Queen Victoria and Her Conflict with Lord Palmerston

Moving on with our Queen Victoria series, today we will discuss about Queen Victoria’s “cold” treatment of one of her ministers, Lord Palmerston. We shall see how this long-running conflict began.

Lord Palmerston was also on conflict's edge with the royal couple.

The defeat of the Tories in the 1846 General Elections saw the dismissal of Sir Robert Peel from the office. With the Whigs on the helm of the government, Henry John Temple, the Viscount Palmerston was appointed Minister of the Foreign Office. His ascension to that post ushered in the greatest struggle between the crown and its ministers since the day when George III had dismissed the coalition government of Fox and North.

Lord Palmerston’s long tenure in public office made up almost untouchable

Palmerston’s appointment to the Foreign Office came shortly after he celebrated his 60th birthday, a time when he could proudly look back on his achievements and career in the government that began in 1809, ten years before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were born. Always confident in his wit and diplomatic skills, he is well-regarded by his colleagues and enemies alike with his strong capacity solve every problem in the office at an instant.

Lord Palmerston’s differences with Prince Albert

Cunning, brave, unpretentious, and disdainful when dealing with other foreign potentates and diplomatic envoys, Lord Palmerson was, in any way, the opposite of Prince Albert’s dignified and rigid personality. This led to a breach in the relationship between the two men. Albert made it known that he never trusted Palmerston. His dislike to him was such that, with the advice of Stockmar, he came to a point of arguing with him over his interpretation of the British Constitution.

In the rivalry that ensued between the two, Victoria, as always, went on Albert’s side. The queen vehemently and passionately opposed Palmerston’s policy and on his interpretation of the British Constitution – a constitution noted for its flexibility and endurance in the passing of time. At the height of the conflict, Lord Clarendon, after a dinner with the royal pair, quipped that the queen and the prince-consort “labored under the curious mistake that the Foreign Office was their peculiar department, and that they had the right to control, if not direct, the foreign policy of England.”

Lord John Russell sides with the royal pair

Amidst the heated quarrel between the royal couple and Lord Palmerston, the former was eventually able to employ the support of the prime minister Lord John (later Earl) Russell. Russell was always at loggerheads with Palmerston for treating his colleagues as casually as he did to the sovereign. He took important decisions to himself and made crucial orders without consulting either the queen or the prime minister.

The Great Exhibition Highlights Queen Victoria's Reign

The Great Exhibition of 1851, and the success that followed it afterwards, was primarily the product of Prince Albert’s ingenuity, rather than that of Queen Victoria’s. After the old Houses of Parliament was burned down and the ensuing problems that occurred while planning the new building, Prime Minister Robert Peel thought of a royal commission that would oversee the promotion of arts and sciences. This led to Prince Albert’s proposal to launch the Great Exhibition.

Prince Albert Thinks of Holding the Exhibition

The Great Exhibition, 1851

Without consulting anyone, Albert planned the Great Exhibition with the greatest care. There have been exhibitions around the world before but he wanted to stage the grandest of them all and make it the crowning glory of the vastness and the technological advances of the British Empire. He also envisioned it to be a showcase of every country’s product – raw materials, machinery, manufacturing and mechanical invention in applied and plastic arts.

Since his childhood, Prince Albert was already an avid student of science and his capacity towards organization was proven after putting things in the Queen’s household to order, making him the most qualified person to handle the gargantuan task of planning and organizing the exhibition. Having conceived and finalized his plans, he organized a small committee to help him bring his ideas into fruition. After the committee approved his plans, work, however hard it was, began to realize his goals.

Front entrance of the Crystal Palace

Plans for the Great Exhibition

For two years, Prince Albert worked tirelessly for the Exhibition to push through. The initial stages ran smoothly with leading industrialists warmly welcoming the idea. The East India Company as well as the British dominions was sympathetic with this idea while the neighboring nations were eager to display their best. Behind Albert was Sir Robert Peel who, from the start, backed him up and the use of Hyde Park to build the massive structure that would house the exhibition he approved without hesitation. Of the 234 plans for the exhibition building, the Prince chose that of Joseph Paxton’s, whose talent in designing majestic conservatories was renowned worldwide.

