The above is humbly submitted by your Majesty's dutiful Subject and Servant,
J. R. G. Graham.
Footnote 160: His present Majesty had been referred to in letters of the previous month as the Duke of Cornwall. "Know ye," ran the present Letters Patent, "that we have made ... our most dear son, the Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Duke of Saxony, Duke of Cornwall ...) Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester ... and him our said most dear son, ... as has been accustomed, we do ennoble and invest with the said Principality and Earldom, by girding him with a sword, by putting a coronet on his head, and a gold ring on his finger, and also by delivering a gold rod into his hand, that he may preside there, and may direct and defend those parts...."
Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians.
Windsor Castle, 7th December 1841.
My dearest Uncle,—We arrived here sains et saufs with our awfully large Nursery Establishment yesterday morning. It was a nasty warm and very rainy day, but to-day is very bright, clear and dry, and we walked out early and felt like prisoners freed from some dungeon. Many thanks for your kind letter of the 2nd, by which I grieve to see that you are not quite well. But let me repeat again, you must not despond so; you must not be so out of spirits. I have likewise been suffering so from lowness that it made me quite miserable, and I know how difficult it is to fight against it. I am delighted to hear that all the children are so well. I wonder very much who our little boy will be like. You will understand how fervent my prayers and I am [sure] everybody's must be, to see him resemble his angelic dearest Father in every, every respect, both in body and mind. Oh! my dearest Uncle, I am sure if you knew how happy, how blessed I feel, and how proud I feel in possessing such a perfect being as my husband, as he is, and if you think that you have been instrumental in bringing about this union, it must gladden your heart! How happy should I be to see our child grow up just like him! Dear Pussy travelled with us and behaved like a grown-up person, so quiet and looking about and coquetting with the Hussars on either side of the carriage. Now adieu! Ever your devoted Niece,
Victoria R.
Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria.
THE APPROACHING CHRISTENING
Castle Howard, 22nd December 1841.