The beginning of the victorian age

Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India (1819-1901) was the only child of Edward, duke of Kent, fourth son of king George III, and of princess Victoria Mary Louisa of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. She was born in Kensington Palace on the 24-th of May, 1819. The duke and duchess of Kent lived in Franconia, but they returned to En­gland in purpose that their child should be born in England. The question as to what name the child should bear was not settled without difficulties. The duke of Kent wanted his daughter chris­tened Elisabeth, and the prince regent wanted Georgiana, while the Russian czar Alexander I, who had promised to stand sponsor, wished her to be Alexandrina. The baptism was made in the drawing-room of Kensington Palace. The prince regent, who was present, called her Alexandrina, the duke of Kent, her father, requested to give his daughter second name, and the prince regent said, rather abruptly, "Let her be called Victoria, after her mother, but this name must come after the other". The question of her name, as that of the lady who was to be queen, remained even up to her accession to the throne a much debated one. In August 1831, in a discussion in parliament, Sir M. W. Ridley suggested changing it to Elizabeth as "more according to the feelings of the people". In 1836 William IV proposed it to be Charlotte; but, to the princess's own delight, it was given up.

In January 1820 the duke of Kent died, five days before his brother George succeeded to the throne as George IV. The wid­owed duchess of Kent was now a woman of thirty-four, handsome, homely, a German in heart, and with very little liking for English ways. But she was a woman with experience, and shrewd; and fortunately she had a good adviser in her brother Prince Leopold of Coburg, afterwards king of Belgia. His former doctor and private secretary Baron Stockmar, a man of encyclopeadic information and remarkable judgement, who had given special attention to the prob­lems of a sovereign's position in England, was afterwards to play an important role in Queen Victoria's life; and Leopold himself took a fatherly interest in the young princess's education. Between the king and the duchess of Kent, his sister-in-law, there was little love, and she preferred travelling and spending several months in a year in watering-places.

The little princess could not recieve a better education than that which was given to her under Prince Leopold's direction. Her uncle considered that she ought to be kept as long as possible from the knowledge of her position, which might raise a large growth of pride and vanity in her; so Victoria was twelve years old before she knew she was to wear a crown. Until she became a queen she never slept a night out of her mother's room, and she was not allowed to speak to any grown-up person, friend, tutor or servant, without the duchess of Kent or her private governess present.

When Princess Victoria became the direct heiress to the throne, her uncle, William the Fourth, cherished affectionate feelings towards his niece; unfortunately, he took offence at the duchess of Kent because she did not want to let her child come and live at his court for several months of each year; and through all his reign there was strife between these two. William's thoughts often dwelt on his niece, and he repeatedly said that he was sure she would be "a good woman and a good queen. It would touch every sailor's heart to have a girl queen to fight for. They'll tattoo her name on their arms, and they'll all think she was christened after Nelson's ship".

On the 20-th of June, 1837, in the early hours William IV died. Dr. Howley, archbishop of Canterbury, and the marquis of Conyngham, brought the news to the heiress, they started in a landau with lour horses for Kensington, which they reached at five in the morning. Their servants rang, knocked and thumped; and when at last the door was opened, the marquis and the archbishop were shown into a lower room and there left to wait. Presently a maid appeared and said that the Princess Victoria was "in a sweet sleep and could not be disturbed". Dr. Howley answered that he had come on state business, to which everything, even sleep, must give place. The princess was accordingly roused, and quickly came downstairs in a dressing-gown, her fair hair flowing loose on her shoulders. After­wards she wrote about this unusual interview in her journal — she heard the news and immediately answered that she was ready to become the English Queen.

The privy council assembled at Kensington in the morning; and (he usual oaths were spoken to the new queen by Lord Chancel­lor, alter which all present did homage. There was a touching inci­dent when the queen's uncles, the dukes of Cumberland and Sus­sex, two old men, came forward to perform their obeisance. The queen blushed, and descending from her throne, kissed them both, without allowing them to kneel.

Victoria, of course, retained the late king's ministers in their offices, and it was under Lord Melbourne's direction that the pri­vate council drew up their declaration to the kingdom. This docu­ment described the queen as Alexandrina Victoria, and all the peers swore allegiance to her under those names. It was not till the fol­lowing day that the sovereign's style was altered to Victoria simply, and it was necessary to issue a new declaration. The public procla­mation of the queen took place on the 21-st at St. James's Palace with great pomp.

The queen opened her first parliament in person, and in a well-written speech, which she read with much feeling, adverted to her youth and to the necessity of enlighted advisers for her.

The duchess of Kent and her brothers had always hoped to arrange the marriage of Victoria with her cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and the prince himself had been acquainted with this plan from his earliest years. He was born in the same year as his future wife, and in 1836 Prince Albert had come on a visit to England, and his handsome face, gentle disposition and playful humour had impressed a favourable impression on the princess.

The coronation took place on the 28-th of June 1838. No more touching ceremony had been ever performed in Westminster Ab­bey. Queen Anne was a middle-aged married woman at the time of her coronation, she waddled, and had no majestic appearance upon her throne. Mary was odious to her Protestant subjects. Elizabeth to those of the unreformed religion; and both these queens succeeded to the crown in times of general sadness; but the youthful queen Victoria had no enemies except a few number, and the land was peaceful and prosperous when she began to reign over it. It was arranged that the queen's procession to the abbey through the streets should be made a finer show than on previous occasions; and 400,000 country visitors came to London to see it. There were many honourable guests, some ambassadors from other countries. The Turkish ambassador was so wander-struck that he could not walk to his place, but stood as if he had lost his sences, and kept muttering, "All this for a woman!"

Meanwhile, the queen's attitude to her cousin, prince Albert, was unchanged, and he arrived with his brother to a visit to Wind­sor. The queen wrote to her uncle Leopold: "Albert's beauty is most striking, and he is so amiable and unaffected — in short, very fascinating". "I love him more than I can say". The marriage took place on the 10-th of February 1840 in the Chapel Royal, St James'. It is interesting to note that the queen was dressed entirely in arti­cles of English manufacture.

NAMES AND EXPRESSIONS

Saxe-Cobung-Gotha ['zaksə-'kæbun-'gotə] — герцогство в Германии, главным образом в Тюрингии

Franconia [fræn'kəuniə]— Франкония, древнее германское герцогство, главным образом в Баварии

as that of the lady = as the name of the lady

it was given up — (от этой мысли) отказались

watering-places — курорты

she ought to be kept as long as possible from the knowledge of her position — нужно как можно дольше скрывать от нее ee положение

he look offence — он обижался

to have a girl queen to fight for — что у них есть королева — девочка, за которую нужно драться

they were shown in a lower room — их провели в одну из комнат на нижнем этаже

give place — уступить, отступить

the lute king — покойный король

in person — лично

wander-struck — потрясен

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