Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them January 23, 1960 Issue

Queen Victoria, 1819-1901

[Mentioned in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 289]

Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, spoke of her childhood as "melancholy." Her father, the Duke of Kent and a son of George III, died before she was a year old. She was never alone, and most of her companions were those who wished either to influence or to teach her. Of her maternal uncle, Prince Leopold, who lived at Claremont until he became king of the Belgians, she said, "He was ever a father to me." Absolute truthfulness, common sense, unaffectedness, pride, and stubbornness were already apparent in the child.

The princess was eighteen when she succeeded to the throne. Lord Melbourne was Prime Minister, and between them grew up a warm understanding. In the one political crisis that arose before her marriage the queen triumphed through her will, but the unconstitutionality of her act brought criticism and unpopularity.

The queen's marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, whom she deeply loved, wrought many changes. A German governess who had alienated the queen from her mother was sent home, and a reconciliation was brought about. The queen sought the prince's advice more and more. He was made Prince Consort in 1856; the success of the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in 1851, which the prince had conceived, brought him widespread recognition, and the queen rejoiced in it. Under his influence certain of her qualities softened. There was a close family life with their children with standards of rigid morality and education. During the Crimean War the prince planned the conduct of the war, and the queen was busy with hospitals and returning soldiers.

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Queen Victoria, 1819-1901

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