Queen Victoria inaugurates the Crystal Palace at the opening of the
Great Exhibition

Exhibition interiors

Oppositions Mount Against the Great Exhibition

The road towards the realization of Albert’s dream was no easy way. Oppositions mounted over time and a great outcry suddenly burst, with The Times on the helm, against the use of the park of the exhibition. For a time, it was even decided that the monument be built at the suburb. It was only until after a series of heated deliberations in the Parliament did the use of the park become possible.

The grand opening

Then followed the lack of money to fund the project. Luckily, this was solved and L200, 000 was allocated. Indeed, there was no stopping for the enormous glass structure, aptly named Crystal Palace from over-towering and out-sizing the structures that surrounded it. But this, too, did not pass the public fury. In the House of Lords, Lord Brougham castigated the queen for allowing the construction of Crystal Palace at Hyde Park; in the House of Commons, Colonel Sibthorpe predicted that London would be invaded by foreign rouges and revolutionists who would break the morals of the land, steal the trading secrets of her people, and destroy their loyalty towards their faith and the sovereign. Subthorpe even said that he prayed for hail and lightning to strike and curse the building.

The Crystal Palace encloses trees in Hyde Park

But the Prince was not the person who could be easily put down. His unwavering perseverance and endless patience pushed him to achieve his goals. His health, no matter how affected it was from constantly sleeplessness and stressed brought about by the immensity of his duty, sustained him and permitted him to work harder and harder every day.

Queen Victoria Inaugurates the Great Exhibition

On May 1, 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Crystal Palace and officially inaugurated the Great Exhibition before a host of dignitaries awed and bedazzled by the structure. Indeed, it became a colossal success and the surplus, amounting to L150, 000 was used to build the South Kensington Museum, now known as Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as to buy adjacent land.

This article was originally published at Suite 101.

Queen Victoria, Biography: The Growth of the Royal Family

Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert produced nine children and a very happy family life.

Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children.

Between 1840 and 1857 saw the growth of the queen’s family. She eventually mothered nine children, whose descendants would earn her the moniker “Grandmother of Europe.”

Queen Victoria Gives Birth to Nine Children

The Princess Royal, future Empress
Frederick of Germany

In a span of 17 years, from 1840 to 1857, Queen Victoria gave birth to four sons and five daughters, who all grew up to occupy relevant positions in European royal history.

The eldest daughter, Victoria, the Princess Royal, was born in Nov. 1840. Precocious and perhaps the most intelligent of Queen Victoria's daughters, she married the future Emperor Frederick III of Germany in 1858. 


She gave birth to eight children: the Emperor William II, Charlotte, Grand Duches of Saxe-Meiningen, Prince Henry, Prince Sigismund (who died in childhood), Victoria, Princess Adolph of Schaumburg-Lippe, Sophia, Queen of the Hellenes; and Margaret, Margravine of Hesse-Cassel. She died in 1901 after suffering from breast cancer.


The second child and eldest son, Albert Edward, was Prince of Wales by birth. In 1901, he succeed her mother as King Edward VII. She married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, daughter of King Christian IX in 1863. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra with their children.

They had six children: Albert, Duke of Clarence, who died in 1892; King George V, who succeed in 1910; Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife; Princess Victoria, who remained single; Maud, Queen of Norway by marriage to King Haakon; and Prince Alexander John who died in infancy.

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse

Then followed Princess Alice, shy but intelligent whose compassion led her to suffer melancholy in her later years, was born 1942. She married Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1862. 


They were blessed with seven children: Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven; the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, who was martyred by the Bolsheviks; Princess Irene, Princess Henry of Prussia; Ernest Louis, who succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Hesse; Prince Frederick, who died an infant; the ill-fated Empress Alexandra of Russia; and Princess Marie, who died in childhood. She died a victim of typhoid during the plague that hit Darmstadt in 1878.

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, followed in 1844. He married Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, only daughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia. 

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh,
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

They had five children: Prince Alfred, who committed suicide in 1899; Princess Marie, later Queen of Romania; the Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia, wife of the pretender to the throne Grand Duke Cyril; Princess Alexandra, Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; and Infanta Beatrice of Spain, Duchess of Galliera.

