Such great qualities, such a heart of gold

Princess Royal to Queen Victoria

Berlin, February 8, 1858

At Bellevue we saw the King and Queen.  If I had not known that the King had been ill I should certainly never have guessed it.  He was down at the foot of the stairs and almost screamed with delight as he spoke.  He was extremely kind – and seemed so pleased to see us; he asked after Papa immediately and after you, dearest Mama.  I did not perceive any hesitation in his speech or any worlds that he could not find.  He went upstairs with a firm step.  The Queen stood at the top of the staircase, and it is impossible to be kinder than she was.  Both left us immediately today; the King returned to Charlottenburg – the Queen went onto Berlin where she was to receive us – she gave me a magnificent pearl brooch with some very large and fine pearls in it which I am to wear tomorrow.

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(Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia.  Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Vicky’s first few days in Berlin went quite well.  Fritz sent a telegram within the first week declaring that his family was “enchanted with my wife.”  Victoria expressed her delight in her daughter after hearing glowing reports of her conduct at court, praising Vicky’s “such great qualities, such a heart of gold!”  As nervous as she was about Vicky leaving, Victoria felt her daughter was destined for nothing but greatness in her new home. 

The more prudent Albert suspected that the honeymoon period would soon be over, and that the Prussians would eventually find fault with his daughter. 

Just because they were delighted an enthusiastic, the public will now turn to sharp criticism and pull you to pieces.  The family, who were courteous to the stranger…may now be inclined to put you back to what they consider your proper place and to reassume theirs.  But even this must not surprise you.  Your place is your husband’s wife, your mother’s daughter’ you must not expect anything else, but you must not give up anything which you owe to your husband or your mother.

Albert was perceptive, and his premonition proved to be true.  But his advice was not particularly helpful for Vicky – she had to simultaneously maintain loyalties to her mother and the Prussians, never mind the fact that the two groups had completely different goals and ideologies. 

Vicky married into the Prussian royal family short after King Friedrich Wilhelm (Fritz’s uncle) had suffered his first of a series of strokes that eventually incapacitated and killed him.  Friedrich Wilhelm had been a tireless builder (he said at one point that had he not been a king, he’d have been an architect), overseeing the design and construction of several museums, churches, and palaces in Prussia.  But Friedrich Wilhelm was a dedicated conservative and traditionalist who believed Germany was best governed as a large conglomeration of smaller kingdoms and city-states, just as the Holy Roman Empire had been done hundreds of years before. 

The 1848 revolutions were only partially successful in Prussia, thwarted by Friedrich Wilhelm ordering the army to take control of Berlin after agreeing to a more liberal regime.  Although Prussia did gain a constitution and a two-chamber parliament, the system vastly favored the wealthy, ruling class and overall barely introduced any liberal reforms into the country.  Meanwhile, Prussia experienced rapid economic growth in the years that followed the revolution, bringing the kingdom to prominence as THE German state, rather than one of many.  However, shortly after this meeting Friedrich Wilhelm suffered additional strokes that left him unable to rule on his own. 

Much hope had been placed on the marriage of Friedrich Wilhelm and Elisabeth, a Bavarian princess.  Marrying in 1823, the union was supposed to bring together two of Germany’s largest kingdoms and provide heirs for the next generation.  The marriage did neither, but it was a happy relationship.  Elisabeth and her husband connected intellectually, and she shared his vision of celebrating Prussia’s prominence through construction.  Elisabeth often participated in Prussian politics, and she was well-connected – her twin sister Amalie was queen of Saxony, while sister Sophie was an Austrian archduchess and mother of Emperor Franz Josef. 

Elisabeth had long been unimpressed by the British and made no exception for Vicky.  Elisabeth shared the sympathies of her husband’s Russian relatives, and as the memories of the Crimean War were still fresh, Vicky was the obvious symbol of British aggression.  However, Elisabeth was suitably impressed at Vicky’s insistence at keeping the windows of the carriage down while driving through the freezing streets of Berlin in full court dress.   Not long after this, Elisabeth’s patience with Vicky faded when she noticed Vicky’s dislike of the rigidity of the Prussian court.  She once rebuked Vicky for having the audacity to sneeze while standing behind Friedrich Wilhelm. 

Two years after this event, Elisabeth was furious that Vicky had included the name Elisabeth as part of her daughter Charlotte’s string of names, but the child would not be known by that name.  Elisabeth made mention of this during several successive visits to Vicky during the following weeks, as Vicky complained to her mother.  Berlin high society picked up on Elisabeth’s dislike of Vicky and carried on with their gossip about the old Queen and the young princess.  Stressed at playing an increasing role as nursemaid to her ailing husband and resentful of Wilhelm and Augusta starting to take prominence in Prussian politics, Elisabeth had become bitter.

At the beginning of 1861, Vicky was rather isolated at the Prussian court.  Although her relationship with Fritz had always been strong, Vicky was something of a handmaid to Augusta, playing a constant social role that was physically demanding and intellectually less than stimulating.  Vicky had had no chance to begin the liberal revolution at the Prussian court as Albert had hoped.  But as Friedrich Wilhelm lay dying in the first few days of the year, Vicky felt uncomfortable among the her husband’s family trying to compete for the title of Most Enthusiastic Mourner. 

Despite being the now-Dowager Queen and Friedrich Wilhelm’s widow, little attention was paid to Elisabeth, who lamented sadly that she was “no longer of any use in this world.”  Vicky felt sympathetic toward the Dowager Queen, and spent time with the older woman while the dead King’s siblings saw to their overexpressions of sorrow.

Elisabeth immediately embraced Vicky’s kindness.  Although Elisabeth and Vicky never quite became friends – Elisabeth was still quite tied to the relatives who liked Vicky the least – Elisabeth’s petty criticism of the younger woman ended. When she died in 1873, Elisabeth left Vicky her considerable selection of jewels.

Although this sounds like a touching gesture, it may not have been made completely for Vicky’s benefit.  Along with most at court, Elisabeth barely tolerated her sister-in-law Augusta.  It was customary for a Dowager Queen to leave her jewels to the new Queen; Elisabeth was bucking tradition by giving hers to Vicky.  She may have done this because she believed they would be Vicky’s soon enough due to Wilhelm’s advanced age and she appreciated Vicky’s earlier kindness.  But it also may have been a subtle way of telling Augusta just how much Elisabeth disliked her.

Augusta picked up on Elisabeth’s betrayal and took it out in kind on Vicky.  When she died in 1890, Augusta left no money or jewelry to Vicky or her daughters.  Augusta also transferred her honorary positions within two high profile charities to Dona (wife of Wilhelm II).  Like with Elisabeth and the jewels, charitable leadership positions were handed from Empress to Empress.  Dona and Wilhelm brushed past the fact that Augusta had failed to surrender the positions to Vicky during her brief tenure as Empress.   

Vicky never achieved all that was hoped for her in Prussia.  The country changed vastly from the time of her arrival until her death, and her brief time as Empress was not enough to make a real difference in the political climate.  Left with little real role in Germany after Fritz’s death, Vicky separated herself from Wilhelm emotionally and financially, taking pride in her role as respected matriarch among her younger children.  Although it was likely cold comfort, Vicky did not pass on the petty jealousies she’d encountered at court to the next generation.  Perhaps she truly had great qualities and a heart of gold after all.