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IntRoDUCtIon
QueenVictoriaandPrinceAlberthadninechildrenwhowerebornbetween
1840and1857.Theroyalparentswere,however,busywiththeiroffcial
dutiesandtherefore,followingotheraristocraticparents,theydelegated
thecareofthechildrenfrsttonursesandlatertogovernessesandtutors.
Thus,theroyalchildrenspentthefrstyearsoftheirlivesinthenursery.
AdetailedstudyoftheVictorianroyalnurserydoesnotexist,although
biographiesoftheQueenandPrinceAlbertusuallyincludesomeinforma-
tionaboutthenursery.Apartfromtheclassicbiographiessuchasthoseby
ElizabethLongford,
1
CecilWoodham-Smith,
2
MonicaCharlot,
3
Christopher
Hibbert,
4
andmostrecentlyLucyWorsley,
5
onlyaveryfewstudiesare
basedonarchivalmaterials(especiallythoseintheRoyalArchivesatWind-
sor),atleastasfarasthesubjectoftheroyalnurseryisconcerned.Most
basetheirworkonearlierresearchandsecondarysources,forexample,
theveryreadablebooksbyStanleyWeintraub
6
andGilesStAubyn,
7
aswell
asthelatestimportantadditionstothelist:thevolumesbyJuliaBaird
8
and
N.A.Wilson.9ThebiographiesbyPaulaBartley10andLucyWorsleymake
extensiveuseofQueenVictoria’sJournals,whichweremadeavailableonline
in2012.
ThebiographiesoftheQueen’schildrenalsodevoterelativelyfew
wordstothenurseryyears,perhapswiththenotableexceptionsofJane
Ridley’sBertie
11
andCharlotteZeepvat’sQueenVictoria’sYoungestSon,
12
whicharebothbasedonarchivalresearch.MatthewDennison’sTheLast
Princess.TheDevotedLifeofQueenVictoria’sYoungestDaughter,whichgives
adetaileddescriptionofPrincessBeatrice’sbirthandinfancy,is,however,
basedonsecondarymaterial.13Almosttheonlyoriginalstudyofthenine
royalchildren,thatwrittenbyDaphneBennett,isunfortunatelysomewhat
lackinginanyapparatuscriticus.14
11
