Advent Day 3: Christmas Eve 1839 – Queen Victoria’s Journals
- youngqueenvictoria
- Dec 3, 2025
- 3 min read
'Wrote letters and my journal. Sat to Ross. – Before 1, Ld Melbourne came to me and stayed an hour. He showed me a letter from Ld Seaford saying he would second the Address & one from Ld Holland about Uncle Sussex. Ld M. laughed as he observed Ld Holland said no doubt the Duke thought he had got a ‘capital pint’ which Ld M. remarked was the joke amongst them all, for Uncle always ‘says pint instead of point.’
Ld Holland states all the reasons why Uncle ought to give way, but Ld M. says it would never do to argue with him. Ld Holland also writes that he hopes ‘if the Duke were perhaps told he was to give me away it would influence him, but Ld. M observed that wouldn’t do, as I declared, if he did not Consent to my proposal, he should not give me away.’ Ld Holland states that when George III’s brother, the Duke of York was made a Privy Councillor, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke’s uncle, said his rank must be settled, upon which the Duke pointed out that the Statutes stated King’s sons, brothers & uncles. The Duke of Cumberland then said ‘then I go after the Duke of York’ & others present agreed in this.
Talked of the King giving his wife rank by marriage, & likewise, that she did not require to be naturalized . Now the Queen’s husband is in quite another position & derives no rank from his wife. I pointed out that I thought some rank ought to be settled: Ld M. then said he had seen Mr Musgrave & talked to me about how the matter was settled. Told Ld M. I had been writing to Uncle Leopold about Albert’s household, ‘we shall have great difficulty about those appointments for the Prince’ said Ld M. in which I agreed. ‘It won’t do at all to give his Household a Tory character’, Ld M. continued, ‘for else the Prince would be in opposition to you, he must stand by your Gov. If the Tories were to see the least clue, they’d take hold of him & make use of him, even without his knowing, which God knows! might put us in opposition to one another & would be dreadful.’
Talked of the Germans having little Tory feeling. ‘All foreigners have’, said Ld M. & ‘very naturally they think our liberal opinions rough & disagreeable.’ (These are not the exact words Ld M. used but I think very nearly.) He is so very fair. – I then took out of my apron pockets a seal on which I had had engraved, at the one end, Ld M’s arms, & at the other his crest. I said I hoped he would accept it as a small Xmas gift & that it would make me very happy if he would sometimes use the seal. In thanking me, he said ‘I’m sure I shall always use it.’ –
After luncheon walked out with Ld & Ly Normanby, the 2 young ladies, Ld Melbourne & Ld Byron. We walked twice up & down the new walk. – Saw Ld Hill, & finished my letter to Albert. Also wrote to the Queen Dowr, Aunt Mary & Aunt Augusta.- Received a pretty box & 2 pretty pins from the Queen Dowr accompanied by a kind note. Mama gave me my table with presents, which consisted of a very pretty set of Turquoises, books & prints & I gave her a curious pair of enamel & pearl earrings, & stuffs &c – Wrote my journal. In addition to our party of yesterday, & with the exception of Charles Howard, Ld & Ly Albemarle, Mr & Mrs Barkley Paget, Mr & Mrs Harcourt, Col: Greenwood, Miss Lister & the Reo: Mr Musgrave, dined. I sat between Ld Melbourne & Ld Normanby. Sat as usual in the Drawingroom after dinner. Stayed up till 1/4 p 11. 1'
RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) [24 December 1839] (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES), VOLUME 8, p221-225, RETRIEVED [25 November 2025]. Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / © HM King Charles III
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