The Queen has received Lord Aberdeen's two letters. She has been reflecting upon his proposition that Mr Lytton Bulwer70 should be appointed Minister at Madrid, and quite approves it. The Queen trusts that he will try and keep on the best terms with the French Minister there, and that without in any way weakening our interests, the representatives of these two powerful countries will act together. The Queen feels certain that if it is known by our respective Ministers that both Governments wish to act together, and not against one another, that much irritation will be avoided; and that our agents, particularly in distant countries, will understand that they are not fulfilling the wishes of their Sovereign by representing every little incident in the most unfavourable light....
The Queen hopes that Lord Aberdeen will take some early opportunity of employing Mr Aston. Who will replace Mr Bulwer at Paris? his successor ought to be an efficient man, as Lord Cowley71 is rather infirm. The Queen regrets to say that the Duc de Bordeaux72 is coming here; he really must not be received by the Queen, as she fears his reception at Berlin has done no good; and altogether, from what she sees in the papers, she fears there is no good purpose in his coming here.
Footnote 70: Afterwards Lord Dalling.
Footnote 71: Lord Cowley, brother of the Duke of Wellington, and one of four brothers all either raised in or promoted to the peerage, was now seventy years of age. In after-years his son was also Ambassador at Paris.
Footnote 72: Afterwards known as Comte de Chambord, and claiming the French throne as Henri V.: he was grandson of Charles X., and at this time about twenty-three years of age.
Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians.
Windsor Castle, 13th October 1843.
My dearest Uncle,—It is not my day, but my object in writing is to speak to you about the dear Nemours' visit, which we are so anxious to see accomplished. Louise writes to me about the Duke of Bordeaux coming to England making some difficulty, and I wish therefore to state what we know of the affair. We understand (for of course we have had no direct communication) that the Duc de Bordeaux has embarked at Hamburg for Hull, and intends travelling in Scotland before he visits England, and that incognito and under the name of Comte tel et tel; his being in Scotland when Nemours is in England, and particularly on a visit to us here, could make no difficulty, and even if he were travelling about incognito in England, it could not signify, I think. Moreover, I feel certain that if he knew that I had invited the Nemours and that they were coming over shortly, he would go away, as the Legitimists would not be pleased at Nemours being fêted by me—while their Henry V. was not even noticed or received. I could easily, and indeed have almost done so, make it known generally that I expect the Nemours, and I would say immediately, and he would be sure to get out of the way. I cannot tell you how very anxious we are to see the Nemours; I have been thinking of nothing else, and to lose this great pleasure would be too mortifying. Moreover, as I really and truly do not think it need be, it would be best if the Nemours could come before the 10th of November; which is the latest term when they could come? Now pray, dearest Uncle, do settle this for me; you have no notion how we wish it. I will be sure to let you know what I hear, and if there is anything you could suggest about this, I need not say but that we shall attend to it with pleasure. The Grand Duke Michael will be gone by the end of this month. Ainsi je mets cette chère visite dans vos mains. Ever your devoted Niece,
Victoria R.
Pray, dearest Uncle, let me have an answer by the next post about this, as I am all in a fidget about it.