In November 1871 Queen Victoria received the terrifying news that her eldest son and heir, Prince Albert Edward, had fallen ill with typhoid, the dreaded disease that had taken her husband’s death precisely ten years earlier. It’s believed that the prince and several other guests contracted the illness after becoming exposed to harmful bacteria while attending a party at Londesbough Lodge near Scarborough. Having already experienced the horrors of the disease, Queen Victoria was quick to rush to her son’s bedside at Sandringham.
Within days of falling ill, the prince’s condition began taking a turn to worse, and as the dreaded 14th December approached, everyone feared that history would repeat itself. Signalling the severity of the situation, the palace began publishing bulletins to various establishments to update curious members of the public on the popular Prince’s health. To everyone’s relief, the princess condition began pulled through and by the 16th he was showing signs of recovery. In February 1872 Queen Victoria formally opened parliament. In her speech the Queen announced that a thanksgiving service would be held at St Paul’s Cathedral later that month to celebrate her son’s recovery.
As crowds began gathering in London to watch the grand procession on 27th February, members of the royal family began getting ready for a day filled with gratitude, “loyalty & affection”. The Queen herself “wore a black silk dress & jacket, trimmed with miniver, & a bonnet with white flowers & a white feather”, while her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, wore a mauve dress, “trimmed with swan’s down”.
Soon before twelve, the Prince and Princess of Wales (Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra) arrived at the palace with their two sons, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George. In her journal Victoria described how Bertie – the family nickname for the Prince of Wales – appeared “very lame & did not look at all well”. Once the rest of the royal party had assembled, they all began making their way down to seven “open dress carriages”, which were each pulled by two horses. First to leave had been the Queen’s three sons, Princes Alfred, Arthur and Leopold who travelled with seven-year-old Prince George. The Queen had been a few moments behind everyone else as she supported Bertie, who “could only walk very slowly”. Once the mother and son duo made it to the Grand Entrance, they boarded an open state landau with Princess Alexandra, who sat bedside the Queen, and Princess Beatrice and Prince Albert Victor, who sat beside Bertie on the opposite side.
At five minutes past twelve, the Queens carriage left the palace and embarked on the fifty minute long procession, which went down “The Mall, by Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square, straight up the Strand, Fleet Street & Temple Bar” before going up Ludgate Hill to St Paul’s. In her journal, Queen Victoria describes the “beautiful decorations”, troops and vast crowds what lined the route, yelling “deafening cheers” that “never ceased”. The sounds of the day fork stop there as fifteen military bands had been stationed along the route, each one playing “God Save the Queen” and “God Bless the Prince of Wales”. Seeing tears gathering in Bertie’s eyes, Victoria took his hand and squeezed it in support. The relationship between Victoria and her eldest son had always been strained but in this moment they were united. Victoria later wrote that it had been “a most affecting day”, adding that “many a time I repressed my tears”.
Stands had been erected to enable easier viewing for onlookers, although many people still chose to climb trees for a better view of their Queen and future King. However, according to Victorias account, climbing trees “proved very dangerous for those that had climbed up into them”. Fortunately for the Wales Princesses – Louise, Maud and Victoria – there was no need to climb a tree as a stand had been specially built outside Marlborough House for them to wave at their parents’ carriage as it went past. Upon reaching Temple Hill, the Lord Mayor approached the Queen’s carriage and presented a sword, which she dutifully “touched and returned to him, after which he got on horseback, bare headed, & carrying the sword rode in front, proceeded by Mace Bearer, City Marshall & 3 other Aldermen.” The royal carriage then passed through “a very handsome arch” at Ludgate Hill, before finally arriving outside St Paul’s Cathedral at five minutes to one. Then, a small procession was formed, ready to enter the cathedral. At the front was, of course, Queen Victoria, who stood in the centre of Bertie, who was holding Prince Albert Victor’s hand, and Alexandra, who was holding Prince George’s. Behind them stood Princess Beatrice and the three brothers, followed by other officials. The royal party was then led into the cathedral by the Bishop of London and the Dean of St Paul’s.
Upon entering the cathedral Queen Victoria found herself disappointed by the interior decoration, which she describes as falling flat in comparison to the exterior. As her journal entry goes on, it appears that Victoria could focus on nothing more than her surroundings: “the cathedral itself is so dull, cold, dreary & dingy. It so badly lacks decoration & colour”. However, the appearance was the only thing that she disapproved of, as the Queen complained that while the building was “stifling hot”, she found the service to be “cold & too long, excepting the concluding beautiful hymn, which was most touching & elevating!”
Fortunately for Victoria she only had to endure the service for just under two hours. Once it was over, the Royal family gathered in a small waiting room while their carriages were prepared. The procession back to the palace proved to equally as pleasing as the one earlier. This time, the procession travelled down Ludgate Hill, the Old Bailey, Newgate and up Holborn, which had a “beautiful effect of chains of flowers with small wreaths hanging from the lamp posts”. The Queen found herself partially impressed by Oxford Street, where “every moment something new attracted one’s attention”. At Regent’s Circus, Victoria found herself mesmerised by a “splendid arch,” and which had been created for the occasion. She wrote that “a long line of seats, covered & handsomely decorated, extended a long way from the Marble Arch & on both sides of the road”. These seats had been filled with “endless thousands” of onlookers, who wanted to show gratitude and loyalty to their monarch. The procession then went to Hyde Park Cornet and down Constitution Hill before returning to the palace at 4:20 pm.
After such a long day, the Prince and Princess of Wales decided to take their sons straight home. However, the day wasn’t yet over for the Queen, who – alongside Princess Beatrice and her three other sons – took their time to step out onto the iconic balcony to embrace “the wonderful enthusiasm & astounding affectionate loyalty” of her subjects one final time before taking tea and settling for the evening.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2023