The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Ireland

The life and reign of Elizabeth II

Background:

In November 1817 Princess Charlotte of Wales died in childbirth along with her child. The Princess had been the only legitimate grandchild of George III, the only daughter of the Prince Regent, and her death meant for the first time in a century the British throne faced a succession crisis.

Charlotte's numerous uncles were all childless and with her death there was a mad dash to the altar as they fought to provide a much needed heir to the throne.

The Prince Regent was unable to remarry given he was still tied to his estranged wife and the Duke and Duchess of York were estranged and childless.

A marriage and a baby:

William Duke of Clarence, third in line of succession, would spend several months trying to find a suitable Protestant princess who would have him and cope with his brood of illegitimate children by his former mistress Dorothy Jordan. In July 1818 he would finally marry the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen - a sensible young woman, with a kind disposition.

The couple's first attempt at a child were initially unsuccessful though - a daughter Princess Charlotte was born and died in March 1819. But at St James' Palace on 10 December 1820 the Duchess of Clarence was delivered of a second daughter.

Her Highness Princess Elizabeth Georgina Adelaide of Clarence was christened the same day as the infant Princess was several weeks premature and perhaps unkind people might have assumed she would not have survived.
Careful nursing and a devoted mother saw the infant thrive - at her birth she was third in line to the throne (behind her uncle Frederick Duke of York and her father William Duke of Clarence).

It is easy to assume that her parents in naming her were dreaming of a second Elizabeth I however it was perhaps unlikely.
Although The Duke of Clarence was likely to ascend the throne, the Duchess was still a young woman and Elizabeth was her third pregnancy and more children and perhaps even a boy might be expected. She would deliver stillborn twin boys in 1822.

The little girl at Bushy house was a year or more younger than the other three children (Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent (b1819), Prince George of Cumberland (b1819) and Prince George of Cambridge (B1819)) that had resulted from her uncle's hasty marriages but she was by far the most important.

Childhood to accession:

Princess Elizabeth as largely raised by her pious and conservative mother Adelaide in an atmosphere of cozy informality at Bushy House at Teddington.
Her childhood companions would include the youngest of her half siblings (the children of her father by the actress Mrs Jordan).
It was by her own later account shortly after her mother's death the "happiest of childhoods".

There would also be visits to Bushy by her cousin Princess Alexandrina Victoria (Drina) but they were rare as the Duchess of Kent objected to the presence of the Duke's illegitimate children and feared the "lax" moral influence of the Duke's unusual family.

Eliza as she was known was a pretty and intelligent child by the accounts of her half sisters and her parents doted on her. Her lessons included French, German, Italian, and Latin - she spoke English with her father and siblings and a mixture of German and English with her mother.

After her father's accession her formal governess was the King's close friend Charlotte Duchess of Northumberland. Although it was a nominal role the Duchess kept an eye on the Princess' education and often raised household issues with the King and Queen in relation to their daughter.

From birth she had been third in line to the throne after her uncle, the Duke of York, and her father but in 1827 she became second in line to the throne and by order of her uncle was now addressed as Royal Highness.

When she was 9 her father succeeded his brother as King and the young Princess became heiress presumptive. There was considerable interest by newspapers in the little princess particularly during the turbulent time of the Great Reform Act when the Times described her as Britain's hope for the future.

The change in her family life certainly meant an end to the cozy life at Bushy House. Her mother established a household for the Princess at Marlborough House from 1831, though invariably she was lodged wherever her parents were. Parliament aware of the age of the King and her youth also moved to establish a regency act in the event she was not of age at her accession it also provided a regency in the event she died before her father leaving the throne to her cousin Alexandrina Victoria.

