Saturday, 26th April.—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At 9 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till 11. The Duchess of Northumberland was present. At 12 we went to pay a visit to Aunt Gloucester. At 1 we lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward till 4. At 4 came Mrs. Anderson till 5. At 6 we dined. Sir John dined here. At a ¼ past 7 we went with Lehzen and Sir John to the Opera. We came in just at the beginning of the opera of Otello. The characters were: Otello, Signor Rubini who sang quite beautifully and acted very well. Iago, Signor Tambourini who sung likewise beautifully. Rodrigo, M. Ivanhoff who sung very well.——Signor Zuchello. Desdemona, Signora Giuletta Grisi. She sang and acted quite beautifully! and looked lovely. She acted and sang most sweetly and beautifully in the last scene; and also in the two trios in the 1st and 2nd acts. When the opera was over she was called for, and she came on, led by Rubini. At that moment a wreath of roses with a small roll of paper inside was thrown on the stage; Rubini picked it up and placed it on her head. They were very much applauded. We came away directly after the opera. Lord Ilchester[150] and Lady Theresa joined us there. We came home at a ¼ to 12. I was very much amused indeed!!!...
Monday, 28th April.—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At a ¼ to 9 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till a ¼ past 11. The Duchess of Northumberland was present. At 12 Lehzen and I drove out. At 1 we lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward till 4. I then went to the painting room. At 7 we dined. After dinner while we were playing on the piano, arrived Uncle Ferdinand[151] and Charles.[152] Uncle Ferdinand is Mamma’s second brother and she had not seen him for 16 years! I have now seen all my uncles, except Uncle Mensdorff[153] (Aunt Sophie’s husband), for Mamma’s eldest brother, Uncle Ernest,[154] was here 3 years ago, the same year Uncle Leopold went to Belgium. Charles is looking very well and is grown much fatter. Uncle Ferdinand is not at all like my other Uncles. He is fair. It is a great pleasure for me to see both Uncle Ferdinand and Charles. I stayed up till 9....
Thursday, 5th June.—At 11 arrived my dearest sister Feodora whom I had not seen for 6 years. She is accompanied by Ernest, her husband, and her two eldest children Charles and Eliza. Dear Feodora looks very well but is grown much stouter since I saw her. She was married on the 18th of February 1828 and went away to Germany a week after and she never came here again since. Hohenlohe looks also very well. As for the children they are the dearest little loves I ever saw. Charles is 4 years and a half old. He is very tall and is a sweet good-tempered little fellow. He is not handsome but he is a very nice-looking boy. He has light blue eyes and fair hair. Eliza is 3 years and a half old; she is also very tall and is a perfect little beauty. She has immense dark brown eyes and a very small mouth and light brown hair. She is very clever and amusing. We then showed her their rooms, and afterwards, at ½ past 12, we went to see the dear children take their dinner. They took it with Mr. Rol, Charles’s tutor. At 1 we all lunched, that is to say, Mamma, dear Feodore, Ernst Hohenlohe, Charly, Lehzen, and I. After luncheon, Feodore and the others went upstairs. At 2 Charles and Eliza came down and stayed with us alone. They are dear sweet children; not at all shy and so good; they never hurt or spoil anything. At a little after 2 came Lady Westminster.[155] The dear children behaved so well. They are so very sensible. They staid till after 3. Eliza speaks German and French very nicely. She has a French Swiss bonne called Louise who speaks French with her. At ½ past 4 we went out driving with dear Feodore and Lehzen. We came home at 6. At 7 we dined. Besides dearest Feodore, Ernest, Charles and Lehzen, Sir J. Conroy dined here. When the 2nd course was put on, Charles and Eliza came in, and staid there. They were very funny and amusing and talked immensely. They staid up till ½ past 8. At ½ past 9 we went to the Opera with Ernst Hohenlohe, Charles, Lehzen, and Sir John Conroy, poor dear Feodora being too tired to go. We came in at about the middle of the 2nd act of Rossini’s Opera of L’Assiedo di Corrinto. It is in 3 acts. The principal characters are: Mahomet (Emperor of the Turks), Signor Tamburini, who sang beautifully and looked very well. Cleomene (Governor of Corrinto), Mons. Ivanoff who likewise sang very well. Nioclene, Signor Rubini who also sang quite beautifully. Pamira, Mdlle. Giuletta Grisi, who sang quite beautifully and acted and looked extremely well. It was Laporte’s benefit, and the first time this opera was ever performed in this country. Then followed the 2nd act of La Sylphide in which Taglioni made her first appearance since an absence of some months. She danced quite beautifully, quite as if she flew in the air, so gracefully and lightly. She looked also very well. There was also a Pas de Trois danced by Mdlles. Theresa and Fanny Elsler and Mons. Theodore. Mdlle. Fanny danced beautifully. We came home at 10 minutes to 1. There is only one thing wanting to my happiness in being with my dear sister and her children, that is that I cannot share that happiness with one whom I love so very dearly but who is far far away—that is my most dear Uncle Ferdinand....