Princess Helena, who married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, was born1846. She is the queen's plainest and most dependable daughter. She and Prince Christian enjoyed the happiest and longest-lasting marriage among Queen Victoria's children. 


They had five children: Prince Christian Victor, who died of enteric fever in Pretoria in 1900; Prince Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein; Princess Helena Victoria; and Princess Marie Louise, who married and divorced Prince Aribert of Anhalt.

Princess Louise, born 1848, was the queen's boldest, most independent, and most artistic child, being a skilled painter and sculptor. 

Princess Helena, with husband
Prince Christian

She was the only child to marry a commoner, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, who was heir to one of Scotland's richest and most powerful families. He was appointed Governor-General of Canada, and eventually sat at the House of Lords after inheriting the Dukedom of Argyll. The couple had no issue.

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and later Governor-General of Canada, was born 1850. He was the last surviving son of the queen, dying in 1942. 


He married Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia and together, they had three children: Prince Arthur of Connaught, later Governor-General of the Union of South Africa; Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden; and Princess Patricia, who voluntarily gave up her royal title and style upon marriage of The Hon. Alexander Ramsay.

In 1853, the queen gave birth to Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. He was the sickliest but most intelligent of the queen's son. 

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

He married Princess Helena of Waldyck-Pyrmont. However, his life was cut short after he sustained hemorrhage due to hemophilia in 1883. He had a daughter, Princess Alice, Princess Francis of Teck and later Countess of Athlone, the longest-living princess of the blood royal; and a posthumous son, Prince Charles Albert, Duke of Albany, and later Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, born 1883.

The youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice was born in 1857. She would remain Queen Victoria's secretary and attendant throughout her adult life. 


In 1885, he married Prince Eugene of Battenberg and bore him four children: Alexander, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke; Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain; Lord Leopold Mountbatten; and Prince Maurice of Battenberg.

Queen Victoria’s Family Life with Prince Albert

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

The growing size of and the demands of raising the family, which required much of queen’s attention and brought her unexplained happiness, coupled by Albert’s influence, eventually produced a change in the queen’s habits and attitudes. 


She was entirely happy and satisfied, knowing that her beloved Albert and her family were right beside her. She even told Albert: “It was you who have entirely formed me.” Indeed, gone was her love for idle splendor and, as she described it, “mere amusement.”

The early 1840s was known as the “hungry forties” and to relate with the mass, Victoria informed Peel about her desire to minimize the expenses of the court and set aside a sizable part of her income to charity. But Peel advised the queen to reconsider her decision.

Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry
of Battenberg

“I am afraid that the people would only say,” Peel replied, “that Your Majesty was returning them change for their pounds in half-pence.”

According to Peel, it is the duty of the sovereign to do things in order, not to seek praise or adulation, but to serve as an example in all aspect, even in throwing away banquets and balls.

Indeed, the queen and Prince Albert’s dinner-parties were a prime example of proper decorum, though guests found them rather too formal and amusing. The queen also earned praise on her display of dignity and wise discretion on her several visits abroad, in the first the first ten years of her married life, to King William IV of Prussia, King Louise-Philippe of France, and Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.

Victoria and Albert: Their Eternal Romance

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's 20-year marriage was sealed in 1840, but it went on to last forever.

She became queen at 18 and reigned proudly until she was 81. She was a mother of nine children and grandmother to 42. But there's no question to the most treasured milestone in Queen Victoria's long and rich life was her wedding to her true love, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

The passionate pair were both 20 when they tied the knot on Feb. 10, 1840. Victoria had proposed to Albert four months earlier during their second face-to-face meeting. Totally smitten the young queen just couldn't wait for him to be hers forever.

“The happiest day of my life,” she wrote of her wedding. “His excessive love and affection gave me feelings of heavenly love and happiness I never could have hoped to have felt... How can I ever be thankful enough to have such a husband!”

Ruled by Love

Victoria was a practical leader but when it came to love, her heart ruled. As her first cousin, German nobleman Albert had always been on her radar. Indeed the two had been groom for each other for years. But after a disastrous set up at her 17^th birthday, she had lost interest.