Another consideration which dominated her father's mind was who she would marry - The Duke of Cumberland (whose reactionary views were pretty similar to Queen Adelaide's) was hopeful she would marry his son Prince George thus keeping the thrones of Britain and Hanover united, her father who disliked his brother Cumberland was more favourably inclined to his other nephew Prince George of Cambridge.
Other suitors were also considered by her father - Prince Alexander and Prince Henry of The Netherlands (favoured strongly by William IV), Louis Duke of Nemours (son of Louis Philippe) was briefly considered after his visit to England in 1835 but was thought unlikely on grounds of religion, along with a raft of minor German princelings (who might it was said be more willing to play second fiddle to the British Queen).

The King of The Belgians was keen to promote the interests of his own nephews writing to his sister the Duchess of Kent that perhaps she could mention them to both the King and Queen as "their admirable qualities" would surely recommend them well to the young Princess. It was perhaps a bit unlikely given the Duchess of Kent's poor relationship with the King and his wife.

King William IV personally favoured Alexander of The Netherlands largely based on his knowledge of the boy's father the Prince of Orange who had served in the British Army and had once been considered as a groom for Princess Charlotte - the Prince and his Russian wife were also keen on such an illustrious match for their second son and little was done to discourage the idea. William also believed a non-German match would perhaps have more appeal to Parliament and the populace.

Little had been decided though when in June 1837 William IV finally died.

Accession and a second regency:

In her diary the new 16-year-old Queen would write:

"Was woken by Mama at 11 of the evening and went with her to Papa's rooms and sat by his bed with the others. Poor dear man I think he never recovered from dearest Sophy's death and he passed just after two. He was such a good, dear and kind father to me and I feel this loss deeply. We were all struck dumb until Mama rose and curtsied to me before kissing my hand. I am ashamed I burst into tears at that and Mama had to hold me until I could compose myself. Then went to Papa's sitting room where Lord Coyninham and the Archbishop bowed before me most low and told me that Mama was to be regent."

The first issue facing the Royal Family was where they would live - Queen Adelaide was all for remaining at Windsor and continuing to use Marlborough House and Bushy House - her daughter the new Queen would of course live with her she told Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister.

King William had continued the rebuilding of Buckingham Palace begun by his brother but notably more parsimonious than his brother he had tried to give it away to the Government and the army. With work nearing completion it was now expected that the young Queen would occupy the building. Queen Adelaide refused pointedly to consider moving though so the matter was dropped and the Palace would remain empty for the time being.

Elizabeth herself quite liked the building and would write to her sister Lady Falkland:
"Accompanied Mama to look at the rooms proposed for us at Buckingham House. Even Mama admitted they are nicely proportioned and all in elegance however she kept muttering in that way of hers about the cost, the waste and so forth. I liked it well enough and thought it very fitting for a Queen. The gardens have the potential to be quite lovely and it certainly has more rooms than dear old Bushy."

The Queen's Coronation it was decided would not wait until after she attained her majority on 10 December 1838 and would instead take place earlier in June.
Queen Adelaide also insisted that her daughter be with her in meetings with Ministers and officials to better understand her duties unless unseemly or inappropriate matters were to be discussed.

The little Queen's household would initially be little more than that which she had as heiress presumptive - Queen Adelaide was convinced her daughter should enjoy a little freedom and be surrounded by "all that is familiar to her" before she took full control of her duties. Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, was also keen to spend time with the young Queen and shortly after her accession would spend several hours explaining things to her in detail prompting some gossip about his attentions.

Melbourne himself was concerned about the Queen's accession and was worried that she would be "very much of her mother's mind and opinion" referring to the well known opposition of Queen Adelaide to reform which to be fair to the Queen has been overstated as she was by no means as reactionary as her brother in law the new King of Hanover.
 
I had a though of having one of William's daughters with Adelaide, survive childhood. (The other child being, Princess Charlotte Augusta Louisa of Clarence, who died on 27 March 1819, a few hours after being baptised, in Hanover.)

Have a second Queen Elizabeth in 1822, rather then 1952 is always an interesting idea.

