The Queen's Husband Page 5

  Leopold questioned Herr Florschütz closely about the boys’ studies. He said he would consult Baron Stockmar and plan out a schedule for their education.

  ‘Will our father agree to that?’ Ernest wondered when the boys were alone together.

  ‘Agree,’ cried Albert, ‘of course he’ll agree. Uncle Leopold is the most important man in Europe.’

  ‘He has bewitched you,’ said Ernest.

  ‘Bewitched! Who’s bewitched? Now you’re thinking of the grandmothers’ fairy stories.’

  ‘You do seem to think he is the most brilliant, magnificent, clever …’

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ said Albert. And then: ‘But he is.’

  ‘There, I told you so. No wonder Uncle Leopold loves you. You flatter him so innocently.’

  ‘How could one flatter innocently? Flattery in itself suggests something false.’

  ‘There you go, Herr Florschütz’s model pupil. No wonder Uncle Leopold decided you should have the prize.’

  ‘What prize?’

  ‘The Queen of England, idiot.’

  The visit passed all too quickly for Albert. It had been a wonderful experience. The dream uncle of his childhood had taken on flesh and blood and was every bit as godlike as Albert remembered. The Court at Brussels was grand. ‘You should have seen that of my late father-in-law in England,’ Uncle Leopold told the boys. ‘I never liked him but he was considered to be very artistic. Carlton House was absolutely splendid and the Pavilion at Brighton – well, it had to be seen to be believed. Then of course he got to work on Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.’

  ‘It must have been very grand to be grander than Brussels,’ said Albert.

  ‘Ah, my boy, you have seen nothing of the world. We’ll change that. We’ve got to get you educated along the right lines. One of these days you must go with Stockmar on the Grand Tour.’

  ‘We should enjoy it,’ said Albert, underlining the fact that Ernest would be there too. ‘But I don’t think our father would be able to afford it.’

  ‘There are some things which it is false economy to go without,’ said Uncle Leopold.

  So it seemed very likely that when the time came the boys would go on the Grand Tour.

  ‘Of course,’ said Uncle Leopold, ‘you are young as yet. Thirteen. Boys still. But another six years, eh? Time soon passes. Have no fear, I shall write to your father. It is very important that you should be prepared. Do you speak English, Albert?’

  Albert said that English was not included in his studies.

  ‘An oversight,’ said Uncle Leopold, ‘which shall be remedied.’

  How he enjoyed those talks with Uncle Leopold. He avoided Aunt Louise, because he felt embarrassed in her company. She was pretty and when Uncle Leopold was not there, inclined to be gay. His uncle did in fact have to reprove her on one occasion for making a joke.

  What a good man Uncle Leopold was! thought Albert. When he grew up he hoped he would be a little like him.

  It was an exciting visit and Albert enjoyed it thoroughly, except for the evenings, when Aunt Louise organised entertainments for them and Albert was hard put to it to hide the fact that he was almost asleep.

  When at last it was time to say goodbye, Uncle Leopold embraced his younger nephew fondly. There was an understanding between them. Uncle Leopold was going to make sure that he was prepared for his future, which was to be the husband of the little girl in Kensington.

  When they reached home it was to find that their father, after having been a widower for more than a year, had married the Princess Mary of Würtemberg.

  Having a step-mother did not inconvenience the Princes in the least. After their return from Brussels they continued with life just as before, and as the Princess Mary of Würtemberg was amiable, more like an older sister, life was very pleasant. It was true that Albert was more aware of what was happening in England than he had been. When he heard that Queen Adelaide had ‘hopes’ he was downcast because he knew Uncle Leopold would be; and when those hopes came to nothing he rejoiced. There were periods when he was completely unconcerned by the future; that was when he was composing a new song, or when he and Ernest went off on one of their expeditions into the forest together; the ‘museum’ was growing and each exhibit held some particular memory for him. It was a pleasant, happy life and he had no desire to grow up. Mornings were spent in study, long afternoons out of doors: riding, fencing, shooting, walking and long nights of sleep. No one, commented Ernest, enjoyed sleep as much as Albert and he didn’t confine this state of somnolence to the night either. ‘I am constantly prodding you to wakefulness,’ complained Ernest.

