The winter of 1838-9 was passed by the Prince in a tour through Switzerland and Italy. After pursuing his journey as far as Naples, and omitting no locality of interest on the way, he came home by way of Vienna, and returned to the Castle of Ehrenberg in the summer of 1839. It has been stated that he found, on the wall of his room, a miniature of Queen Victoria, by Chalon, which she had sent to him as a gift in his absence; but we have not discovered any very reliable authority for the anecdote. In August, having completed his twentieth year, he was formally declared of age. He inherited from his mother landed estates amounting to £2,400 yearly value. These lands, we have reason to believe, he transferred to his brother upon the formal announcement of his engagement to Queen Victoria, subject only to pensions and allowances to certain persons who had belonged to his modest household.
PRINCE ALBERT’S BETROTHAL.
On the 8th of December, 1839, his betrothal was formally and publicly announced at Coburg. In the morning the Ducal family, with the Court officials, attended Divine service in the chapel of the Castle; in the afternoon, in the presence of the same dignitaries, with the deputies of the Duchies of Coburg and Gotha, the Chief Minister formally read the announcement of the betrothal; the while the booming of cannon from the fortress announced the tidings to the people of the town and the neighbouring country. About three hundred persons in all were present at the ceremony within the Castle, including bearers of congratulatory addresses, not only from the two duchies, but from Austria, Prussia, Hesse, Saxony, and other German states. From the report of an English gentleman of high social position, who was present on this important occasion, we extract, in conclusion, these fuller details:—
When the Minister (Baron de Carlowitz) had read the proclamation, the Duke embraced his son, and the Duchess next imprinted a kiss upon his forehead, while in every eye might be read the heartfelt wish that all the parents’ fondest, proudest hopes might be fully realised. More than one hundred and sixty persons partook of the hospitalities of the Duke’s table, in the “Riesen Saal,” or “Giant’s Hall,” and a more sumptuous or splendid entertainment could not be imagined. The loud and cordial cheers which the health of England’s Queen called forth, and which burst out with an enthusiasm which all the forms of etiquette and courtly ceremony could not restrain, were almost too affecting; and when the band struck up “God save the Queen,” the tears of joy flowed freely. I must not omit to mention a circumstance characteristic of the Prince. By his order, the people were admitted into the “Riesen Saal,” to see the assembled company. Peasants from the hills, old and young, walked about without the smallest restraint, to their evident enjoyment; and their hearty exclamations—the blessings they invoked on their beloved Prince and his august parents—were a more eloquent and stirring panegyric than volumes could express. To describe the universal attachment of all classes to the Prince were impossible. I have never heard other than the most enthusiastic praise—not one dissenting voice from one end of Thuringia to the other. If I have remarked the personal beauty of the Prince, the general reply has been, “Ah! yes, he is certainly handsome, but so good; he is truly a most amiable prince, as good as he is handsome.” Persons attached to his suite, and the older members of the Court, cannot speak of him without tears, and are quite distressed at the thought of his leaving his native land.... On the 28th of December the Prince, accompanied by his father, quitted his paternal residence for a short sojourn at Gotha; and as he bade a last adieu to the stately castle of Ehrenberg, the abode of his fathers, and the happy scene of his infancy, the tenderest emotions of his nature for a moment almost overwhelmed him. A few days prior to his departure, a ball was given him by the nobles, at which he was received by twelve young ladies, attired in white, and wearing fresh-gathered roses; the Philosophic Society gave him a serenade, and all classes joined in affectionate expression of sympathy in their young Prince’s feelings on this momentous occasion.
Lord Viscount Torrington and Colonel the Honourable Charles Grey, who were charged with the two-fold mission of investing the Prince with the insignia of the Order of the Garter, and escorting him and his suite to England, arrived at Gotha early in January, 1840, and the investiture took place on the 24th, with imposing ceremony. The jewels, which were of diamonds and of rare workmanship, were a present from the Queen. After a series of hospitable festivities in honour of the English envoys, Prince Albert set out for England on the 28th of the month.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES QUEEN REGNANT.
First Meeting of the Princess Victoria and Prince Albert—Coming of Age—Festivities on the Occasion—Death of William IV., and Accession of Victoria—The Queen holds her First Privy Council—Her Address—Proclamation as Queen at St. James’s Palace—Beautiful Traits of Character displayed by the Queen—Stirring and Gorgeous Scene—Delight of the People at the Queen’s Accession.