From Queen Victoria to the Crown Princess
Osborne, February 4, 1863
Bertie’s marriage is finally to be on Tuesday the 10th
[of March]; Alix etc. to arrive on the 7th. Oh! if
it was only over! I dread the whole
thing awfully and wonder even how you can rejoice so much at witnessing what
must I should think be to you, who loved Papa so dearly, so terribly sad a
wedding! Dear child! your ecstasy at the whole thing is to me sometimes
very incomprehensible! Think what it
will be to see Windsor full of people, and both your parents absent; a marriage
in state, also without them – that day to which we looked forward with such joy
for many years and which now is to me far worse than a funeral to witness! Will you be able to rejoice when at every
step you will miss that blessed guardian angel, that one calm great being that
led all? And poor B.
**********
(James Mercer and Danger Mouse of Broken Bells. Don't worry, it'll make sense in a minute. Photo credit: NPR.org)
I’m going to start off today with a little detour that may
seem completely unrelated, but it’s quick, and it will lead right into
discussion of today’s entry. (Really, it
will, I promise.) About ten years ago,
James Mercer of the indie rock band The Shins and Brian Burton, aka Danger
Mouse, a producer/musician extraordinaire, met and struck up a friendship. After discovering they were fans of each
other’s music, they decided to start working together and see what
happened. The result is Broken Bells,
who released their self-titled LP in 2010.
On that LP is a song titled “The Ghost Inside,” (the video of which
stars Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks, but that’s not important right now) which
may be about a woman who gives up her morals, ethics, and dignity for something
less admirable. There’s a line in the
song that goes something like this:
“She’s got no future just a life to endure…”
When I read entries like this from Victoria written during
the height of her grief, I think of this song.
Although Victoria didn’t exactly give up her morality for materialistic
reasons (nor did she go on a drinking binge), for several years she more or
less stopped living because she could not bear the thought of existing without
Albert. And by this point, she truly did
believe that she had no future, that she was just living out her days which she
hoped would be over quite soon. Even the
thought of her eldest son’s wedding couldn’t help her muster some enthusiasm
and joy for the event.
So Bertie had finally proposed to Alexandra of Denmark in
September 1862 in Belgium, while visiting Bertie’s great-uncle Leopold. The couple had met for the first time in
Germany the previous year. Albert’s
death had both postponed and sped up the proposal. Albert had indicated before his death that he
hoped Bertie would choose Alexandra as his bride, but the death itself made it
improper to ask within the first few months. Bertie’s sister Alice’s wedding in
July 1862 had taken much the same course – she was already engaged and Albert
had approved of the marriage so it needed to happen – but it was conducted with
practically the least amount of celebration and joy ever for a royal wedding. Victoria knew that Bertie must marry sooner
that later or lose Alexandra, but she refused to allow herself or anyone else
to excessively celebrate the event.
As with the children-in-law (and grandchildren-in-law)
before and after, Victoria summoned Alexandra to come to Britain for a visit
before the wedding. Alexandra did make
the trip to Osborne in November 1862, spending a few weeks reading, drawing,
practicing her English, and chatting with her future mother-in-law. Alexandra made an excellent impression by
wearing a black armband in honor of her deceased father-in-law; Victoria
remembered the gesture for years after.
Having a cheerful young woman in the house seems to have had a good
effect on Victoria, as during Alexandra’s visit she was said to have laughed
for the first time since Albert’s death.
The couple was separated for a few months more before the
wedding. All the while letters passed
between London and Copenhagen, with Bertie detailing all of the preparations
being made on their homes. The new
couple would live at Marlborough House in London, while their country home was
at Sandringham in Norfolk. Both
properties needed significant remodeling, and Bertie was eager to use his income
on his owns terms and his own property.
Alexandra, who had grown up in near poverty by royal standards, was
delighted with her new wealth.
For all of her fighting words above, Victoria insisted on
planning the wedding. Of course, this
was probably also so she could mute the celebrations that would typically go
with the marriage of a Prince of Wales. The
wedding was scheduled to take place in March so as to coincide with Lent. Although this was normally not allowed in the
Church of England, special arrangements were made for Victoria to again cut
down on excessive celebrations.
The ceremony was planned for St. George’s Chapel at Windsor
Castle; a royal wedding had not been held there since the Middle Ages. The venue was difficult to reach and had
little room for all of the expected visitors – which is likely exactly what
Victoria had in mind. She wanted as
private a wedding as possible, and if a wedding as small and somber as Alice’s
had been could not be managed, then Victoria would at least make sure it was as
unassuming as possible. Bertie was informed
that due to the small size of the chapel, he was only allowed to invite six of
his friends, and only Alexandra’s immediately family was invited – this did not
include the Danish king.
(Alexandra's arrival in Gravesend. Portrait by Henry Nelson O'Neil; photo credit: Wikipedia)
Angry that no part of the wedding would take place in the
city, Londoners made grand plans for Alexandra’s entrance to Britain. Alexandra and her family arrived at
Gravesend, Kent aboard the royal yacht Victoria
and Albert on March 6 amid triumphal arches, flags, costumes, and
music. Bertie, excited to see his
fiancée and loving the celebration, ran up the gangway to meet Alexandra, kissing
her to the crowd’s delight. A train took
the bridal party to London, where the Lord Mayor welcomed them in medieval
dress. The couple then took a tour by
carriage, accompanied by the cheers of countless spectators, more bands, and champagne.
We’ll visit the preparations for Bertie’s and Alexandra’s
wedding more in the coming weeks. But
while Victoria hid at Windsor, depriving her people of their Queen, Londoners
were at least given a romantic show for the arrival of their future Princess of
Wales. As she prepared for a wedding
with all the joy of a funeral, London society would finally be getting some
life breathed back into it with the coming of the new Prince and Princess of
Wales.
Although February 4, 1863, may not have been a good one for
Victoria, that same day in 2014 is sure to be an excellent one for Broken
Bells. Their second LP, After the Disco, is released today. The first single, “Holding on For Life,” was
released back in November. You know, now
that I think about it, that song is probably apropos of Victoria’s state of
mind during 1863 as well. Do you think
Broken Bells are making secret soundtracks to things a la Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz?
(Go to bed, Emily.)
No comments:
Post a Comment