  Ernest laughed at his brother for his increasing solemnity and rather against his will Albert indulged in an occasional practical joke which was the only sort he could see any point in.

  Once he and Ernest filled the cloak pockets of one of their father’s guests with soft cheese. This was a lady, which rendered the joke doubly hilarious in Albert’s eyes. They made a point of being in the cloakroom when she was helped into her cloak and had the satisfaction of seeing her plunge her hand into the mess in her pocket. Suspecting them, she had berated them angrily, and, while Albert remained regarding her with big reproachful eyes, Ernest was almost choking with laughter.

  That was a period when they played practical jokes whenever they could think them out. Their indulgent step-mother told their father that it was a phase most boys went through and it was in a way a relief to see Albert slightly less of a model boy.

  But Albert was really much happier at the more serious activities. He was developing a great dignity, and practical joking did not really fit in with this. Music was his most pleasant relaxation; he played the piano and organ with skill and composed a little; he had a good voice which he liked to air; he could draw and paint tolerably well; he was interested in science; he wrote a little and confided to Ernest he would like to write a book – a very serious one, on German thought and philosophy. In addition to all these intellectual achievements he could fence and give a good account of himself in forays with Ernest; he was a good swimmer, and could manage a horse with skill. The one exercise he did not enjoy was dancing – not so much going through the motions but because it usually meant touching hands with people of the opposite sex and as he said to Ernest there was something erotic in the procedure.

  ‘Now that,’ said Ernest with a chuckle, ‘is exactly what I like about it.’

  His step-mother noticed that when he was introduced to ladies his manner was awkward.

  ‘Oh, that’ll pass,’ said his father. ‘He’s a boy yet.’

  When Ernest was seventeen it was time for his confirmation and, said Herr Florschütz, Albert was so advanced, so serious in his inclinations and in every way as forward as his brother that there seemed no reason why he should not share in the ceremony.

  So on Palm Sunday in the Chapel of the Palace at Coburg, the boys were catechised for an hour. Albert’s responses made a great impression on the spectators, and when asked if he would steadfastly uphold the Evangelical Church he answered in a resolute voice not simply the ‘Yes’ which was expected but added: ‘I and my brother are firmly resolved to remain faithful to the acknowledged truth.’

  Albert at sixteen had indeed grown into a model Prince; and few in Coburg seemed to think that his lack of social graces was of great importance.

  Chapter III

  THE LITTLE COUSIN OF KENSINGTON

  It was almost a year later when a letter arrived from England for Duke Ernest; when he had read it he summoned his sons and told them that he had had an invitation for them.

  ‘It is from your aunt, the Duchess of Kent, who asks me to take you both to visit her. There is also a letter from your Uncle Leopold. I suspect he has arranged the whole thing.’

  Ernest was excited; Albert a little apprehensive. He knew what this invitation meant and he had to face the fact that he could not be young for ever. He was nearly seventeen, a marriageable age for royal people. Could this
visit mean that the pleasant life he had led for so many years with Ernest as his companion was over?

  There would be a great many preparations to make, said their father. Uncle Leopold did not want them to visit their English relations like paupers.

  The forest had taken on a new beauty; Albert spent many happy hours examining the specimens in the ‘museum’ and recalling how they had come into his or Ernest’s possession.

  ‘To leave all this!’ he cried.

  ‘Childish relics,’ said Ernest. Albert looked at his brother sadly. If he himself was the more learned, the more serious of the two, Ernest was in a way the more grown-up. ‘Just think what this visit means,’ went on Ernest. ‘We shall see your little paragon of Kensington.’

  Albert shivered. ‘Perhaps she will prefer you, Ernest.’

  Ernest said he thought that very likely.

  ‘I am sure Cousin Feodore does, and she is half sister to the Kensington cousin.’

  ‘I think women do prefer you, Ernest.’