H.S.H. Princess Adelaide
of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
from a portrait by Gutekunst
Wednesday, 11th June.—Dear little Eliza and Charles came down to breakfast. Eliza came into my room and staid with me for some time. She is a dear good little girl. At 1 we lunched. Eliza came again into my room and staid with me for nearly an hour. At 3 we went with Lady Flora Hastings[156] and Lehzen to Windsor on a visit to their Majesties. We were very sorry to leave the dear children. At a ¼ past 5 we arrived at Windsor. The Queen, dear Feodore, Ernest and several ladies and gentlemen of the court, received us at the door and conducted us upstairs to the Queen’s room, where the King was. I was very happy to see my dear sister again. Some time afterwards the Queen conducted us to our rooms which are very handsome. At 7 we dined. Besides the King and Queen, Feodore and Ernest, Mamma and I, Lady Flora and Lehzen, there dined there: George Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Richmond,[157] the Duchess of Northumberland, the Duke of Grafton,[158] the Duke of Dorset,[159] the Duke of Cleveland,[160] the Marquis and Marchioness of Conyngham,[161] Lady Clinton (Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting), Lord and Lady Frederick Fitzclarence,[162] Lord Denbigh,[163] Lady Sophia Sidney,[164] Miss Eden,[165] Miss Hope Johnston, Miss Wilson, Lord Albemarle,[166] Sir Frederick Watson, Colonel Lygon,[167] Mr. Wood,[168] &c., &c. The Queen went first with Ernest, then came the King who led Mamma and I in, and then came Feodore with the Duke of Richmond. The rest I do not recollect. I sat between the King and the Duke of Dorset. I stayed up till ½ past 9.
Thursday, 12th June.—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At ½ past 9 we breakfasted, with the King, the Queen, Feodore, Ernest, George Cambridge, the Duchess of Northumberland, and Lady Clinton. All the other ladies breakfasted together. We then went into the Queen’s room. At a ¼ past 12 we went to Ascot Races with the whole company in 9 carriages. In the first went the King, the Queen, Mamma and I. In the second Feodore, the Duchess of Richmond, the Duchess of Northumberland and Lady Clinton. In the third Lady Flora, Lady Sophia Sydney, the Duke of Richmond, and the Duke of Cleveland. In the fourth Lehzen, Miss Hope Johnston, the Duke of Grafton, and the Duke of Dorset. How all the others went I do not know. At about 1 we arrived on the race course and entered the King’s stand with all our party. The races were very good and there was an immense concourse of people there of all ranks. At about ½ past 2 we had luncheon. At a little after 6 we left the stand and returned to the castle in the same way as we came except that, as it rained very hard, we came home in shut carriages. At 7 we arrived at the castle. At ½ past 7 we dined. The company at dinner were the same as yesterday with the exception of Lord and Lady Conyngham not dining here, and a few other gentlemen having dined here. We went in in the same way. I sat between the King and the Duke of Cleveland. I stayed up till a ¼ to 11. I was very much amused indeed at the races....