Who do you plan on having Queen Elizabeth II marrying?
- Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, second son of the Prince of Orange (a decendant of George II of Great Britain, via his daughter Anne, Princess Royal)
- Prince George of Hanover, son of her uncle, Ernest Augustus of Hanover.
- Prince Albert of Prussia, the fifth son and youngest child of King Frederick William III of Prussia.
 
Regency, money and coronation preparations:

Lord Melbourne and his wife would be prominent guests at the first dinner given by the Queen after mourning for her father officially passed. It would be also the first time a dinner invitation from the Sovereign would be issued from the new Buckingham Palace where after much arguments Queen Adelaide had finally agreed to move with her daughter in February 1838.
The dinner was just the immediate family as the Queen wrote in her diary:

"Mama thought it proper that our first entertainment here should be a dinner with just the family and some musical entertainments and cards but it was not a small group that sat down.
Aunt Kent and Drina, Uncle and Aunt Cambridge, Georgie (C) and Gusta (C), the Gloucesters, and the aged aunts. Aunt K nearly declined after she found mama had asked poor old Uncle Sussex and his wife in the end he declined. Mary and Amelia, Dolly and Gussie(Fitzclarence) also came which annoyed Aunt K.
"It was not a spirited evening but Drina, Augusta and I managed to escape for a few moments when I took them to show them my rooms. The new house is most comfortable and I like it very much particularly my rooms which are the largest I have ever had there is a wonderful sense of privacy despite being so near everything and everyone."


The Queen's coronation would cause a significant political dispute between the Whigs and the Tory's - Lord Melbourne had proposed a June coronation with the accompanying pomp and a significant range of opportunities for celebrations. However Sir Robert Peel and several Tory MPs questioned his decision particularly over the fact that it may well be illegal for the Queen to take the Oath given she would still only be 17.

Sir Robert also wanted more time for preparations and believed Melbourne would use the coronation to increase his influence over the young Queen. Melbourne argued that it was usual that a coronation take place as soon as practical after the mourning period for the late monarch and that with regard the oath prescribed by law the Queen could take it again once she came of age in December 1838 to satisfy those concerned. Peel was not to be moved and used his influence with Queen Adelaide's lady's many of whom leant towards the Tory's and in the end Melbourne was forced to back down.
The Queen's coronation would eventually take place in May 1839 it was decided just a few months after she came of age.

In turn in a short conversation with the Queen Regent he requested that a number of appointments to the new Queen's household include those whose families were of a Whig persuasion rather than the Tory's he feared the young Queen might opt for given the influence of her Tory leaning mother.
Queen Adelaide agreed and included a number of Whig ladies including the Countess of Durham (the daughter of Lord Grey) and appointed the Duchess of Sutherland as Mistress of the Robes to the teenaged Queen in return she was permitted to retain many of her own household.

Financial arrangements were also needed - an emergency bill passed by Parliament at the end of 1837 confirmed that Queen Adelaide would continue to receive her £50,000 a year allowance as the widow of William IV.
In addition she would receive around £140,000 for salaries of her household as Queen Regent to expire on the 10th December 1838. The young Queen would receive £50,000 for her household and a privy purse of £20,000. Jointly the two women would also receive £170,000 for the expenses of the Royal Household. A combined civil list of around £385,000. The Queen Regent would also receive the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall again until December 1838 when they would pass to the young Queen.

Melbourne aware of the contentious nature of the discussion also passed a bill confirming a full civil list for the Queen on her coming of age - subject to Her Majesty as usual resigning all the hereditary revenues of the crown - an annuity of £385,000 plus the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall (until the birth of a male heir). The Treasury would continue to bear the cost of maintaining the Royal residences and Yachts and pensions paid to other members of the Royal Family were after some arguement removed from the civil list and would be borne by the treasury. It was also determined that monies required to be granted to the Queen's future husband and children would be determined by Parliament as needed.

Some MPs objected pointing out that no details of how much the Queen had inherited from King William or how much of her own pre-accession income had been saved or invested had been given to members - however the bill eventually passed despite attempts to curb it.