  ‘That’s because I’m far nicer to them than you are. You just try a little flattery and you’ll find they succumb at once to your beauty.’

  ‘That’s something I can never do.’

  ‘The trouble with you, Albert, is that you’re too solemn, and too good. Women like something a little wild and wicked.’

  ‘Then I think they are too stupid to bother with.’

  ‘And so they will go on preferring my pale cheeks to your pink ones and my wicked dark flashing eyes to your angelic blue.’

  ‘I wish we need not grow up. I’d like us to remain boys together like this for always.’

  Ernest’s eyes rolled wickedly. ‘Ah, there are pleasures in adult life, Albert, of which you have yet to learn.’

  Albert did not believe it and he was very uneasy.

  ‘I can’t wait to see Uncle Leopold’s little angel of Kensington,’ said Ernest.

  But Albert felt he could very happily wait for a long time. The family party, at the head of which was Duke Ernest, left at the end of April. ‘A good time,’ said the Duke, ‘for crossing the Channel, which can be something of an ordeal for those unused to being on the water if the sea is rough.’

  Albert knew that he was one of those; and he was right. The sea was rough, the crossing long, and Albert, very sick, heartily wished that he was at home in the forests of Germany; in fact death seemed preferable to the sufferings imposed by that stretch of diabolical water.

  At last – and a very long last – they arrived and what a pleasure it was to be on dry land.

  ‘You look as if you have faced death,’ said Ernest jocularly.

  ‘That was exactly what it felt like,’ said Albert, ‘and when I think that we have to endure that again before we get home my spirits sink.’

  ‘It’ll pass,’ said Ernest. ‘Think of the pleasures ahead.’

  He had seen her. She was tiny and imperious and was called Victoria – the Alexandrina having been dropped, presumably as unsuitable for a British Queen. She was gay and very affectionate. Oddly enough she did not embarrass him as he might have expected. Was it because he had been conditioned by Uncle Leopold? Did he feel that he had to like her – more than like her, admire her – just as he had to accept that terrible crossing as inevitable?

  She spoke in German very fluently and what he called excitedly, emphasising certain words as though to give special points to her meaning. She was so delighted to see her cousins. She had looked forward to the meeting for a long long time and she knew that their visit was going to be such a happy time for her. She considered she was very lucky to have so many cousins. They came over now and then and she spent hours planning treats for them. She believed she was going to enjoy this visit very specially.

  She was not exactly pretty but there was something very appealing about her. Her colouring was similar to Albert’s – the same light brown hair and blue eyes; there the resemblance ended; she had a rather big nose – an arrogant nose – and slightly prominent teeth. When she laughed she showed her gums, which would not have been very attractive but for the fact that her laughter was so spontaneous and unaffected. Her demeanour fluctuated so speedily that it was difficult to keep pace with it. At one moment she would seem to be playing the Queen and the next she was a modest young girl not yet out of the schoolroom. She was not exactly arrogant, just sublimely and unconsciously aware that she was destined for a great position.

  Albert clicked his heels, bowed and kissed her hand. He hated kissing hands, but managed to do so fairly graciously. She did disarm him, because she seemed so determined to like him – and Ernest too; but he noticed that her eyes were more frequently on him.

  She insisted on showing them to their rooms, chattering all the while, while her mother looked on indulgently, for she was clearly very happy to see her brother and his sons.

  ‘And you must meet my darling dog Dash at once,’ said Victoria, and the dog seemed to take a particular fancy to Albert, which pleased the Princess. When he looked up from patting the dog he saw her prominent blue eyes fixed on him and as their eyes met she blushed charmingly. He decided that, for a girl, she was very agreeable.

  ‘Victoria has been planning all sorts of treats for you,’ said the Duchess. ‘She and her governess, the Baroness Lehzen, have been making arrangements for weeks. There is to be a visit to the Opera, because she understands you are particularly fond of music.’

  ‘It is Puritani,’ cried Victoria. ‘Oh, I do hope you will like it. And there are to be balls. I am sure you love to dance.’

  Albert wilted a little but Ernest said nothing would enchant them more.

