At last Conroy ruined everything. “He told the Duchess, “if Princess Victoria will not listen to reason, she must be coerced.” Victoire was already becoming apprehensive: realizing that she had lost her daughter’s trust, she was now hesitant to take any more drastic measures. Even Charles Leiningen, formerly a pawn of Conroy’s by his reliance on financial loans, saw that Sir John had gone too far and advised his mother not to obey him. For the last few days of King William’s life, Kensington was in a state of uneasy truce.” (British Heritage, P.7, 1998)
At 6 o’clock in the morning on June 20th, 1837 the Duchess of Kent woke her daughter with the news that William IV was dead.
All her life Victoria had been used to receiving visitors in the company of her mother. Now, for the first time, she went alone into the room where the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain were waiting. All
through that day of mixed grief and triumph, Victoria undertook her first duties alone, emphasizing that word in her account of the day in her journal with great enjoyment. That night, for the first time, she did not sleep in her mother’s bedroom.
Victoria was no longer a child. She was now a woman and a Queen. All her accounts were paid in full: Lehzen became her closest attendant, remaining her confidante. “Her mother, though treated with deference in public, was shunned at home — often, in reply to the Duchess’s request to see her daughter, Victoria would send a note with the one word “Busy”; Conroy was forbidden access to the Queen’s private rooms at Buckingham Palace.” (Farley, P.8, 1998) It was to be many years, however, before the Duchess of Kent regained her daughter’s affection.
“I love peace and quiet, I hate politics and turmoil. We women are not made for governing, and if we are good women, we must dislike these masculine occupations. There are times which force one to take interest in them, and I do, of course intensely.” (Victorian Station, P.2. 2000)
6e0
1. Arnstein, Walter L. “Victoria (queen).” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.
CD-ROM. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 1993-1998.
2. Erickson, Carolly. Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria.
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997
3. Farley, M. Foster. “Queen Victoria’s Childhood.” Online. Internet Explorer.
Accessed 1 March 2000.
Available http://www.thehistorynet.com/BritishHeritage/articles/1998/11982_text.htm
4. Miller, Ilana. “The Life & Issue of Queen Victoria.” Online. Internet Explorer.
Accessed 1 March 2000. Available http://www.likesbooks.com/victoria.html
5. “Victorian Station.” Excerpts from Queen Victoria’s journals and personal
correspondence. Online. Internet Explorer. Accessed 1 March 2000.
Available http://victorianstation.com/queenquotes.htm