The Queen's coronation would be modelled on that of her father's and would prove more expensive though not as costly as that of her uncle George IV's. There was also some discussion over what the 18-year-old should be crowned with - her father had used the George I Crown that all the Hanoverian King's had worn with the exception of George IV but it was not in a good state of repair and like the St Edward's Crown was thought too heavy for the teenaged Queen.

After some discussion a new State Crown would be created for Queen Elizabeth II. She would also wear the George IV state diadem on her way to the Abbey it was decided. One other issue was the status of Queen Adelaide and whether she would or should attend the Coronation of her daughter. Uniquely almost every British Queen Consort had died before her son or daughter's accession so there was no real precedence.
In the end after much discussion and an intervention by Queen Elizabeth herself it was decided the Queen would attend observing the ceremony with the other ladies of the Royal Family though she would process through the abbey ahead of the other royal ladies before the arrival of the Queen. She would wear the crown made for her own coronation in 1831 as a diadam but without its arches.
Even that caused a problem as the Duchess of Kent was annoyed believing that her daughter as heiress presumptive should have led the Royal Ladies and thought the Queen Dowager should not have attended at all as she wrote to her brother the King of the Belgians.

"She {Queen Adelaide} should stay away really. It is unseemly for her to take a lead in the ceremony when the second person in the realm is forced to follow behind. The Queen apparently will have no changes at this stage and Lord M has not yet responded to Sir John's inquiry about the rights of such a thing."

The Queen would confide her thoughts to her journal regarding the coronation preparations three days before the event:
"Went to the Abbey today with Mama, The Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Sheffield. Great crowds in the streets who gave us a loud and friendly welcome as we drove by which was most touching. All the arrangements look to be very convenient including the rooms where I am to change robes and where refreshments would be kept. The Duke of Norfolk, the Archbishop and the Bishop of London showed me all I had to do during the service and as we drove back to St James' there were even more cheers for Mama and I. Much inspired by the visit as I said to Mama it was all much clearer what I had to do and when. Mama and I dined with a small party including Aunt and Uncle C, Lord M etc."
 
Self-rule and coronation:

The Queen attended her first council as sovereign on 10th December 1838 which was held at Buckingham Palace and gave a short speech:

"The great loss our country suffered more than a year ago with the death of His Majesty, my dearest and devoted father led to the duty of administering the Government of this empire falling temporarily to my beloved mother and now is imposed upon me. The dread responsibility has come at an early period in my life and there was never a Sovereign so uneager of taking up the role as I had hoped that my dear father, the late King, would be granted more years to better guide me in the duties and responsibilities that have now devolved upon me.
I am sustained by God who has called me to this work and hope and pray He will guide us and give us the strength and support to sustain us in this onerous task to the greater good of all the people whose care I have been entrusted with through His will.
I know that I will also be guided in this by the wisdom of Parliament and the loyalty of my people. I have learned since infancy to love my native country and have been greatly encouraged in that by the support and love of two parents who have shown such respect and regard for the rights of all their subjects and the traditional laws and liberties of the realm to the admiration of all.
It will be my unceasing work also to maintain the reformed Religion as by Law established securing at the same time to all the full enjoyment of religious liberty, and I shall steadily protect the rights and promote to the utmost of my power the happiness and welfare of all classes of my subjects."

The Queen's coronation finally took place on 23rd of May 1839.

Large crowds of spectators had taken up positions in the early hours of the morning and the young Queen was woken in her rooms at Buckingham Palace by the sounds of final preparations:

"The guns woke me up at 4 and lay wide awake until Mary (the Queen's maid) came in a 7 due to the noise outside of people, bands and soldiers. Breakfasted lightly as Mama said the ceremony would be long and a heavy meal might upset my nerves.
"My carriage left the palace at 10 to a loud gun salute, the crowds along the route were far more than I had expected and they were so good natured towards me, cheering and shouting as we passed them by. I felt so proud to see such loyalty and humble that it was all for me."

