Thursday, 17th March.— ... We reached Windsor Castle at 6. We went to the Queen’s room where Ferdinand and Augustus were presented to the King. We then went to our rooms. At ½ past 7 we dined in St. George’s Hall with an immense number of people. Ferdinand looked very well. He wore the 3 Portuguese Orders in one ribbon, which he has the right of doing as husband to the Queen of Portugal. Ferdinand led the Queen in to dinner and the King led Mamma and I. I sat between the King and George Cambridge and opposite dear Ferdinand. After dinner we went into a beautiful new drawing-room[227] where we remained till the gentlemen came from dinner. We then all went into the Waterloo Gallery where the ball was. The King went in first, then the Queen and Mamma, and then dear Ferdinand with me at his arm. I danced 3 quadrilles; 1st with dear Ferdinand, then with George Cambridge, and lastly with dear Augustus. During the evening dear Ferdinand came and sat near me and talked so dearly and so sensibly. I do so love him. Dear Augustus also sat near me and talked with me and he is also a dear good young man, and is very handsome. He is extremely quiet and silent, but there is a great deal in him. I am so fond too of my Uncle Ferdinand. I stayed up till 1. I was much amused and pleased. Uncle Ferdinand brought me two kind notes from Uncle Leopold and Aunt Louise. Ferdinand is so fond of Aunt Louise. He told me: “Oh, je l’aime tant!” Both he and Augustus speak French extremely well. This dinner and ball were in honour of dear Ferdinand.
Friday, 18th March.— ... At ½ past 9 we breakfasted with the King, the Queen, dear Ferdinand (who came nearly at the end of the breakfast, having slept a long while), dear Uncle Ferdinand, Augustus, Charles, Prince Ernst of Hesse P.B.,[228] the Duchess of Northumberland, George Cambridge, Lady Ely,[229] Lady Flora, and Lehzen. After breakfast Mamma and I went into the Queen’s room and looked at some of her many pretty things. Wrote my journal. At ½ past 11 we drove out with the Queen and dear Ferdinand in our carriage, Ferdinand and I sitting on the back seat and the Queen and Mamma on the front seat. Uncle Ferdinand, Augustus, Charles and Prince Ernest of Hesse P.B. followed in another, and all the rest in other carriages. We went to see a hunt and saw a stag let out of a cart and all the horsemen followed in great numbers. It was a very pretty sight, and a beautiful warm day. We were all in open carriages. I talked a good deal with Ferdinand, and like him more and more; he is so sensible, so natural, so unaffected, and unsophisticated and so truly good. His tutor, who has been with him 13 years, M. Dietz, and whom he told me he is very fond of, will go with him to Lisbon as his “secrétaire intime,” he told me. He (M. Dietz)[230] came with several other gentlemen to Kensington yesterday. Ferdinand is so fond of Augustus; the separation will be dreadful for the two brothers; and he is very fond of his sister Victoire. We came home at ½ past 1. Wrote the brouillon of a French letter to Aunt Louise. At 2 we lunched with the whole party. I sat between the King and Uncle Ferdinand. Wrote my letter to Aunt Louise. Wrote my journal. Walked about. At about ½ past 5 dear Ferdinand, Uncle Ferdinand, and dear Augustus came into our room for a little while. At ½ past 7 we dined; again in St. George’s Hall and with the same large company as the day before. Ferdinand went first (as he did also yesterday) with the Queen; then came the King with us two. I sat between the King and George Cambridge, and opposite dear Fernando. After dinner Uncle Ferdinand and my Cousins came and sat near us every now and then. Dear Ferdinand has elicited universal admiration from all parties; the King is very much pleased with him, and the Queen is quite taken with him. He is so very unaffected, and has such a distinguished appearance and carriage. They are both very dear and charming young men; Augustus is very amiable too, and when known, shows much good sense; he is very quiet and gentle. There is such an innocence and simplicity in them, and such a childish gaiety, and again they are very grown-up and nice in their manners, which are very unaffected and pleasing. Stayed up till ½ past 11....
