The Queen and Prince Albert had long been contemplating a visit to the court of Louis Philippe, so the day after the opening of parliament in August they embarked at Southampton on the "Victoria and Albert," a new yacht that had just been built for them. The French royal family were at Château d'Eu, near Tréport. After cruising about off the coast of the Isle of Wight for four or five days, the queen and prince crossed over to Tréport, and the French king came out in his barge to welcome them.
Her majesty describes it thus in her journal: "The landing was a fine sight, which the beauty of the evening, with the setting sun, enhanced. Crowds of people (all so different from ours), numbers of troops (also different from our troops), the whole court, and all the authorities were assembled on the' shore. The king led me up a somewhat steepish staircase, where the queen received me with the kindest welcome, accompanied by dearest Louise, Queen of the Belgians; Hélène, Duchess of Orleans, in deep mourning; Françoise, Prince de Joinville, and Madame Adélaïde. All this—the cheering of the people, and of the troops crying "Vive la Reine! Vive le Roi!"—well nigh overcame me. The king repeated again and again to me how happy he was at the visit, and how attached he was to my father and to England."
The visitors remained five days, and were received with so much affection by every member of the royal family and so splendidly entertained that it was with sincere regret that they parted from them at last. After stopping two or three days at Brighton, the queen and prince made a tour in Belgium, and visited their beloved uncle, King Leopold. The month succeeding this journey was marked by the prince's first visit to Cambridge, where he and the queen were received by the students with tremendous enthusiasm.
A.D. 1844. The first grief that darkened the home of the royal couple was caused by the death of Prince Albert's father, which occurred quite suddenly in January, 1844. This event was not entirely unexpected; nevertheless the prince was deeply shocked, for he had always entertained a warm affection for his father. The following month he decided to visit Coburg, and see those of his relations who remained.
Shortly after his return the King of Saxony arrived at Buckingham Palace on a visit, and two days later the Emperor of Russia appeared, having given only forty-eight hours' notice that he would do so. Meanwhile, the court removed to Windsor Castle, where the emperor was conducted by Prince Albert and received by the queen. The royal visitor was struck by the magnificence of the castle, and repeatedly declared that the English court was conducted on a grander scale than any he had ever seen.
A brilliant review was given in Windsor Park on the fourth of June in honor of the two royal guests, and they were delighted with the rapidity of the artillery movements. The whole royal party attended the Ascot races on the sixth, and returned to town on the seventh. Next day the emperor went with Prince Albert on an excursion in the country, and attended the opera with the queen in the evening. On the ninth he took his departure, having made a most favorable impression in England.
On the sixth of August the queen's second son was born, at Windsor Castle. He was christened at the end of four weeks in the private chapel, and received the names Alfred Ernest Albert. The sponsors were Prince George of Cambridge, the Prince of Leiningen, represented by the Duke of Wellington, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, represented by the Duchess of Kent. The scene was very solemn. The Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales were present; and it was on that occasion that the former first beheld the father of the man she was to marry fourteen years later,—the Crown Prince of Prussia,—who was then on a visit to England.
In October grand preparations were made for the reception of King Louis Philippe. The Duke of Wellington went with Prince Albert to Portsmouth to receive him and accompany him to Windsor, and everything was done to make a favorable impression on both sides, because his visit was the first one ever made by a French to an English sovereign. The king was no stranger in England, for he had lived there for five years during his exile from France; and it gave him much pleasure to visit the old familiar scenes, and to reflect upon his improved condition. He could not forget how, under a feigned name, he had been glad to earn twenty pence a day while in exile,—and now he was King of France! His visit had a good effect, for it removed much of the angry feeling that had existed between his country and England, and established a bond of friendliness.
A.D. 1845. When the Queen and Prince Albert accompanied Louis Philippe to Portsmouth they saw Osborne, in the Isle of Wight, for the first time, and were so pleased with the prospect it offered for a quiet retreat that they purchased it. There were eight hundred acres at first, but more were added, until the estate comprised twenty-three hundred acres. The prince cultivated the whole place, and improved it year by year, until he made it one of the most delightful country-seats in the world. On the ninth of August the queen prorogued parliament; and the same evening she and the prince, attended by Lord Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, Lady Gainsborough, Lady Canning, Mr. Anson, and Sir James Clark sailed from Woolwich for Antwerp in the royal yacht, their destination being Saxony. This is what her majesty wrote in her journal on the morning of her departure:—
"A very fine morning when we got up. Both Vicky and darling Alice were with me while I dressed. Poor, dear puss (the Princess Royal) would much have wished to go with us, and often proposed that she might go, and said,—'Why am I not going to Germany?' Most willingly would I have taken her, and I wished much to have taken one of dear Albert's children with us to Coburg; but the journey is a serious undertaking, particularly the first time, and she is very young still. But what chiefly decided us is the visit to the King of Prussia, where I could not have looked after her. All four children were with us at breakfast, after which I gave Lady Lyttelton my last instructions, and then with a heavy heart we bade them adieu in the hall. Poor little Vicky seemed very sorry, but did not cry. It was a very painful moment to drive away with the three poor little things standing at the door. God bless them and protect them; which He will! And they are in excellent hands. Our dear Osborne is so lovely and so enjoyable that we left it with the greatest regret."