proposal. Indeed, he had once been enormously fond of his cousin Drina but he never suspected that his late uncle wished them to marry.
“If he had lived, Clarence would be giving you the same talk with we are having now. That was his duty. To marry Luise is yours”
The Dowager Queen had absolutely no qualms in lying to her son but in her mind, she was not entirely bending the truth. She had always insisted that the Duke of Clarence wished his niece to marry the King and that once they had wed, he would enact revenge on Louise by treating her in the same way she had treated Victoria’s late mother, the Dowager Duchess of Kent. These bitter fantasies had plagued Louise for so long that she now almost believed them to be true and when she spoke of them, she did so without any hint of self-doubt.
George felt heat flush his cheeks. He felt trapped, unable to see a way to buy himself more time. Part of him wanted to prove just how mature he was by jumping to his feet and refusing to do as his mother wished. But part of him still yearned for her approval. He always knew he must marry, every monarch had to secure the line of succession, he knew that from Stockmar’s odious lectures on Kingship. But he had no idea it would come so soon and that he would have little to no say in the matter. Time. If only there were more time.
“You have your duty Georgie, and this is mine”, the Queen said, her voice now soft and almost kind, “Your darling Papa made me promise that I would find you the right bride and I have. She is here, now, in the castle, just waiting for you. Do not let him down Georgie my little one, do not disappoint your Papa”
The King looked into his mother’s eyes. He was fond of Luise. Indeed, he had been taken with her from the moment she arrived in England and the more time they had spent together, the more he had delighted in her company. Even when his affections landed on another as they had recently at Rumpenheim, there was a strange comfort in knowing that Luise was still there. He could not imagine her not being there and yet, he did not yet know if he wanted her to be present as a friend and companion or as a wife. His mind swirled with what he must do and what he wanted to do. He tried to think of Stockmar’s lessons, of Uncle William’s advice, of Luise, of his coronation, of his parents. Looking into the Queen’s eyes, one emotion surged above all others in that moment. He saw an opportunity to make her proud of him.
“Very well Mama”, he said softly, “If you think it best then…then I shall do as you ask”
The silence of the room was broken by a shriek of delight from the Dowager Queen. She rushed forward toward the King and embraced him, kissing his cheeks and holding his face in her hands. He had never seen her so happy, so affectionate…so proud of him.
“Oh Georgie! Oh, you are such a clever boy, oh Liebchen!”, Louise cried, “And you shan’t regret it, she is a pearl Georgie! I have prepared everything, and you won’t have a thing to do. And she will be good for us Georgie, you shall see, so very good for us”.
And then, it was as if the Dowager Queen saw herself from above. Her smile lowered at the corners, her voice became quiet, and she smoothed down the front of her dress as if to smarten herself after her exertions. She avoided her son’s gaze for a moment and then walked behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I shall ask her to come in”, she said, quickly withdrawing her touch and quietly making her exit from the room.
'Her Majesty and Diamond', a portrait from 1838 depicting the then Queen Luise with her engagement present from her husband, a puppy named Diamond.
Next door in the King’s Closet sat Duchess Luise, a sour Baroness Pallenberg guarding her as if the poor girl was under house arrest. Pallenberg looked with wide eyes at her mistress as she entered, Queen Louise nodding with a wry smile towards her loyal pet. Without a word, she took Duchess Luise by the hand and led the girl to the door, ushering her through it and leaving it ajar not so much for propriety’s sake but so that she could hear her master plan finally come to fruition. Luise curtseyed to the King, her pale blue dress sweeping the hardwood floor and her blonde tresses catching the sunlight from the window which seemed to trace her head like a halo. The King blushed. He motioned for her to sit beside him. What happened next was recorded by Duchess Luise in her journal:-
“The King was a dear and put his hand on mine so very softly. He did not look into my eyes whilst he spoke, but I knew that was because he was nervous. He said that we did not know each other well but that the times we had shared he had enjoyed very much and that if I felt that way too, I might like to stay in England and share more time together. It was all so very lovely, and I saw in that moment what a charming and kind person he is. Then His Majesty asked if I would like to stay at Windsor, with him, as his wife. Aunt Louise had prepared me for this but he I think was not so for it took him some time to put the proposal to me.
I said that I should be happy to stay in England forever by his side if he wanted me to and then I kissed his cheek. We sat for a time, not speaking together but occasionally looking into each other’s eyes. Then Aunt Louise and the Baroness came into the room and the King told them that we had agreed to be married and both wished us well. I was very surprised then for Aunt Louise gave a ring for Georgie to pass to me, which he had not given when he proposed marriage, but which was so pretty I did not mind for perhaps he forgot in his excitement to ask for my hand to collect it from her. It fits me well and I am happy.”
The ring in question had been obtained for the princely sum of £3,000 [2] from Rundell & Bridge of London, the Dowager Queen using the opportunity to deliver a snub to the Crown Jewellers who had allowed the late Duke of Clarence to seize the Mandi Parure which was now being worn by the Princess of Orange at The Hague. If the Dowager Queen could not wear the suite she had coveted so badly, the future Queen consort would not wear an engagement ring from the Crown Jewellers either. Open-set in gold, the ring’s most eye-catching feature was an octagonal step-cut Burmese ruby within a border of twenty cushion-shaped brilliants in transparent silver collets [3]. The band was inscribed with “GR-L-SEPT-37”, a bold move by the Dowager Queen considering she could not be certain the engagement of her son to her niece would actually take place.
As soon as the more intimate members of the Royal Household (such as Baroness Pallenberg and Major Smith) were informed that the King was now engaged to be married, the Deputy Earl Marshal was summoned and ordered to take the news personally to the Duke of Cambridge and the Prime Minister in London. It would then be gazetted for the world to see. The only ones who were left entirely in the dark as to what had transpired at Windsor that evening were the bride’s parents. Though she naturally wrote to them to tell them her good news, the Dowager Queen had got there first.
In place of a personal informal letter full of congratulation (or even an invitation to England), she simply included a clipping from the London Gazette announcing the engagement of His Majesty the King to Her Highness Duchess Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz with a small note which read “With my compliments, your sister, Louise R”. It had taken the Queen almost two years, her patience wavering only at the last, but as she settled into bed that night, she allowed herself to feel proud of her work. All had been arranged just as she had wished and now, her position was secure. She had snatched a happy ending from the jaws of a pitiful future, and never again would anybody forget that she was the King’s mother. As she drifted off into sleep, she truly believed that a new era was about to begin; an era in which she would be front and centre.
[1] The 'Penny Coronation' was actually a name given to Lord Melbourne's budget for Queen Victoria's coronation in the OTL.
[2] This was the price paid for Victoria’s engagement ring by Prince Albert in the OTL.
[3] Based on the design of the Coronation Ring made for the OTL Queen Victoria by Rundell & Bridge in 1837/8.
*The position of Lord Great Chamberlain is actually a shared one but the reasons for this are so complicated that it would possibly take up an entire chapter to itself to make explain! Nonetheless, Lord Willoughby was the senior of the joint holders of the post at the time and so I've simplified things a little here by sticking with just the one.
Well not quite as dramatic as that but equally unpleasant as falling into sewage I'm sure.
