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1.1840-1844:THEFIRSTFOURCHILDREN
competitionanddebaucherycouldonlymakebawdycha-
radesonthissolemnsowingofanewRoyal[family]tree.Do
youmeantoinsinuatehe[i.e.PrinceAlbert]hasdaredtotouch
her[i.e.theQueen]?…YouM.P.smustknowbetterofcourse-
weneverthoughtanythingcouldhavehappenedsosoon.29
AllthosebawdyjokesprovedtobeincorrectandsoontheQueenknew
shewaspregnant.Whatevertheirmutualfeelingsandlackofsexualexpe-
rienceatthebeginningoftheirmarriedlife,theyoungcouplequicklydis-
coveredalong-lastingcarnalcompatibility.
30
Indeed,aLondoncartoonist
wasclosertothetruthwhen,inabroadsideentitleduCountingtheChick-
ens”publishedsoonafterthewedding,heshowedthedeterminedQueen
informingarathershockedPrinceAlbertaboutherdecisionregarding
possiblenamesfortheirfuturechildren:
Ihavedecidedlymadeupmymind,Al,tohaveourfrst
BoynamedaftermymuchrespectedUncleLeopold,the
nextinhonourofmyUncleCambridge,AdolphusFrederick;
thenwemusthaveoneAugustusFredforUncleSussex;
andthen,Al,incaseoftwins,AlbertandEdward,wewill
callthem;there’smycousinsofHanoverandCambridge
[bothnamedGeorge];wemustn’tforgetthem,youknow,and
shouldgirlsintervene,wecancallthem,Mary’s,Caroline’s,
Sophia’s,Wilhelmina’s,Louisa’s,Adelaide’setc.etc.31
Infact,QueenVictoriaandPrinceAlbertweretohaveninechildren:
Victoriain1840,AlbertEdwardin1841,Alicein1843,Alfredin1844,Helena
in1846,Louisein1848,Arthurin1850,Leopoldin1853,andBeatricein
1857.32Interestinglyenough,afterthebirthofthefrstchild,whenher
uncle,Leopold,expressedhishopethatVictoriawouldhavemanychildren,
sheansweredinamannerwhichsuggestedacertainreluctancetobecome
themotherofanumerousfamily:
YoucannotreallywishmetobetheMammad’unenombreuse
familleforIthinkyouwillseewithmethegreatinconve-
niencealargefamilywouldbetousall,andparticularlyto
thecountry,
33
independentofthehardshipandinconve-
niencetomyself;menneverthink,atleastseldomthink
whatahardtaskitisforuswomentogothroughthisvery
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