The elections would soon be taking place and there was an air of excitement in London. The Queen thought that it might be rather pleasant to go into the country for a while, paying a round of visits. There were several Whig houses who would be honoured at the prospect. Secretly she thought it was a good way of showing her people which side she supported – as if they did not know this! There had been enough talk about her and Lord Melbourne.
The trip to Oxford had been interesting and she would enjoy taking Albert into some of her subjects’ stately homes.
‘Let us travel as we did before,’ said Albert. ‘It was most enjoyable … It gave us an opportunity of being together more often.’
She was delighted at the prospect until she realised he meant that the Baroness should stay behind.
‘Travel without Lehzen! Impossible!’ she cried.
‘It was not impossible before.’
‘Oh, but that was such a short time.’
The Prince was in despair. He feared he would never rid the household of the woman and he was coming more and more to the conclusion that she was a mischief maker, at the heart of the trouble, and that life would never run smoothly for him and Victoria while she was there.
The Princess Royal was refusing to eat; she lay whimpering in her cot and the Queen was quite anxious.
‘She is such a cross child,’ she said to Lehzen. ‘She never seems to smile nowadays.’
‘It’s her teeth,’ comforted Lehzen. ‘She’s bound to be fretful.’
Albert was continually in the nursery questioning the nurses as to what the baby had to eat. Lehzen would stand, lips pursed, listening, and the looks she gave him were venomous.
I must get rid of her, he thought.
He approached Lord Melbourne again.
‘That woman must go,’ he said. ‘She is constantly interfering between me and Victoria. Could you not advise the Queen that we should be better without her?’
Lord Melbourne appeared to consider this. He knew full well how devoted the Queen was to the Baroness, and while he believed the royal household would be better without the latter, he did not intend to jeopardise his friendship with the Queen by showing open animosity to the Baroness. No, that was for Albert. All the time the Queen and Lord Melbourne had been friends Lehzen had not been a menace to their relationship. She was, therefore, the Prince’s affair; he must be the one to get rid of her.
Albert went on: ‘If you could bring about her removal before you leave office that would be a good thing. It would be easier coming from you. She will never accept it from Peel.’
‘Your Highness, Her Majesty would tell me that the Baroness’s position in the household is not a state matter and therefore no concern of the Prime Minister. And rightly so. This is a domestic matter. The Queen would therefore resent my interference. It is for Your Highness to remove this woman and now is perhaps the time.’
‘I couldn’t do it – not with the new baby so soon to arrive.’
Lord Melbourne advised his usual policy: Put it off.
‘After the child is born is the time,’ he said. ‘Particularly if it is a boy. There will be great rejoicing and the Queen will be very happy. Yes, put it off until then.’
Albert sighed; he longed to tell the Queen exactly what he felt, but he dared not. He feared storms, which could be so bad for her in her condition.
But Lehzen did not accompany them on their tour.
The excuse was that Pussy was not as well as they would have hoped and therefore Lehzen must remain behind to superintend the nursery.
It was a delightful tour. They visited Panshanger, the home of Earl Cowper, Woburn Abbey, the Duke of Bedford’s place, and finally – and most happily as far as the Queen was concerned – they were entertained by Lord Melbourne at his country house, Brocket Hall.
‘There!’ said Albert. ‘Did you not enjoy your round of visits?’
‘Completely,’ replied the Queen. ‘And I’ll tell you what pleases me most. It is to see how people are beginning to appreciate you, Albert.’
‘You make me so happy,’ said the Prince.
‘Dearest Albert. Everything would have been perfect if we had had dear Pussy and Lehzen here.’
The Prince felt a little deflated; but the fact was she had enjoyed the visit, separated from Lehzen as she had been and with the prospect of Lord Melbourne’s imminent departure from the premiership. He was becoming the most important one in her life.
Very soon after their return the results of the election were known. It was, as had been expected, a decisive victory for the Tories; Sir Robert Peel’s representatives in the house would number 368, Lord Melbourne’s 292.
The Queen shut herself into the blue closet to brood alone for a short while, thinking what this meant.
There could be no way out of this. Sir Robert Peel would be her new Prime Minister – and she must say goodbye to her beloved Lord Melbourne, but only she assured herself as Prime Minister. He would remain her dear friend.
On that hot August day she waited in the blue closet, the scene of so many happy meetings. She had thought of it as their particular sanctum and had always refused if possible to see anyone else there. And now he was coming for the last time as her Prime Minister and she felt very sad.
He came and stood before her; she looked for the tears in his eyes and was certain that she would find them.
She held out her hands; he took them both and kissed them.
‘So it has come,’ she said.
‘It was inevitable. Only Your Majesty has kept it at bay for these last two years.’
‘At least I did that.’
He smiled tenderly. ‘And now, there is the Prince to stand beside you. It will be easier now than then. That is something I remind myself of continually.’
‘I shall never forget,’ she said.
‘Nor I. But this is not the end, you know.’
‘I am determined that it shall not be.’
‘May I give Your Majesty one piece of advice?’
‘You must go on giving me advice for years to come.’
‘Since Your Majesty is so kind I will not hesitate to do so now. I beg of you send for Peel without delay. If you did not it might be construed as a slight. It is my earnest desire to see you on good terms with your new government.’
‘I shall never like Peel. He fidgets. He is nervous and that makes me uneasy.’
‘You will put him at his ease. There is already an understanding between him and the Prince.’
‘Oh, yes, Albert is quite fond of the fellow.’
‘As you will be … in time.’
She shook her head. ‘I shall never forgive him for taking you from me.’
‘I am here still. Perhaps Your Majesty will continue to write to me. I think the loss of those letters would be something I could not bear.’
‘I shall write to you as before and you shall advise me, and I shall always think of you as my dear … dear friend.’
‘And you will lean on the Prince. You will find him strong and shrewd.’
‘I have the best husband in the world, I know.’
‘He will be a great comfort to you and may I say it is a comfort to me to leave you in such good hands.’
She was too emotional to speak and he went on to say that he should not stay. She had not yet sent for Peel. People would know how long he had been with her. They must not be unwise.
She clung to his hands for a moment; then he bowed and left her.
She went to her room and blinded by tears she collected some of her drawings together – her favourite ones. Some of them he had seen before and admired. They should be his – her last gift to him as Prime Minister. He would understand that by giving him her own work she meant him to have the best that she could offer.