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| The infant Victoria with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. |
Before being forced to marry, Victoria’s father, the Duke of Kent lived with his mistress, Madam de Saint Laurent, for many years. After the government urged him to look for a royal wife, he eventually found a suitable bride in the person of Princess Victoria, daughter of Francis Frederick, reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and of Princess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorff.
The duke of Kent takes a bride
The bride had been married before to Emich Charles, Prince of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Hardenburg, who died in 1814 and left him with two children – Charles, who succeeded to his father’s title, and Feodora. She met the duke in Amorbach, where she was then living. Her brother, Leopold, who was married to Princess Charlotte, encouraged her sister’s union with his late wife’s uncle.
Money was one of the reasons why the duke decided to get married. He was already encumbered with debts before she met the princess and marrying her will enable him to receive a substantial income from the parliament.
The wedding between the Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg was solemnized on July 11, 1818.
Queen Victoria is born
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| Baby Victoria |
The newborn royal baby was named Alexandrina Victoria, the latter being unheard of in the English-speaking world until that time. It was the product of a conflict of her father with her uncle the prince regent, who refused her to be christened with a “royal” name, like Augusta or Charlotte.
Alas, the duke did not live long after the infant princess’ birth. He succumbed to pneumonia and died on Jan. 23, 1820, six days before his father the king passed away. They were both buried in Windsor.
Prince Leopold’s Influence to Queen Victoria
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| King Leopold I of Belgium, Victoria's uncle and surrogate father. |
Left with nothing but a debts, the Duchess of Kent and the young princess went to live at Kensington Palace, having the economical support of Prince Leopold. Before his marriage to Princess Charlotte, the parliament provided the prince with an annuity of L50,000 for life. He continued to live in England, at Claremont House in Usher, Surrey until 1831 after he was elected first king of the Belgians.
The widowed mother trusted her brother as her best adviser and he was responsible for the general character of Queen Victoria’s education. After he went to Belgium, Victoria and Leopold carried on an affectionate correspondence throughout the 34 years of their joint lives. After her accession, the niece tactfully eluded and quickly terminated the uncle’s attempts to control British policies behind the backs of the British cabinet. Nonetheless, though she could not accept him as an extra-constitutional adviser, Victoria found in correspondence to her uncle, a delightful outlet for her private and unofficial feelings; only to him for example, did she speak of Palmerston and Russell as “those two dreadful men.”
On his death she recorded on her journal that he had been “ever a father” to her.
Baroness Louise Lehzen plays an important role in Queen Victoria’s childhood
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| The Baronness Lehzen is the young princess' nanny. Early in her reign, she was a trusted confidante. |
The young princess’ home was Kensington Palace, though she stayed at times with her uncle at Claremont and frequently traveled on the continent with her mother. Her half-sister Feodore was her nursery companion and remained her friend until her death in 1872.
When Victoria was five and admirable governess was found for her in the person of Fraulein (later Baroness) Louise Lehzen, a native of Coburg. Louise Lehzen won the whole-hearted devotion of the young princess and was the principal influence in her life until her accession to the throne, quite eclipsing the influence of her mother, the duchess of Kent. Victoria’s relation to her mother may be described as correct and usually friendly but no more. Hers is an elusive, pathetic figure. Her influence was of negative character, yet not this reason unimportant.
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