THE QUEEN'S BIOGRAPHY OF PRINCE ALBERT.

Southland Times, Issue 733, 7 October 1867, Page 2

THE QUEEN'S BIOGRAPHY OF PRINCE ALBERT.

To the names of Eoyal authors may now be joined that of Queen Victoria, of England, who has just added to the memorials of her departed husband one which is more congenial with the noble nature, of the prince, which will better help to endear his memory to the people which he adopted than the proudest mausoleum "or most elaborate architectural memorial. His wife, who knew him best as she loved him most, has told the story of his domestic life, and, in doing so, has with a simple sincerity related much of her own autobiography. Interesting as is the portrait so tenderly and lovingly depicted of the prince, more interesting, and in some phases deeply pathetic, is the unaffected candor with which the Queen of a great empire, still in. the prime of life, a monarch and a mother, reveals to her children and to her subjects her own emotions, loves, anxieties, and sorrows. It is generally only when the grave has closed over crowned heads that from fragments of letters, confidential records sacredly concealed till death loosed the seal, we can obtain any insight into the private heart of a monarch. Too often, it would seem, the wearers of crowns would have wished that all such records could have been buried" with them ; that posterity might never know their secret loves, hopes, fears, ambitions, and deceits. Their public acts they left to the verdict of history ; and, while trusting that their wrong doing would be unknown or speedily forgotten, cared not, or were too proud, to record the feelings which might have heightened their character. Queen "Victoria has not, and needs not, such reserve. She had lived a true womanly life ; and she speaks frankly of her early love — of her need when a girl Queen of a wise and good man's counsels — of her recognition of the worth of her cousin and husband. "Writing for English men and women, she writes for husbands and wives ; and she writes with wifely dignity and the frankness of a woman who has been united by the tenderest and closest ties to the man she deems the noblest. She has loved and found, even in her great sorrow, that " it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." "The Early Years of his Eoyal Highness the Prince Consort," which was issued on Monday, July 29, is announced as having been "compiled under the direction of her Majesty the Queen, by Lieutenant- General the Hon. Charles Grey." But the hand of the Queen ! herself is apparent in every page ; and the letters of. the prince, written when young, in the German language, have been translated by .their daughter, the Princess Helena. The book, we read in the preface, was originally compiled for private circulation among the members of the royal family and intimate friends of the prince; but "as, notwithstanding the limited circulation to which it was intended to confine the volume, there was felt to be considerable danger of a copy being surreptitiously obtained and published, possibly in a garbled form, the question arose whether it might not be expedient to avert this danger by publishing it in substantially the same form as that in which it was first printed for private circulation." Therefore the Queen, "believing that the free and unreserved expression which the volume contains of her own feelings, as well as those of the prince, >is such as, if made public (however unusual such publicity may be), will command the entire sympathy of every one whose sympathy or good opinion is to be desired," gave her consent to the pre3ent publication. "We are introduced to the prince, a merry, bright eyed child, not yet six years old, writing ietters to his father, telling him what books he read, what lessons he learned, and how he had several fights with his brother Ernest, which somewhat troubled his boyish conscience. As ho grew in years he studied hard, working, when in his 14th year, as long eight hours a day over his books, with a special task for every day of the week But his nature seems to have been very j loveable, though not without a spice of fun and love of practical jokes and mimicry which he retained in manhood, though little suspected by those who only witnessed the graceful earnestness which, marked his public career. While yet a child, the probability of a union between, him and the Princess Victoria of England had- been considered by the Duchess of Kent and King Leopold of Belgium , but the young cousins were nearly 17 years of age when they met for the first time at Kensington - palace. King William IV., had other views for his neice, and endeavored, but nnavailingly, to prevent the meeting. An attachment appears to have sprung up, which, although nothing more than cousinly, was; noticed by the sharp eyes of Court gossips, who soon spread the report that a warmer. feeling existed. Leopold-^by no means disposed to precipitate events, especially as William the Fourth was just dead, the young princess had as-' cend.ed the ttaQ&e* w& tfea aspect <$