The Queen was not the only one who received riotous cheers as she traveled to the Abbey - the Queen Dowager and other royal ladies who had left the Palace shortly before the Queen's procession were also loudly acclaimed particularly the Queen Dowager.
As one newspaper would report:

"Very enthusiastic, too, was the cheering that greeted Queen Adelaide, for it was universally felt how great was the debt of gratitude owed to her as she had judiciously guided the nation during her daughter's minority and how this illustrious lady had prepared with love, kindness and grace her beloved daughter for her high and exalted position."


The throng of people in the capital meant the Queen's procession took more than an hour to reach the Abbey where the Queen was met with resounding cheers:

"At the Abbey went straight to the robing room where i took some refreshments with my train bearers before the various ceremonies began.
It was I confess very long but a really most solemn air took me quite over when the annointing with the holy oils took place and when the Archbishop placed the crown upon my head it was a moment of true spectacle resounding cheers, trumpets and guns - surely the most memorable moment of my life."

The Queen would leave the Abbey some six hours later wearing the new State Crown and carrying the orb and sceptre to return to Buckingham Palace once again cheered by large crowds.

The additional time of planning had ensured a ceremony with spectacle but there were errors as some churchmen and peers turned the wrong way, trod on their robes or appeared unsure what came next, but the Queen herself acquitted herself well as one politician in the MPs gallery observed in a letter:

"The Queen looked very well, and performed her part with great grace and completeness, which cannot in general be said of the other performers; they were always in doubt as to what came next." Benjamin Disraeli MP


Once back at Buckingham Palace the Queen hosted a large dinner, rather than a coronation banquet in Westminster Hall as in years gone by, attended by the Queen's family. She then watched the fireworks with her younger cousins before going to bed.
The following day she visited the coronation fair and on the Saturday evening gave a splendid ball at Buckingham Palace.

During the ball it was noted that the Queen had been pleased to dance with a number of dignitories and showed no sign of fatigue from her heavy load of engagements. It was also clear the press was interested in who the unmarried Queen might show favor to as Lord Melbourne noted in a letter to a cousin.

"Her Majesty showed much favour to George of Cambridge at the ball and was noted to have danced with him at least twice through the course of the evening. He is of a Tory leaning I suspect though still quite young one supposes. She also bestowed similar honours on the Dutch Prince's. There has been no mention of any Germans including the Prince of Hanover which is to the good as I doubt Parliament has the stomach for that. We will have to see which way the lady leans in time as I think she is currently enjoying a kind of freedom as Sovereign she has not had hitherto despite the affection she bears her mother."
 
A Royal Engagement:


Following the coronation celebrations the Queen decamped first to Windsor and then to Brighton in the summer.
From her journal it was clear she enjoyed the coastal resort and had happy memories of family visits to both her Uncle George IV and with her parents during her father's reign.
The Queen records picnics and trips to the beach and carriage rides with her mother and other ladies as well as entertainments and dinners.

Queen Adelaide in her letters was less content in Brighton such as this one to her brother.

"It is really the most inconvenient place. The King had more accommodations built as the original design had little in the way of appropriate accommodations for a wife! The rooms are small and the rooves always leak if it rains. Thank the Lord for good weather! Eliza enjoys it here but more and more of the people come each year and there is little in the way of privacy.
"When she has children I doubt she will find it as entertaining as she does now though her indecision in that direction continues."


The Queen's marriage did not just concern her mother it was on everyone's minds and almost everyone had an opinion and debate raged into the New Year.

Her uncle the King of Hanover was especially concerned that she should in an ideal world marry his only son thus reuniting Hanover and Great Britain but in reality even the King was aware that alliance was unlikely to happen and would be opposed by the British Parliament.