Much would change in three years. In 1839 Albert returned to Buckingham Palace, he was no longer the shy boy Victoria remembered. Muscular, tall, and with piercing blue eyes, he had grown into an archetypal Prince Charming. He loved to sing and dance, just as she did. Victoria was infatuated, “Albert was beautiful,” she wrote.

Three days later the queen proposed in Germa, Albert's native language, and before the words were out, he had smothered her hands with kisses—an unequivocal yes. “How is it that I have deserved so much love, so much affection?” Albert wrote. “I believe that heaven has sent me an angel whose brightness shall illumine my life.”

Married life couldn't have come fast enough for the young lovers. Albert returned to Germany to sort his affairs and when they were finally reunited on the eve of their wedding, an ecstatic Victoria, breaching decorum, threw herself into his arms.

The next day it was her turn to take his breath away. This was the first wedding of a reigning queen since 1554, and she had been adviced to don traditional velvet robes. Instead, the headstrong monarch married her prince in her dream gown: an exquisite white silk satin and lace creation designed by the queen herself and brought to life by her dressmaker Mary Bettans. Her example is the often-cited reason why brides wear white to this day.

On her head was a simple wreath of orange blossoms, a nod to the orange flower brooch the prince gave her upon their engagement. She also sported a sapphire-and-diamond brooch, a wedding gift from her groom.

Evening weddings were traditional but at Victoria's request the ceremony was held at the Chapel Royal, St. James' Palace, in the early afternoon so the public could be part of her day (A wedding “breakfast” at the palace followed). Just 300 guests mostly royals and members of Parliament were present for the vows, but outside the palace immense crowds turned out to celebrate the historic moment. Said the queen, “I felt so happy when the ring was put, and by my precious Albert.”

The newly-weds were unstoppable team. Less than two years after their wedding, the furious passional couple had welcomes two healthy children, named Victoria and Albert. Seven more would follow. Sadly their love story was cut short in 1861 when Albert died of typhoid fever. The queen was devastated. “To see our pure happy, quiet domestic life cut off... when I had hoped that God … would let us grow old together is too awful, too cruel,” for the rest of her days, she threw herself into ruling her country.

After her death in 1901, it was said that “Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.” Victoria, however, would always remember her life with Albert as the best and brightest days of all.  

- Written by Carli Witwell and published by Hello! Canada on its special keepsake edition titled The World's Greatest Royal Weddings. 

Queen Victoria, Biography: Marriage to Prince Albert

Queen Victoria married her true love, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1840.

Queen Victoria in her wedding dress.

Queen Victoria’s love story was quite a lucky one. Unlike other royals of her era, she was able to marry the man she truly loved who, in return, loved her too, and raise a family that would populate most of Europe’s thrones by the dawn of the 20th century.

The wedding ceremony.

Initial Prospects of Marriage

Prince Alexander of Orange, a
prospective groom for the future queen.

 As early as 1836, the duchess of Kent, and her brothers King Leopold and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was keen to wed off Victoria with Prince Albert, the duke’s second son. Thus, in May 1836, a carefully arranged meeting took place between the cousins when the Duke and his two sons paid a visit to the duchess and her daughter in Kensington Palace.

King William IV, however, detested the match and the visit since he wanted Victoria to marry Prince Alexander of Orange.

Lord Melbourne Urges Queen Victoria to Marry Prince Albert

Not too long after she ascended, Lord Melbourne advised the young queen to marry to set herself free from her mother, the Duchess of Kent. As a matter of fact, her letters that time were filled with interest in Albert’s education and role it would play should he take him as her husband. But marriage plans did not push through until 1839.

Baron Stockmar Comes to Prince Albert’s Aid

The Baron Stockmar, one of the finest
statesmen of Europe during his time
and Prince Albert's mentor and
confidante.

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha had long been under the tutelage of Baron Stockmar, who was one of the most important and least conspicuous figures of 19th century politics and it was was even suggested during that time that Albert was Stockmar’s creation, and later on, it has been said that, from 1840 onwards, Queen Victoria was Albert’s creation.


