PROYECCIÓN DE LA DEMANDA [10]

since, according to the Queen, “a strong, united, liberal Germany would be a most useful ally to Britain;” however, the Queen certainly put the emphasis on ‘liberal’, which was a notion that was no longer compatible with the actual development in Prussia. There can be no doubt that Queen Victoria and Clarendon agreed in condemning the war, for both “strongly disapproved of Prussia’s conduct,” and also the Times regarded Prussia’s conduct as “absolutely unscrupulous, but perfectly consistent” (20 June 1866).

However, the rapport between Queen Victoria and Clarendon was brought to an abrupt end in June 1866, when Russell decided to resign after Gladstone’s moderate Reform Bill had failed to convince the House of Commons; despite Queen Victoria’s attempt to persuade the Prime Minister to stay in office until the German affairs were clarified, Russell opted for an immediate resignation, which the Queen “bitterly resented (...) as desertion.”^^^ As a consequence, from now on she had to discuss the war with the new Foreign Secretary Stanley, who took office under Derby in June 1866.

Notwithstanding the fact that Queen Victoria held a council which declared Britain’s neutrality in June 1866, she saw a certain danger in the possibility that the new Germany might become “merely a large Prussia with annexations.” This attitude reflected her altering perception of Prussia’s conduct, which she considered to have an increasingly authoritarian style. It is vital to realize that although her image of Prussia had changed, her notion of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha remained the same. As a consequence. Queen Victoria’s perception of Germany was henceforth irrevocably divided into Prussia and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; whereas Prussia developed into a powerful, autocratic nation, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (and also Hesse) remained states to which the Queen continued to feel a very emotional bond until the end of her life. One possible consequence of this shift of Germany’s power distribution was the danger that Prussia might annex these smaller states in the long run. Princess Alice

7 August 1866 Queen Victoria to Stanley. In; Buckle (ed ). The letters of Queen Victoria. second series, vol.l, p.364.

128

129

Bourne, The foreign policv of Victorian England, p.111.

W.Edwards, Crown, people, and parliament. 1760-1935 (Bristol, 1937), p.63.

12 August 1866 Queen Victoria to the Crown Princess of Prussia. In: Fulford (ed.). Your dear letter, p.89.

description of the ongoing war as “a dreadful time”^^^ was written from this perspective of a smaller German state, threatened with extinction; furthermore, she informed her mother about the latest troop movements, the condition of the Hessian people and the most recent battles. On the other hand, the Crown Princess’s letters, written at the same time, were formulated from a victorious point of view, stating that “the Prussians are a superior race as regards intelligence and humanity, education and kind-heartedness.”^^^

Queen Victoria perceived the danger of Prussia becoming a powerfiil and authoritarian nation so strongly in 1866, that she decided to address the Prussian royal family directly. Her letter to Queen Augusta was therefore written in the hope that its message would eventually reach the King himself, since Queen Victoria observed that her “beloved Albert used always to say, (...) ‘May Prussia become merged in Germany, not Germany in Prussia! ’ Now is the moment once more to create a great, united Germany with Prussia at her head I The last sentence certainly summed up her feelings adequately, since the Queen realized that this future Germany might not correspond with her late husband’s convictions, and, what is more, the existence of smaller German states was in fact under threat. Interestingly enough, these emotions of Queen Victoria were completely restricted to the political affairs of Germany only, and she never considered similar thoughts for Ireland, Wales or Scotland. On the contrary, the idea of an Irish home rule was thoroughly opposed by the Queen.

For Princess Alice and her family, the Peace of Prague came certainly as a relief in August 1866, even if it signified that Hesse-Homburg and other parts of the Dukedom were lost to Prussia. Once the hostilities had ended, Bismarck signaled a i

new beginning by successfully introducing the Indemnity Bill in the Prussian Parliament, which legally reimbursed the government’s expenditure for the years since 1862. As a next step, Prussia created the North German Confederation, an association of states excluding Austria and her allies, the South German states - the latter, however, were linked to the North German Confederation through special treaties.

15 June 1866 Princess Alice of Hesse to Queen Victoria. In: Alice, Letters to Her Maiestv the Queen, vol.l, p.215. Prince Louis and Princess Alice sent tiieir children to Britain for the duration of the war, in order to secure their well-being.

16 July 1866 The Crown Princess of Prussia to Queen Victoria. In: Fulford (ed.). Your dear letter. p.80.

8 August 1866 Queen Victoria to the Queen of Prussia. In: Bolitho (ed ). Further letters of Queen Victoria, p. 162.

VI: Continuity in grief 148