political affairs in this country was uncertain — advised Albert and his brother to undertake a tour to Switzerland and Italy. They did so ; but before quitting Bonn, where they were students, Albert wrote a letter of congratulation to the Queen, which is worthy of preservation if on no other grounds than as the first letter which the prince wrote in English : — ■ " Bonn, 26th June, 1837. "My dearest Cousin, — I must write you a few lines to present you my sincerest felicitations on that great change which has taken place in your life. JNow you are Queen of the mightiest land of Europe, in your hand lies the happiness of millions. May Heaven assist you and strengthen you with its strength in that high but difficult task ! I hope that your reign may be long, happy, and glorious, and that your efforts may be rewarded by the thankfulness and love of your subjects. May I pray you to think likewise sometimes of your cousins in Bonn, and to continue to them that kindness you favored them with till now ! Be assured that our minds are always with you. I will not be indiscreet and abuse your time. Believe me always, your Majesty's most obedient and faithful servant, " AIiBEBT." The prince travelled, but did not forget his royal cousin. He sent her dried flowers from the Alps, drawings, relics, which the Queen now preserves "as one of her greatest treasures." Then the quiet life of a hard-working student at Bonn was resumed ; but in the meanwhile King Leopold, who had good reason to believe that his cherished project would not be disagreeable to the parties most intimately concerned, hinted to the Queen a proposal of marriagebetween her and the prince. That the Queen herself was willing to entertain the idea is evident ; for Leopold soon afterwards communicated with the prince seriously on the subject ; but urged him, considering his youth, to wait a few years before entering on the married state. A curious trait of the prince's character, which the queen relates with great niavete is revealed in the correspondence. "Be objected to delay, because "if after waiting, perhaps, for three years, I should find that the Queen no longer desired the marriage, it would place me in a very ridiculous position, and would, to a certain extent, ruin all the prospects of my life." This is very cautious and calculating, and not exactly the reasoning which an ardent lover would use for the purpose of hastening a marriage. But perhaps he was only dutifully echoing the opinions of his father ; for, writes King Leopold in another letter: — " "What his father says upon the subject of the marriage is true. Albert is now past eighteen. If he waits till he is in his twenty-first, twenty- second, or twentythird year it will be impossible for him to begin any new career, and his whole life would be marred if the Queen should change her mind." The Queen herself then wished for delay ; a mistaken wish, she now says (it will be observed she writes of herself in the third person) : — :: She thought herself still too young, and also wished the prince to be old<jr when he made his appearance in England. In after years she often regretted this decision on her part, and constantly deplored the consequent delay of her marriage. Had she been engaged to the prince a year sooner than ghe was, and had she married him at least six month earlier, she would hive escaped many trials and. troubles of different kinds." In another page, the Queen, again referring to this subject, explains her reasons for urging the marriage of her daughters at any early — some have thought too early an age : — " Nor can the Queen now think without indignation against herself, of her wish to keep the prince waiting for probably three or four years, at the risk cf ruining all his prospects for life, until she might feel inclined to marry ! And the prince has since told her that he came over in 1539 with the intention of telling her that if she could not then make up her mind, she must understand that he could not now wait for a decision, as he had done at a former period when this marriage was first talked about. The only excuse the Queen can make for herself is in the fact that the sudden change from the secluded life at Kensington to the independence of her position as Queen Regnant, . at the age of 18, put all ideas of marriage out of her mind, which she now most bitterly repents. A worse school for a young girl, or one more deterimental to all natural feelings and affections, cannot well be imagined than the position of a Queen at 18, without experience and without a husband to guide and support her. This the Queen can state from painful experience, and she thanks God that none of her dear daughters are exposed to such danger." In 1839, the prince and his brother came on a visit to the Queen ; and it was then resolved that no prolonged delay should take place. Lord Melbourne, in whom, next to her uncle, the young Queen seems to have placed the greatest confidence, advised her wisely and kindly. The position of the Queen wa§ peculiar,