  ‘And you sing!’ cried Victoria. ‘That is something I love to do. Do you like duets?’

  Albert was able to say with enthusiasm that he enjoyed singing and duets.

  ‘This is going to be a very happy visit,’ said Victoria.

  The Duchess of Kent said that she thought the Princess’s cousins would like to go to rest awhile as they must be very fatigued with the journey. Victoria seemed a little surprised but Albert said quickly that he would indeed be glad of the opportunity so they were conducted to their rooms and Albert stretched out on his bed and was soon asleep. But Ernest came in and insisted on waking him. He stood at the window and described the park to him. He could see an enormous round pond, almost like a lake, and the trees were beautiful. ‘And this is not the King’s residence. We shall meet him, of course. I wonder if he is as people say.’

  Albert sighed. He could see his brother was not going to allow him to rest and he was so tired.

  ‘He is very eccentric and has a head like a pineapple, so I’ve heard,’ went on Ernest. Albert yawned.

  ‘And what did you think of little Victoria?’

  ‘She is indeed little.’

  ‘I liked the way she looked up to us. I think she has a certain charm. Do you, Albert?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Albert.

  ‘Well, I think we can make up our minds that she will be for one of us. I shouldn’t mind if I were the elect.’

  ‘You are very flippant about a serious subject,’ said Albert.

  ‘You are never flippant about any subject, brother. But I’ve been keeping my ears open. I heard what our aunt had to say to our father. The Prince of Orange is here and he has brought his two sons, William and Alexander, with him. The King is entertaining them. You know what this means.’

  ‘You mean that his sons will be suitors for Victoria?’

  ‘Suitors with the King’s blessing, it seems. Oh, we have fallen into a den of intrigue, brother. The Duchess and the King are arch enemies; and the Duchess is determined that little Victoria shall marry a Coburg cousin (one of us) and the King wants to spite the Duchess – at least that’s what she says; therefore he is against a Coburg bridegroom. You see you can’t afford to sleep your time away; you have to go out and win the lady … or one of us does. She gave me some admiring glances.’

  Albert did not answer. He knew that Uncle Leopol
d wished him to be the bridegroom and that was good enough. He was sure that even the King of England could not stop Uncle Leopold’s desires.

  ‘Now, Albert, I don’t think you should have come up here to sleep so soon. It appears that you are not as eager as you should be for the company of your dear little cousin. Don’t forget the King favours Oranges. It is not going to be as easy as we thought. You – or I – have to go in and win.’

  ‘Stop it, Ernest. I don’t care for such jokes.’

  ‘Well get up and we will join the Princess and say that we needed only a little rest. You show her the tricks your greyhound does and train her Dash to do them. Or you can sing a duet with her. You really must wake up.’

  Albert allowed himself to be persuaded.

  The pace was great. The little cousin seemed indefatigable. She never seemed to stop still for a moment. It was not very restful, thought Albert, and he was nostalgic for the pine forests and the quiet life of Rosenau. He must not allow Victoria to see this. He remembered his interviews with Uncle Leopold. ‘You are a younger son and Ernest will take your father’s title, but you, of course, will have to make a place for yourself.’ That place could be here in this rather strange country, whose language he could not adequately understand; he had had a few English lessons and although he had done well on paper, when these people spoke he could not very easily understand them. Victoria obligingly used his language; he would have felt happier if he could have spoken in hers. He would ask Uncle Leopold what should be done about this. So … he was interested in his cousin. Not as a woman; there was no question of what Ernest would call falling in love. This was his future if all went according to Uncle Leopold’s plans; and Victoria was eager to please them and win their approval; she was delighted to have her cousins with her; so, if she became the Queen of this country, as her husband, he would be King; and there could be no doubt whatsoever that the King of England would be a far more powerful man than any little king, prince or duke of one of the German States.

  Therefore he must please Victoria. It was gratifying to realise that he did. At breakfast time he could feel in good spirits and amuse her with remarks which she considered extremely funny; he could play with Dash in a way she found amusing. Her loud laughter rang out continually.