“This happy day has again returned, & it seems but yesterday we had last celebrated it. Time flies too fast. I feel certain that our Heavenly Father through His blessed Son, whose birth we at this time so joyfully & gratefully commemorate, will grant that we may celebrate many more happy Christmas Eves together, & with our Children. – Both Children were riding, when we walked out. — At 12 we attended Service in our nice & pretty Chapel & and am so thankful to have a real proper place of worship now. The Service, which was performed by M’ Courtnay, who also preached, was well attended. – After luncheon we all walked out, & and on coming in, had the excitement & agitation of finishing arraying the “Bescherung” & presents, which to me is such a pleasure. — Gave LY Douro, LY Lyttelton & all our personal servants their presents & then we joined dear Mama & the Children & took them to their present tables, arranged in our large sitting room. The Children’s were covered with toys of all kinds, &c – Albert took me into the Closet where my “Bescheerung” was arranged, & my beloved one gave me such beautiful things, that I hardly know how to be grateful enough, nor can I properly describe them all. The principal ones were, a lovely picture of him & Ernest, when children, which he had copied for me in Germany, – a beautiful silver statuette of him, on horseback, in his Hussar uniform, wonderfully carried out, as to detail, & a bracelet in white enamel with emeralds in the centre. We then hurried to the little room, next our large one, where I had arranged my beloved Albert’s “Bescheerung”. Amongst my gifts were, a very pretty painting of a child’s head, by Winterhalter’s brother, & a small beautifully painted picture, quite in the Flemish style, by a young Belgian artist of the name of Van Meer, which Albert had greatly admired in the Exhibition at Antwerp. He was so pleased with all the presents I had chosen & thought out for him. The Children, dear little things were of course delighted, running about & so pleased with the Christmas Tree, their toys, &c – the Ansons, &c – dined. The Trees were lit up again in the Drawing room, after dinner. -“
© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2012 © Bodleian Libraries © ProQuest