Being of royal rank, the offer of marriage must come from her j and there is a charming frankness in the manner in which the Queen relates how she " wooed and won" her handsome cousin : — " On the 15th there was an important interruption in the ordinary routine of the day. The Queen had told Lord Melbourne the day before that she had made up her mind to the marriage, at which he expressed great satisfaction, and he said to her, as her Majesty states in her journal, 'I think it will be very well received ; for I hear that there is an anxiety now that it should be, and I am very glad of it ;' adding, in quite a paternal tone, ' You will be much more comfortable ; for a woman cannot stand alone for any time, in whatever position she may be.' Can we wonder tbat the Queen, Recalling these circumstances, should exclaim, ' Alas ! alas ! the poor Queen stands in that painful position?' An intimation was accordingly given to the prince, through Baron Alvensleben, Master of the Horse to the Duke of Coburg, and long attached to his family, who had accompanied the prince to England, that the Queen wished to speak to him the next day. On that day, the 15th, the prince had been out hunting early with his brother, but returned at 12, and half an hour afterwards obeyed the Queen's summons to her room, where he found her alone. After a few minutes' conversation on other subjects, the Queen told him why she had sent for him ; and we can well understand any little hesitation and delicacy she may have felt in doing so ; for the Queen's position, making it imperative that any proposal of marriage should come first from her, must necessarily appear a painful one to those who, deriving their ideas on this subject from the practice of private life, are wont to look upon it as the privilege and happiness of a woman to have her hand sought in marriage, instead of having to offer it herself." The Queen wrote to her uncle Leopold : — " My mind is quite made up, and I told Albert this morning of it. The warm affection he showed me on learning this gave me great pleasure. He seems perfection, and I think that I have the prospect of very great happiness before me. I love him more than I can say, and shall do everything in my power to render this sacrifice (for such is ray opinion it is) as small as I can. He seems to have great tact, a very necessary thing in his position. These last few days have passed like a dream to me, and I am»so much bewildered by it all that 1 know hardly how to write ; but Ido feel very happy." After his marriage he felt keenly the difficulty of his position, a difficulty only removed by the firmness and love of the Queen. Among those whose position gave them the greatest influence were those who " would have denied him even in the domestic circle that authority which in private families properly belongs to the husband, and without which, it may be added, there cannot be true comfort or happiness in domestic life." The prince wrote in May, 1840, to Prince Lovvenstein : — " The difficulty in filling my place with the proper dignity is that I am only the husband, and not the master, in the house." Referring to this subject, G-eneral Grey says — we may be sure with the highest sanction : — " Fortunately, however, for the country, and still more fortunately for the happiness of the royal couple themselves, things did not long remain in this condition. Thanks to the firmness, but, at the same time, gentleness with which the prince insisted on filling his proper position as head of the family, thanks also to the clear judgment and right feeling of the Queen, as well as to her singularly honest and straightforward nature ; but thanks, more than all, to the mutual love and perfect confidence which bound the Queen and prince to each other, it was impossible to keep up any separation or differeuee of interests or duties between them. To those who would urge upon the Queen that as sovereign, she must be the head of the house and family, as well as of the State, and that her husband was after all but one of her subjects, her Majesty would reply, that she had solemnly engaged at the altar to 'obey' as well as to 'love and honor ; ' and this sacred obligation she could consent neither to limit nor refine away." This voluntary opening of the inmost heart of the Queen will, we believe, endear her yet more to the English people; and will, perhaps, make the intense absorbing sorrow which the Queen yet suffers even more intelligible and worthy of respectful sympathy. There is a reason, too, given for the aversion to town life and State ceremonies which seems to have grown on the Queen. The prince disliked the dirt and smoke, and still more the late hours, of London, and the Queen records of herself that she soon began to share his love of the country. In an entry in her journal, written in 1840, she. says:— "l told Albert that formerly I was too happy to go to London and wretched to leave it, and now, since the blessed hour of my marriage, and st4U more singe the summer,! dislike and

am unhappy to leave the country, and ; could be content and happy never to go j to town. This pleased him. The solid i pleasures of a peaceful, quiet, yet merry j life in the country, with my inestimable husband and friend, my all in all, are far more durable than the amusements of London, though we don't des*pise or dislike these sometimes." As years went on this preference for the country on the part of the Queen grew stronger and stronger, " till residence in London became positively distasteful to her." Her Majesty says in a note that it was also injurious to her health, as she suffered much from the extreme weight and thickness of the atmosphere, which gave her the headache. Residence in London was, in fact, only made endurable by haivng her beloved husband at her side to share with her and support her in the irksome duties of Court receptions and State ceremonials."