Pray, dearest Uncle, will not and ought not Paris to be Duke of Orleans now? Hélène is sole guardian, is she not?...
Dear Louise will, I trust, excuse my not answering her kind letter to-day; pray give her my best love, and believe me, always, your most devoted Niece,
Victoria R.
The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria.
THE FATHERLESS CHILDREN
Laeken, 5th August 1842.
My dearest Victoria,—... Little Paris,57 who has gained much of late, will keep the name of Paris, at least for the present. Hélène will be, after the poor King's demise, sole guardian of her children; till then the King as head of the family will be supreme in all matters relating to the children.... Your devoted Uncle,
Leopold R.
Footnote 57: The late Comte de Paris, who bore this title to the end of his life, father of the present Duc d'Orléans.