The Duchess of Cambridge was also keen to push her own son upon Elizabeth - frequently writing to Queen Adelaide and the Queen of "dearest George's" successes in his military career (the Prince was a Colonel in the British Army). However the Prince himself was said to be lukewarm on the idea preferring to pursue his career - he was also known to have a distaste for arranged marriages.

The Queen herself would write to her sister Lady Falkland in February 1840:

"Long talks with Mama about the usual subject if you get my meaning. It is such an important decision and for myself would prefer to find one with whom I have a natural attraction and fondness for.
"All of course have an opinion but Mama has been quiet on whom though I know she has a liking for Georgie (Cambridge) I have no great desire in that direction despite uncle Dolphus and Aunt Augusta's urgings.
"Aunt K is unusually silent on the matter though has recommended her nephews to Mama on several occassion. I found Ernst a bit dull when they visited last summer, Albert is nicer but honestly very German!
"I also think Drina's eyes have drifted in that direction. She writes quite fondly of him to me though I suspect a Belgian influence there."


In the Spring of 1840 there were further visits when the Prince and Princess of Orange visited Windsor with their two middle sons William Alexander and William Henry - the Queen wrote in her diary:

"The Duch (sic) boys are back and much improved particularly Sasha who wore his Russian uniform, given by his uncle the Emperor, at dinner and looked marvellous.
"I had a long ride with both of them yesterday in the Park and showed them all its delights. Sasha was most interested in all things and so solicitous of me and so gentlemanly.
"Mama and I accompanied The Prince and Princess back to London and they were given a resounding welcome by the people many who naturally remember his service in our army during the great conflict.
"The Duke of W and he spent such a long time after dinner talking of times past that it delayed the dancing and the Duke had to apologise to me for keeping me waiting much to the hilarity of the Dutch suite."


Lord Melbourne clearly thought the Queen had decided as he wrote: "It is likely to be the Dutch Prince I think based on my observations. I met him at Windsor and he seems a sensible man and not one to push forward which is what she needs - a husband not a consort.
"It will go easier with Parliament that he is the grandson of a King and not another minor penniless princeling and of course is also unlikely to inherit a throne."


In the late Summer of 1840 the Queen wrote to the Princess of Orange:

"It pleases me so much that you and the Prince have allowed Sasha and Henry to return to us for a short visist in September. I have such happy memories of our time together at Windsor and am looking forward to being reunited.
"Sasha writes he is delighted to return as he says he is becoming so fond of England. I have told him it will be a "private" visit without formality or tedious people that he will have to meet just Mama, myself and the family here.
"I know Your Highness that there has been much talk of certain matters and I hope that my reluctance to divulge my feelings have not offended. It is merely modesty and a wish to talk discreetly with Sasha about things."


On September 18th 1840 the Queen confided to her diary:

"Happiest most desired day! After luncheon I asked Sasha to come to my sitting room alone. I said that he must understand why I wished to speak with him privately and he said 'Yes or at least I hope it is something that I also wish with all my heart'.
"I nodded and said I hoped that he would make me the happiest woman and consent to marry me. He took me in his arms and we embraced closely for some time before he kissed me which was so so wonderful. I am sure he will the absolute perfect husband.
"After we spoke for a while longer and then he said he wished to speak to Mama to assure her of his affections towards me."


The following day the Queen officially wrote to the Privy Council to notify them of her engagement.
 
Naturalization, income and precedence:

The announcement of the Queen's betrothal was met with universal delight.

It assured the people the Queen would soon, God willing, be blessed with children, and a future husband who was a Dutch prince and nephew of the Russian Emperor seemed a match of a more equal rank than an obscure prince from a minor nation.

