Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 2 (of 2)Doran, Dr. (John)
History
Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 2 (of 2)
Doran, Dr. (John)
Hanover, House of; Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography
The letters of Queen Charlotte to her ‘dear friend’ are on small
subjects, expressed in a small way, and terminating with a mixture of
condescension and dignity, with good wishes from ‘your affectionate
Queen.’
Mrs. Delany speaks in her own letters with well-warranted praise of
one circumstance which marked the routine of royal life at Windsor.
Every morning throughout the year, at eight o’clock, the Queen, leaning
on the King’s arm, led her family procession to the Chapel Royal,
for the purpose of attending early morning prayer. One of the most
pleasing features in the Queen’s routine of daily life was to be found
in this exemplary practice of hers. The Queen never forced any one to
follow her example; she left it to the consciences of all. She was
independent, too, in her opinions, and though she joined fervently
with the King in the prayer, ‘Give peace in our time, O Lord!’ and
acknowledged (with more truth than the stereotyped expression itself
would seem to convey--so illogical is it with its impertinent
‘because’) that none other fought for us but God alone, yet would she
not remain silent, as the King invariably did, when the Athanasian
Creed was being repeated. That awful and overwhelming judicatory
denunciation at the close shocked the mind of the monarch whose own
penal laws, however, were the most sanguinary in Europe. The Queen, as
is the case with most ladies in church matters, had less mercy, and she
heartily joined in the sentence which so stringently winds up the creed
which, after all, was _not_ written by Athanasius.
When the Rev. Tom Twining heard that the celebrated Miss Burney was
about to be dresser and reader to the Queen, he exclaimed, ‘What a fine
opportunity you will have of studying the philosophy of human capacity
in the highest _sphere_ of life!’ ‘Goodness me! madam!’ he exclaims,
admiringly; ‘are you to take care of the robes yourself?’ Miss Burney
hardly knew what she would have to do or what her opportunities might
be, but she was not long in acquiring the knowledge in question.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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