The curious in such matters will here note a parallel between the
foundation of the Queen’s esteem for Melbourne (page 53) and the
Prince’s esteem for Peel.
The Queen was much more seriously annoyed by what took place in the
House of Lords on the question of the Prince’s precedence. This is one
of the matters in which it is impossible for the masses to understand
the classes. It is like the pea and the real princess in Andersen’s
tale. Either you feel it or you do not feel it; but if you do not
feel it, you are not a real princess. Questions of precedence appear
absolutely unimportant to those who are not born with a natural gift
for thinking them important. The Duke of Wellington, even though he
was an aristocrat by birth, never acquired the power of grasping the
enormous importance of precedence and etiquette. When the Earl of
Albemarle, who, as Master of the Horse, was extremely sensitive about
his right of riding in the Queen’s carriage on State occasions, made
himself rather troublesome on the subject, the Duke, who was appealed
to, said: “The Queen can make Lord Albemarle sit at the top of the
coach, or under the coach, behind the coach, or wherever else Her
Majesty pleases.” The Bill for the Prince’s naturalization contained a
clause enabling the Queen to give him precedence over all other members
of the Royal Family. The King of Hanover furiously raged, together
with some of his Royal brothers. Objections were raised in the House
of Lords. The Duke of Wellington thought it was unnecessary to settle
the Prince’s precedence by law, and that the Queen could settle it by
placing the Prince next herself on all occasions. This common-sense
view would have been sufficient for ordinary people; but the fact that
the House of Lords allowed the precedence clauses of the Naturalization
Bill to drop seems to have caused no little trouble and annoyance.
The Queen has added a note to the “Life of the Prince Consort,” in
which she says: “When I was first married, we had much difficulty on
this subject, much bad feeling was shown; several members of the Royal
Family showed bad grace in giving precedence to the Prince, and the
late King of Hanover positively resisted doing so.” The law of England
has provided for the precedence of a Queen Consort, placing her above
all other subjects, and giving her rank and dignity next her husband;
moreover, relieving her of the legal disabilities of a _feme-covert_;
but the law takes no cognizance of the possible existence of a husband
of a Queen Regnant. As far as his legal position was concerned, the
Queen’s husband had no rank except what belonged to him as second son
of the Duke of Coburg. Greville looked up the authorities, and wrote
a pamphlet on the subject, urging that the husband of the Queen ought
to have precedence over all other persons. He thought the Tory party
had made a serious mistake in the line they had taken in the matter.
It was calculated, he said, to accentuate the Queen’s dislike of them