Sunday, 27th July.—At 9 we breakfasted. How sad I felt at breakfast not to see the door open and dear Feodore come in smiling and leading her dear little girl; and not to get the accustomed morning kiss from her. At 11 we went to the chapel with Lehzen, Lady Conroy, and Victoire. The Bishop of London preached a very fine sermon. Victoire Conroy stayed till ½ past 2. At 1 we lunched. I missed dear Feodore here again terribly. I miss her so much to-day. She used to be with me so much on Sunday always. We used to talk together so pleasantly. Last Sunday afternoon she painted in my room. At ½ past 3 we went with Lehzen to visit Aunt Gloucester, and then drove home through the park. How dull that drive appeared to me without dear Feodore. We came home at ½ past 5. At 7 we dined. After dinner came Aunt Sophia. We passed a sad dull evening. I stayed up till a ¼ to 9....
Sunday, 5th October.— ... The news were received a few days ago that Dom Pedro, Regent of Portugal,[169] was dead. He expired on the 24th instant, at the age of 35. His daughter, Donna Maria, the young Queen, though only 15, is declared of age and able to govern by herself. The lovely young Empress is left a widow at the age of 22 only. It is a sad situation both for the young Queen and the poor Empress, in whom both I take the greatest interest as I know them personally. I saw Dom Pedro when he was in England about 3 years ago. At 11 we went to church. At 1 we lunched. At ½ past 3 we went out driving with Lady Flora and Lehzen, in the pony-carriage. We came home in the large carriage at 6. At 7 we dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir J., Messrs. E., S., and H. C. dined here. I stayed up till ½ past 9....
St. Leonards, Wednesday, 4th November.—I said in my last journal book that I would describe in this book all what passed yesterday. We reached Battle Abbey at about a ¼ to 1. We were received at the door by Lady Webster.[170] Battle Abbey was built by King William the Conqueror and stands on the site where the famous battle of Hastings was fought. The place is still preserved where Harold fell. She showed us first into a large hall supposed to be the highest in England. There are portraits of King Charles the 2nd, King William the 3rd, and Queen Anne in it, &c. &c. There is also a very large picture of the battle of Hastings. Some old suits of armour are also in the hall. We saw also what were the cloisters now turned into a room. We saw the Beggars’ Hall, a curious walk of the monks, and the garden. We lastly partook of some refreshment in a very pretty room in which there was a picture of the Emperor Napoleon, not full length, only to the waist; which is said to be very like. The outside of the abbey is very fine too. We left it again at ½ past 1. The tenants again accompanied us till Broadeslowe. There some gentlemen from Hastings met us and accompanied us to St. Leonards. We passed under an arch formed of laurels and decorated with flowers and inscriptions. As soon as we passed the 2nd arch the Mayor got out of his carriage and came to our door asking leave to precede us in his carriage. An immense concourse of people walking with the carriage. The mayor and aldermen preceding us in carriages as also a band of music. Throughout Hastings the houses were decorated with flowers, ribands and inscriptions, and arches of flowers and laurels. Ladies and children waving handkerchiefs and laurels on the balconies and at the windows. Cries of “Welcome, welcome, Royal visitors,” were constantly heard. We reached Hastings at ½ past 2, and it was 4 o’clock before we arrived at our house at St. Leonards. It was indeed a most splendid reception. We stepped out on the balcony and were loudly cheered. One sight was extremely pretty. Six fishermen in rough blue jackets, red caps and coarse white aprons, preceded by a band, bore a basket ornamented with flowers, full of fish as a present for us. We found dear Dashy in perfect health. Our house is very comfortable. At 6 we dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Messrs. E., S., H., and Sir J. C. dined here. After 8 the fireworks began and lasted till 9. They were very fine. I stayed up till 9.