Friday, 1st April.—Today is Good Friday. At ½ past 9 we breakfasted with dear Uncle Ferdinand, dear Augustus, Charles, Lady Flora and Lehzen. I sat between dear Augustus and Charles. I stayed downstairs till a ¼ past 10. Received the Order of Ste. Isabelle from my Cousin Donna Maria. The ribbon is very pale pink and white. Went up stairs, and wrote part of the brouillon of a French letter to Aunt Louise. Dear good Augustus came up at ½ past 10 and stayed till 11. These visits please me very much; he is so quiet, and goes about looking at the things in the room, sits down and reads the newspapers, and never is in the way. He is a dear boy, and is so extremely good, kind and gentle; he has such a sweet expression and kind smile. I think Ferdinand handsomer than Augustus, his eyes are so beautiful, and he has such a lively, clever expression; both have such a sweet expression; Ferdinand has something quite beautiful in his expression when he speaks and smiles and he is so good. They are both very handsome and very dear! Ferdinand is superior to Augustus in various ways, and is by far more forward for his age in his mind than the latter. They have both learnt, and know, a great deal, and are both very orderly and tidy. At 11 we went down to prayers with Charles, Lehzen, Lady Flora &c. &c. The service was performed by the poor Dean who gave us likewise a sermon. We saw him for an instant after the service was over. He is very calm and resigned. We remained with Uncle a little while downstairs. Finished my brouillon of my French letter. Began to copy it. Went downstairs to see some paintings done by a Mr. Cowen.[231] They are very well done indeed. Augustus came in also and looked at them for a moment. Came up to my room and went on writing my letter to dear Aunt Louise. Dearest Uncle Ferdinand came up to me for a few minutes and then went down again. Augustus came up and stayed a little while, while I was writing my letter and then went down. I gave him this morning a seal and some prints which pleased him very much. Finished my letter to Aunt Louise and wrote my journal. At 25 minutes to 4 dear good Augustus came up and sat in my room looking at annuals till 4. He assisted me in sealing my letters, and we both made a mess, and he burnt a cover in sealing it, dear boy, for me, which made us both laugh. He went down for 5 minutes, came up again, and Uncle, after staying a few minutes, fetched him away to pay visits to the Duke of Sussex and Princess Sophia. Played and sung. At 10 minutes to 6 came Mrs. Wellesley[232] who is going tomorrow and will reach Stuttgardt on Friday. Augustus came in and we stayed with Uncle and him a few minutes downstairs. Oh! could I but have some more such days, with that dear Uncle and dear Augustus, whom I love so much! I shall feel very lonely and unhappy when they leave us....
Sunday, 10th April.— ... Read to Lehzen part of The Directions and Advices which dearest Uncle Leopold has written down for Ferdinand, most cleverly and beautifully done. They are written in French and are divided into 3 parts. The part I have read is Affaires Politiques, which is divided into headings of all the departments of the Government. Dear Uncle has studied[233] the Portuguese Constitution, Government, People, Country, &c., &c., so completely since the intended marriage of Ferdinand with the Queen of Portugal, that he is as familiar with the whole as though he were in the country. Dear Uncle Leopold is so clever and so prudent and so kind; he has taken so much pains and trouble about Ferdinand and I must say he is repaid for his trouble by the affection and gratitude Ferdinand has for him; and certainly he has not thrown away his time in so doing, for Ferdinand is not only very good, but clever, and therefore with Uncle’s advice he will succeed, I am sure. Van de Weyer is a most trusty, clever person, and as he has also copies of these papers, will be of the greatest use to Ferdinand. I see by the part I have read, which contains most valuable, important and sage advice, one thing which I am very glad of, which is, that the Queen will associate Ferdinand with her in the Council, &c., that he is always to be present at all her Councils. Uncle advises him to listen and not to give his opinion until he has become acquainted with the characters of the persons in the Council, and then, after having well weighed what he means to say, to give his opinion. There is so much of all the advice which I wish I could insert here, but which I have no time to do.[234]
Monday, 11th April.—Lehzen read to me while I was dressing and I read to her while my hair was doing, one of the parts of the Directions for Ferdinand, called Observations Générales, and began the last one called Note communiquée au Comte de Lavradio. Dear Uncle Leopold is so clever and governs Belgium so beautifully, that he is a model for every Sovereign and will contribute to the happiness and re-organisation of Portugal, as he has done to Belgium; for that country owes all its prosperity, happiness, everything, to dearest Uncle Leopold; it was in a sad state when Uncle arrived, and by his great prudence, sagacity, and extreme cleverness, Belgium is now one of the most flourishing Kingdoms in Europe....
