Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Fiction
It made little difference to either the Duke or the baby how the Prince
Regent might feel about her name, for the Duke was the happiest of
fathers, and the little Drina, as the Princess was called, was a merry,
sweet-tempered baby. Everyone at Kensington loved her, and over the sea
was a grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, who could hardly wait
for the day to come when she would be able to see the child. "How
pretty the little Mayflower will be," she wrote, "when I see it in a
year's time." Another letter said: "The English like queens, and the
niece of the beloved Princess Charlotte will be most dear to them."
Princess Charlotte was the only child of Prince George, and the nation
had loved her and longed to have her for their queen. She had married
Leopold, the brother of the Duchess of Kent, and had died only two
years before "Princess Drina" was born.
The succession to the English crown was in a peculiar condition. The
king, George III., had become insane, and his eldest son, George, was
ruling as Prince Regent. If the Regent lived longer than his father, he
would become George IV. His next younger brother was Frederick, Duke of
York; then came William, Duke of Clarence; and then the Duke of Kent.
George and Frederick had no children, and William's baby girl died on
the very day that the Princess Alexandrina was born. If these three
brothers died without children, the Duke of Kent would become king; but
even then, if the Duke should have a son, the law was that he, rather
than the daughter, should inherit the crown. The baby Princess, then,
stood fifth in the succession to the throne, and a child born to any
one of these three uncles, or a son born to her father, would remove
her still further from sovereignty.
The English people had talked of all these possibilities. The Duke of
Kent had also several younger brothers, but they were all middle-aged
men, the youngest forty-five, and not one of them had a child. If all
the children of George III. died without heirs, the English crown would
descend to a line of Germans who had never walked on English soil. "We
have had one king who could not speak English," said the people, "and
we do not want another." The Duke of Kent was a general favorite among
them, and they hoped that he, and after him his daughter, would become
their ruler. Indeed, they hoped for this so strongly that they began to
feel sure that it would come to pass. Everyone wanted to see the little
Princess. Many a person lingered under the palace windows for hours,
and went away feeling well repaid for the delay if he had caught a
glimpse of the royal baby in her nurse's arms.
When the Princess was four months old, the Duke gave orders one
afternoon that she should be made ready for a drive with him.
"But is it not the day of the military review on Hounslow Heath?" asked
the Duchess.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account