Louise Lehzen

In 1827, the Duke of York died, making the Duke of Clarence heir presumptive, and Victoria second-in-line to the throne.[2] King George IV expressed doubt that Lehzen was the proper candidate to prepare Victoria. In response, her mother and Conroy persuaded the king to award them both titles, so that the princess would not be surrounded by commoners; Lehzen became a baroness of the Kingdom of Hanover.[2][21][22] George IV died in 1830, and was succeeded by his brother the Duke of Clarence, who became King William IV.[23] William formally recognised Victoria as his heir presumptive.[24] According to Lehzen, around this time an infamous scene took place, in which Lehzen slipped a copy of the genealogy of the House of Hanover into one of the princess's lesson books. After perusing it for some time, Victoria came to see that her father had been next in line after the king, and that Queen Adelaide had no surviving children. This was the first time Victoria came to realise the destiny that had been assumed by many since her birth; that she would be the next British monarch. After a pause, Victoria is reported to have said "I will be good."[25][26] This story entered into folk legend for future English generations.[26]

King William appointed his friend, the Duchess of Northumberland, as Victoria's official governess in 1831, but the role was mostly ceremonial, and the princess continued to depend on Lehzen. The Duchess was dismissed in 1837 by Victoria's mother for attempting to become more influential in her royal charge's education.[24][27][28] During this time, Lehzen held no official position at court; despite her recently acquired title, her commoner status continued to be a hindrance.[2]

The wish of the Duchess and Conroy to keep Victoria dependent on their will was circumvented by Lehzen, who wanted her charge to become a strong, informed woman.[14] As Victoria grew older, attempts were made by Conroy and the Duchess for Lehzen's removal, or at least the lessening of her influence. Such tactics proved unsuccessful, as the princess became more devoted to Lehzen than before, as evident in her journals.[29] Lehzen's only true friend in the household, Baroness Spath, had been suddenly dismissed in 1828 on the orders of Conroy; rumours abounded that the baroness witnessed "familiarities" between him and the Duchess. Members of George IV's court speculated that Lehzen would be the next to leave, but she remained silent on the issue and preserved her position.[30][31] In 1835, the Duchess of Kent wrote her daughter a stern letter demanding that Victoria develop a more formal and less intimate relationship with Lehzen.[32][33] The same year (in which Victoria turned sixteen), plans to dismiss Lehzen fell apart after she devotedly nursed Victoria through a five-week illness.[28] Lehzen aided a weakened Victoria in her refusal to sign a document prepared for her by Conroy and the Duchess that would guarantee him a position when she became queen.[34][35] During her tenure, Lehzen had the support of George IV, William IV, and another of Victoria's uncles, Leopold I of Belgium, who all believed that she was vital to the princess's health, happiness, and continued resistance to Conroy's influence.[2][33]

The education Victoria received from Lehzen was rudimentary but solid. Contrary to the prevailing attitudes of the time, Lehzen, tutor Dr. George Davys, and others successfully encouraged Victoria to enjoy acquiring knowledge.[14][36] Davys was put in charge of the "solid department of her studies", while Lehzen concentrated on the "more ornamental departments", such as dancing.[36] Gaining an "enlightened education",[37] the princess learned to speak French, German, Latin, and English, liked history[38] and was taught economics, geography, mathematics, politics, art, and music.[26][39] Lehzen was strict, but rewarded the princess when she was obedient.[40] In another departure from the era, Lehzen employed little to no corporal punishment; at least, there is no record of it in the household accounts.[37]

Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert led to disagreements and Lehzen's eventual dismissal.

The arrival of Prince Albert led to significant changes in Victoria's household. Lehzen had opposed Coburg ambitions of Victoria marrying Albert, believing the princess to be a "second Queen Elizabeth, virgin and independent of male influence."[48] Albert was well-educated, and had just completed a tour of Europe, preceded by years at the University of Bonn. Victoria's court dismayed his puritan German sensibilities.[49][50] Lehzen and Albert soon developed a dislike for each other; she regularly thwarted Albert's will in the running of the household; meanwhile, he found her personally repellent and unworthy of befriending the queen, openly referring to her as "the hag" and a "crazy stupid intriguer".[51][52][53][54]

When Victoria's first child, the Princess Royal, was born, Victoria trusted Lehzen to make the arrangements for the nursery. Lehzen placed it in the care of various staff as well as Sir James Clark,[55] despite Albert's objections that the physician was wholly unsuited to the post, having already discredited himself during the affair of Lady Flora Hastings a year previously.[note 1] At fourteen months the Princess Royal fell ill, losing her appetite and appearing pale and feverish. Dr Clark declared it a minor ailment, incorrectly prescribing her with calomel, a medication laced with mercury and laudanum. In fact, it is more likely that the precocious princess was simply expressing her dismay at changes in the royal nursery, then occurring with the arrival of her younger brother.[57] Albert, a devoted father, confronted Victoria on the incompetence of the staff selected by Lehzen.[58] There was a quarrel, after which Albert declared that he would leave the affair in her queenly hands, and placed it on her conscience if the child died.[59][60][61]

Soon after this argument[60] Victoria conceded to her husband, not wishing to see him unhappy. She made a final attempt to defend Lehzen, describing her as a selflessly loyal woman who deserved to remain close to her former charge. But in the face of Albert's resolve, Victoria dismissed Lehzen, ostensibly for her health.[62][63] To Albert, Lehzen was a servant who had attempted to rise above her place in life,[64] and he wanted Victoria to rely on him alone.[2] Lehzen accepted the fiction of ill health, and agreed to depart. In the days leading up to her exit, she taught some of her duties to Marianne Skerrett, one of Victoria's dressers, and returned her keys to the queen. Lehzen departed on 30 September 1842, leaving a note rather than speaking directly with Victoria, believing that this would be less painful.[65] The queen was initially unaccustomed to Lehzen's absence, having spent almost her whole life up to that point in the presence of the former governess. "It was very painful to me... waking this morning, and recollecting she was really quite away," Victoria said.[65]

Word of Lehzen's departure spread through the court and elsewhere. Reports of the cause varied; the court diarist Charles Greville noted she was leaving "for her health (as she says), to stay five or six months, but it is supposed never to return."[66] The Times however reported that she was simply visiting friends in Germany.[67] After her departure, family adviser Baron Stockmar remarked of the affair that

[I]t was not without great difficulty that the Prince succeeded in getting rid of [Lehzen]. She was foolish enough to contest his influence, and not to conform herself to the change in her position... If she had done so, and conciliated the P[rince], she might have remained in the Palace to the end of her life.[59]