Tuesday, 3rd May.— ... At 10 minutes past 11 came Lablache till 10 minutes past 12. He complained much of the cold weather, and said “qu’ils étaient tous enrhumés” and that they had all been very hoarse last night at a concert, except Rubini. I like Lablache very much, he is such a nice, good-natured, good-humoured man, and a very patient and excellent master; he is so merry too.[235] En profile he has a very fine countenance, I think, an aquiline nose, dark arched eye-brows, and fine long eyelashes, and a very clever expression. He has a profusion of hair, which is very grey, and strangely mixed with some few black locks here and there. I sung first the recitative of “Notte d’orrore,” from Marino Faliero, several times over. Then Mamma and I sung “Mira oh! Norma” and “Si fine al ore,” both twice over and “Qual cor tradesti” twice over. Then I sang twice with Lablache “Io son ricco e tu sei bella,” a very pretty little duo from L’Elisire d’Amore by Donizetti. He sang this delightfully, he has such a fine voice and pronounces so distinctly and so well. En conclusion I sang “Vivi tu.” I liked my lesson extremely; I only wish I had one every day instead of one every week....
Friday, 13th May.— ... Mme. Malibran de Bériot[236] (as she now calls herself since her marriage with the eminent violinist de Bériot) was in very fine voice and sang extremely well indeed, twice. She sang first the prayer which Anna sings in her sleep in the 2nd act of La Sonnambula, and “Ah! non giunge unam pensiero!” I prefer Grisi’s singing of these very much to Malibran’s; there is a sweetness, mildness and softness, accompanied with such beautifully clear execution, in the former, which the latter does not possess in the high notes. Malibran’s deep tones are beautiful, touching and feeling, but her high notes are harsh, sharp and voilée. The 2nd thing she sang was pretty and well adapted to her voice....
Wednesday, 18th May.— ... At a ¼ to 2 we went down into the Hall, to receive my Uncle Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and my Cousins, Ernest and Albert, his sons. My Uncle was here, now 5 years ago, and is looking extremely well. Ernest is as tall as Ferdinand and Augustus; he has dark hair, and fine dark eyes and eyebrows, but the nose and mouth are not good; he has a most kind, honest and intelligent expression in his countenance, and has a very good figure. Albert, who is just as tall as Ernest but stouter, is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful; c’est à la fois full of goodness and sweetness, and very clever and intelligent. We went upstairs with them, and after staying a few minutes with them, I went up to my room. Played and sang. Drew. At a little after 4 Uncle Ernest and my Cousins came up to us and stayed in my room till 10 minutes past 5. Both my Cousins are so kind and good; they are much more formés and men of the world than Augustus; they speak English very well, and I speak it with them. Ernest will be 18 years old on the 21st of June and Albert 17 on the 26th of August. Dear Uncle Ernest made me the present of a most delightful Lory, which is so tame that it remains on your hand, and you may put your finger into its beak, or do anything with it, without its ever attempting to bite. It is larger than Mamma’s grey Parrot, and has a most beautiful plumage; it is scarlet, blue, brown, yellow, and purple. At 6 we went with Lehzen, Lady Flora &c., to dine at the Archbishop of York’s, and I was very sorry to leave my dear Uncle and Cousins behind us at home....
H.S.H. Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg
aged nine
from a portrait by Schneider, after Eckhart.