The first question raised by the Privy Council was whether the Queen's husband could be a foreign subject and should Parliament be asked by Her Majesty to pass an act of Naturalization as was required for the husband of Princess Charlotte

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Cottenham would formally notify the Prime Minister, the Royal Household and the Privy Council that he thought it unnecessary:

"It is clear that His Royal Highness being a descendant of His Majesty King George II would under usual circumstances be entitled to British Nationality under an Act for the Naturalization of the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and
the Issue of her Body (1705). This act of course would bestow nationality on all of the descendants of the Electress of Hanover. I do believe legislation in these circumstances to be unnecessary unless Her Majesty or the Government were to insist."


A second issue was the Prince's precedence - The Queen wrote to Lord Melbourne on November 4th 1840 after the issue was raised in Parliament.

"My Lord the issue of the Prince's precedence is I believe absolutely clear. It is our perogative to grant precedence within the Royal Family and I note that when the King of The Belgians was married to my poor cousin Charlotte his precedence rested with my grandfather as King or more correctly my dear late Uncle as Regent.
"It is my dearest wish as you know and as we discussed that the Prince should be second only to us during our lifetime.
"It is inconceivable to me that he should have to give way to his own sons if we are blessed with children whilst I am Queen. I hope this matter is now at an end."


Lord Melbourne confirmed during debates on the Prince's income that he would have precedence over all except Her Majesty for her lifetime only. He also informed Parliament that His Royal Highness had declined the Queen's offer of a peerage which would have entitled him to sit in the House of Lords just as her uncle's were entitled to.

The Queen's requested figure for the Prince was based on the amount of money granted to her mother as Queen Consort and the wives' of George IV and George III and the income granted to Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte (though since becoming King of the Belgians Leopold returned the bulk of his income as Charlotte's widower) - a sum of £50,000 for life but it proved controversial as many on both sides of the House thought it excessive for such a young man.

The Palace had forgotten perhaps that the expenditure of a Queen Consort was naturally greater tham that needed by a Queen Regnant's husband. It also came after the Queen had been granted a higher allowance than her late father and the proposal was far higher than the figures allowed to other member's of the family.

There was also many members who asked why the King of Hanover and his son were continuing to receive an income given that after his succession to the Belgian throne Prince Leopold had given up his allowance and that if the Queen were to die without issue why should the Prince continue to receive such an excessive allowance that could be used to support a second wife and any children by that subsequent marriage.

They were told that payments to the King of Hanover did include pensions and charitable committements made by the King as Duke of Cumberland which the Hanoverian state had no obligation to fulfill and that the King remained a member of the British Royal Family and until the Queen had children was very near to the throne.

Under revisions made in 1838 payments to the Royal Family included:

21,000 a year to the Queen's three surviving Uncles of Sussex, Cambridge and the King of Hanover.
Prince George of Cambridge and Prince George of Cumberland (Crown Prince of Hanover) received 6,000 a year each.
The Duchess of Kent received around 12,000 a year.
There was also provision for the surviving daughters of George III and for the Duke of Gloucester and his sister.
No new provisions were made for Princess Alexandrina of Kent, Princess Augusat of Cambridge or Princess Mary of Cambridge.

In the end Parliament compromised and voted Prince William Alexander an allowance of 30,000 a year for his lifetime in February 1841.

Extract of a letter from Queen Elizabeth II to Queen Anna of The Netherlands:

"I am most unhappy with all the talk in Parliament of money. It is of course only right and proper that dear Sasha have an income of his own, quite seperate of me, as no husband wants to beg his wife for money for incidentals etc. I thought the figure I mentioned, which the Prime Minister agreed, was quite fair given it was what King Leopold was granted and that was almost thirty years hence. I must offer you Mama, if I may, a profound apology for all the demands in Parliament that referred to what income Sasha has from you and his father, it was most intrusive and no-one's concern.
"Sasha, as you would expect, has told me not to trouble myself about this and it was to be expected. Politicians, he said, do not like to give money away even when it is not theirs! He tells me he is content with the £30,000 as he is not extravagant, he is so dear and kind to me."


With the matters of money and precedence settled the Queen began preparing for her wedding in May of 1841.
 
Last edited:
Top