The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria.
Foreign Office, 13th December 1852.
Lord Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen. He thought it advisable to acquaint your Majesty as soon as possible with a conversation which Count Walewski had held of his own accord in reference to Her Serene Highness the Princess Adelaide of Hohenlohe,55 and he requested Lord Derby to repeat it to your Majesty.
Lord Malmesbury was not mistaken in believing that the Count had not alluded idly to the subject, as he this day called on Lord Malmesbury, and stated to him that the Emperor of the French had not decided to negotiate a marriage with the Princess of Wasa;56 but, on the contrary, was rather averse to such an alliance; that he was anxious, on the contrary, to make one which indirectly "resserrerait les liens d'amitié entre l'Angleterre et la France," and that with this view he wished Lord Malmesbury to ascertain from your Majesty whether any objections would be raised on the part of your Majesty, or of the Princess Adelaide's family, to his contracting a marriage with Her Serene Highness. Your Majesty may suppose that he received this intimation by a simple assurance that he would submit the French Emperor's sentiments to your Majesty, and he added that he foresaw a serious difficulty to the project in the fact that the Princess was a Protestant. Count Walewski was evidently sincere in the earnestness with which he spoke of the subject, and the impatience with which he pressed Lord Malmesbury to inform your Majesty of his proposal.
Footnote 55: The Queen's niece, daughter of Princess Hohenlohe.
Footnote 56: The Princess Caroline Stéphanie, daughter of Prince Gustavus de Wasa, who was son of the last King of Sweden of the earlier dynasty.
Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby.
THE EMPEROR'S PROPOSED MARRIAGE
Osborne, 14th December 1852.
The Queen sends to Lord Derby a communication which she has received from Lord Malmesbury.