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1.1840-1844:THEFIRSTFOURCHILDREN
oftenderness,Ihaveneveryetheardusedtomebeforewasblissbeyond
belief!Oh!thiswasthehappiestdayofmylife!-MayGodhelpmetodo
mydutyasIoughtandbeworthyofsuchblessings!…”8Thenextmorning,
shecontinued:uWhendaydawned(forwedidnotsleepmuch)andIbeheld
thatbeautifulangelicfacebymyside,itwasmorethanIcanexpress!”9
InthemorningtheQueenwroteashortmessagetoLordMelbourne
aboutherumostgratifyingandbewilderingnight”.
10
Afewweekslatershe
assuredhercousin,Victoria(whowasabouttomarrytheDukeofNemours,
sonofKingLouis-PhilippeofFrance)uyoucannotimaginehowdelightfulit
istobemarried”,11althoughyearslatersheadmittedtoherdaughterthat
uGodknows…allone’sfeelingsofpropriety…receiveashock[…]inmar-
riage…”.12Shecomparedgivingagirlinmarriagetoutakingapoorlamb
tobesacrifced”13andthoughtnogirlwouldagreetobemarrieduifshe
knewall”thatshemustgothrough.Thinkingaboutheryoungerdaughter
PrincessAlice(then16),theQueenwrotethatshesawandheardenough
u(ofcoursenotwhatnooneevercanknowbeforetheymarryandbefore
theyhavehadchildren)[…]togiveherahorrorratherofmarrying”.
14
ThefamousdiaristCharlesGreville,asevermaliciousandbiting,noticed
thatthenewlywedsroseveryearlyontheTuesdaymorningtogowalking,
whichwascontrarytotheQueen’sformerhabits,andremarkedthatitwas
ustrangethatabridalnightshouldbesoshort”,concludingthatuthiswas
notthewaytoprovideuswithaPrinceofWales”.
15
OntheWednesday,the
seconddayoftheirmarriedlife,theyhadapleasantdinnerpartyandon
thethirddaytheQueenchosetodanceratherthanspendthetimealone
withherhusband.
16
OntheThursdaytherewasanotherdance,andon
theFridaytheyreturnedtoLondon.AccordingtoGreville,thissuggested
thattherelationshipbetweenthenewlywedswasnotinitiallyphysically
passionate.17
GrevillerecordedinhismemoirstheimpressionoftheDuchessofBed-
ford,theQueen’sLadyoftheBedchamber,thatafewdaysaftertheirwed-
dingtheQueenseemeduexcessivelyinlove”withPrinceAlbertubuthenot
abitwithher”.ShealsothoughtthatthePrincewasunotbeinghappy”.18
AsimilaropinionwasrecordedbyDrFergusonwhoaskedtheQueen’s
personaldoctor,SirJamesClark,whetherhethoughtthePrincewasin
love.Clarkansweredthathethoughthelikedher.uOnherside,however,”
addsFerguson,uIhavenodoubts.Sheisdotinglyattachedtohim,and
cannotbearhimoutofhersight”.
19
TheQueen’sjealousywasalsonoticed
byDisraeliwhogossipedtohissisterSarahthatAlbertuisveryboredby
hiswifewhoisfearfullyjealous”,
20
andinMarch1840,PrincessLieven
15