Queen Victoria proposes for marriage to Prince Albert

On Oct. 10, 1839, Prince Albert traveled to London with his brother Ernest to visit the Queen Victoria, with the plan of finally settling the marriage. On Oct. 15, Queen Victoria proposed to him after their first meeting; as queen, Victoria could not receive a proposal.

The Queen was delightful to know that Prince Albert felt the same for her as she had for him. Prince Albert later sent her a letter, saying that “even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on Earth.”

Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were married at the Chapel Royal in St. James’s Palace on Feb. 10, 1840, the queen being entirely dressed of British manufacture.

In contrast with the rich display of verging on ostentation shown by her predecessors, Queen Victoria’s wedding gown was a note of simplicity. Her dress of white Spitalfields satin with a low neckline, fitted bodice, and full-pleated skirt was indeed a highlight of any Victorian wedding theme.

The newly wed couple walk hand in hand after their wedding ceremony.

She popularized the notion of wearing orange blossom on the wedding and her wedding dress was a display of originality – her gown was trimmed by bobbin Honiton lace and her face was concealed by a wedding veil, the popularity of which designers credited to her.

But Victoria chose to be married at midday so the public could enjoy the spectacle. Her wedding cake was a sight to behold; it stood 9 feet tall and measured 16 inches wide.

After the wedding, the Queen and Prince Albert embarked on a short honeymoon, which, as she described to Lord Melbourne, “was the most gratifying and bewildering night,” with Albert. Nine months later, Queen Victoria bore their first child and they went on to have nine children.

Read more about Queen Victoria's wedding on the following resources:

Family feuds, an ardent love affair and a 9ft wedding cake: the real story of Queen Victoria by Claire Bates (Publish in The Daily Mail)

Queen Victoria, by Lytton Strachey, Chapter IV: Marriage
Queen Victoria's Marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 
Victorian Wedding: Queen Victoria Wedding
Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress: The One that Started it All
Wedding Dresses, and What They Meant (National Geographic)
Queen Victoria's Wedding, or Why Women Wear White

Prince Albert Dies of Crohn's Disease

Prince Albert did not die of typhoid fever. Records from Royal Archives unveil answer to the 150-year old mystery. 

One hundred fifty years after his death, the mystery behind the death of Prince Albert was finally solved. Historians uncovered that Queen Victoria's consort died not from typhoid fever, as what his physicians pronounced, but by Crohn's disease. Medical science has yet to unveil this illness at the time of his death, December 14, 1861, although this disease is easily curable these days.

Medical researchers theorized that the prince has manifested this conditions for years prior to his death. In fact, royal physicians were unsure of whether or not the prince's illness was typhoid but palace officials blocked the release of details surrounding the prince's condition before his death. Queen Victoria did not allow post-mortem, so it was believed all this year the Prince died of typhoid.

In 1993, an relatively obscure article from a medical journal hypothesized that the prince has suffered Crohn's disease. Triggered by his worry over his eldest son, future King Edward VII, the disease worsened to septicemia and eventually pneumonia.

About Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is also called regional enteritis. It is a disease that shows signs of inflammation of the bowel that eventually spreads to the gastrointestinal tract, mouth, and anus. It results to diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, weight loss, and complications in the gastrointestinal tract.

The Uncrowned King

Prince Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel was born on August 26, 1819, the younger son Ernest I, the reigning duke Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg. His father was the elder brother of Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent.

The Making of a Prince

He received his education from tutors and later attended the University of Bonn, and excelled both in academics and athletics. In 1836, he met then-Princess Victoria and their engagement was announced in 1839. Their marriage was solemnized October 10, 1840 at the Chapel Royal of St. James' Palace.

Contributions

Initially unpopular with the British public, Prince Albert emerged as a wise innovator that led the reforms on the royal household, university education, royal finances, and even slavery. He presided over the royal commission that oversaw the 1851 Great Exhibition that was highlighted by the construction and opening of the Crystal Palace, a huge structure that housed the exhibition.

Family Life

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria's marriage was happy and they were blessed with 4 sons and 5 daughters, whose marriage to important members of Europe's royal families accorded him the title “Grand father of Europe” had he lived long enough to see this happen.