Queen Victoria | Page 3

rooms which she inhabited as a little girl.

[Illustration: KENSINGTON PALACE]
Four years had passed since the battle of Waterloo when the Princess
Victoria was born, and England was settling down to a time of peace
after long years of warfare.
In 1830 George the Fourth died, and was succeeded by his brother, the
Duke of Clarence, as William the Fourth, the 'sailor king.' Though not
in any respect a great monarch, he proved himself to be a good king
and one who was always wishful to do the best that lay in his power for
the country's good.
He was exceedingly hospitable, and gave dinners to thousands of his
friends and acquaintances during the year, particularly inviting all his
old messmates of the Navy. He had two daughters by his marriage, and
as these both died young it was evident that the Princess Victoria might
some day succeed to the throne.
Her father, the Duke of Kent, married the Dowager Princess of
Leiningen, who was the sister of Prince Leopold, afterward King of the
Belgians. As a young man the Duke had seen much service, for when
he was only seventeen years of age he entered the Hanoverian army,
where the discipline was severe and rigid. He afterward served in the
West Indies and Canada, and on his return to England he was made a
peer with the title of Duke of Kent. He was afterward General and
Commander-in-Chief in Canada and Governor of Gibraltar.
At the latter place his love of order and discipline naturally made him
unpopular, and, owing to strong feeling on the part of the troops, it was
considered wise to recall the Duke in 1803.
In 1816 he settled in Brussels, and soon afterward met his future wife
in Germany. Princess Victoire Marie Louise was the youngest daughter
of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and widow of Prince Charles of Leiningen,
who on his death had left her as the regent of his principality.
They were married at Coburg in May 1818. Some months afterward
they came over to England, and on May 24, 1819, their daughter

Alexandrina Victoria was born.
[Illustration: The Duke of Kent Sir Wm. Beechey Photo W.A. Mansell
& Co.]
[Illustration: The Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria Sir Wm.
Beechey Photo W.A. Mansell & Co.]
The Duke still kept up his simple, soldierly habits, for throughout his
life he had always believed in regularly ordering one's day. He rose
betimes and took a cup of coffee at six o'clock. Each servant of the
household was allotted his or her regular duties, and was obliged at
least once a day to appear before the Duke. There was a separate bell
for each servant, and punctuality in attendance was insisted upon.
The christening was attended by members of the Royal Family, and a
dinner was held to celebrate the happy event. The Duke and Duchess
removed soon afterward to Devonshire, and they were both much
pleased with the beautiful surroundings of their new home. The Duke
wrote at this time of his daughter: "My little girl thrives under the
influence of a Devonshire climate, and is, I am delighted to say, strong
and healthy; too healthy, I fear, in the opinion of some members of my
family, by whom she is regarded as an intruder. How largely she
contributes to my happiness at this moment it is needless for me to say
to you."
The Duke had been determined from the first that his child should be
born in England, for he wished her to be English both in upbringing
and in feeling. His wife, who is described by those who knew her as
being a singularly attractive woman, full of deep feeling and sympathy,
fully shared his views on this point.
In January 1820, when only fifty-three years of age, the Duke died
quite suddenly from inflammation of the lungs, following upon a
neglected cold. He was a man of deep religious feeling, and once in
talking to a friend about his little daughter's future career he said
earnestly: "Don't pray simply that hers may be a brilliant career, and
exempt from those trials and struggles which have pursued her father,

but pray that God's blessing may rest on her, that it may overshadow
her, and that in all her coming years she may be guided and guarded by
God."
The widowed mother now returned to London, where the Duchess of
Clarence, afterward Queen Adelaide, interested herself greatly in little
Victoria. The Duchess now devoted herself entirely to the care of her
child, and never did any little girl have a more loving and devoted
mother.
As much time as possible was spent in the open air, and Victoria went
for rides about Kensington on a donkey, which was led by an old
soldier,