fulfill, she was already highly popular among those parts of society which looked to the monarchy for social guidance. As a consequence, the Times formulated the notion of the politically interested parts of the British nation when stating that “the sympathies of both rulers and peoples have been on the side of a small and gallant nation struggling to maintain its independence against forty millions of Germans” (18 April 1862).
Queen Victoria, on the other hand, still upheld her pro-Prussian convictions, which were certainly an inheritance of her late husband. As a consequence, the approaching conflict related to the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein found the Queen and the politically interested parts of the nation on different sides. The Princess Royal informed her mother at the beginning of the Schleswig-Holstein crisis about Bismarck’s habit to “irritate the King against Britain and Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell,”^^ an attitude clearly motivated by the divergence between Bismarck’s conservative outlook and Palmerston’s and Russell’s political liberalism.
Because the Princess Royal’s correspondence was so consistent and of such high quality, the Queen even began to ask her specific questions, such as “how is the King really?”^^, or “I am curious to hear what you think of your state in the Chambers?”^* These inquiries suggest that the Queen received better information from her daughter directly fi'om Berlin (and, additionally, from her second daughter from Darmstadt) than she did from the Foreign Office. As a consequence, she was able to combine both sources of intelligence when forming her own opinion, which became important once the Schleswig-Holstein problem became acute.
Considering that the international development centring around Schleswig- Holstein will be of the utmost importance in the following years, the political background of this problem will be explained shortly; however, it is important to keep in mind Palmerston’s later statement that “it was so complicated that only three people had ever understood it: Prince Albert, who was dead; a German professor, who had gone mad; and Palmerston himself, who had since forgotten what it was all about.”^^
19 July 1862 The Crown Princess of Prussia to Queen Victoria. In: Ibid., p.96. 14 January 1863 Queen Victoria to the Crown Princess of Prussia. In: Ibid., p. 159. ^*31 January 1863 Queen Victoria to the Crown Princess of Prussia. In: Ibid., p. 169.
In November 1863, the Danish King Frederick VII issued a sole constitution for Denmark and Schleswig, which violated the traditional link of Schleswig to the other Elbe Duchy Holstein, whose inseparable bond with the German Confederation had been established for centuries. The death of King Frederick VII in the same month brought the Treaty of London of 1852 into effect, thus securing “the integrity of Denmark by settling the order of succession to the throne"^^ in favour of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg, who came to the Danish throne as King Christian IX. His rival, the politically liberal minded Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein- Augustenburg, however, did not accept the renunciation to which his father, Duke Christian, had given his assent in the Treaty of London, and he now claimed the right to his inheritance as well.
Queen Victoria was kept informed about the latest development by her two eldest daughters, and the Prussian Crown Princess told the Queen about the decision of the Prussian Liberal Party to support the Duke of Augustenburg’s claim, while Princess Alice warned her mother that “the Holstein question (...) will lead to war.”^^
Since the Queen considered this subject to be of the highest importance, she communicated this information to the cabinet,^^ clearly hoping that a productive co operation between herself and her ministers would be possible. Her own opinion regarding the Schleswig-Holstein question was based on her firm conviction that “a war between Prussia and Denmark should be avoided,”^^ and this approach was certainly a result of Queen Victoria’s determination to fulfil her late husband’s intentions. In a letter to King Leopold, Queen Victoria explained Albert’s view, who “felt very strongly the injustice of the Protocol of ‘52, which was a Russian intrigue; but he also felt that, if the Danes fixlfilled the stipulations, there was nothing for it but abiding by it.”^"^ Hence, this was an occasion which witnessed an active participation of Queen Victoria: she considered this to be part of her late husband’s political
J A.Farrer. The monarchv in politics (London. 1917), p.271.
21 November 1863 Princess Ahce of Hesse to Queen Victoria. In: AHce, Letters to Her Majesty the Queen, vol.l, p. 136.
18 November 1863 Grey informed Russell on behalf of the Queen about Princess Victoria’s letter. In: Buckle (ed). The letters of Queen Victoria, second series, vol.l, p.l 15.
8 March 1862 Queen Victoria to Russell. In: Ibid., p.23.
^ 19 November 1863 Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians. In: Ibid., second series, vol.l, p. 116.
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