shadow of britain

Chapter 837 Do you think this face is suitable for being a queen?

If anyone thinks that the orders to dispatch blue lobsters throughout London were usually issued by the Home Office on Whitehall or Scotland Yard, they are sorely mistaken.

Or rather, this understanding is not comprehensive.

For Scotland Yard, and especially for the Police Intelligence Service, the orders they received generally came not only from Lord Home Secretary Lord John Russell and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Charles Rowan, but in many special circumstances, Sir Arthur Hastings's decision-making power was also very important.

Prior to April of this year, Sir Arthur's decision-making power often stemmed from his enduring reputation and influence at Scotland Yard.

After the Police Commissioner's Committee was established, his decision-making power began to appear on the desk of Superintendent Charles Field, the Director of Police Intelligence, in the form of various guidelines and suggestions.

Of course, decisions that can be made in the form of written recommendations are usually not urgent matters.

As for those urgent matters that needed to be handled immediately, Sir Arthur preferred to meet with the heads of each department of the Police Intelligence Bureau in private.

Although some suspect that Sir Arthur's resurgence may be very similar to Napoleon's Hundred Days, despite his apparent comeback, given his audacious nature, he could be brought down any day.

The only question now is, where is the "Duke of Wellington" who could give Arthur Hastings a taste of the "Battle of Waterloo"?

Faced with the enthusiastic "concern" of his Whitehall colleagues, Arthur could only offer a "polite" verbal thank you.

However, at this critical juncture, he doesn't have the time to write down the names of all his colleagues.

This was certainly not because Arthur was impolite, but because he had more important things to care about.

April 1837 was a very delicate time.

As a young man who can't even remember his own birthday, it's highly unlikely that Arthur would remember other people's birthdays either.

However, as the saying goes, a bad pen is worse than a good memory. Although he can't remember other people's birthdays, he can create a file specifically for the people he cares about.

Right now, he has a newly updated file on his hands, which belongs to a girl he has been thinking about day and night.

Of course, whether she is a girl or not is not really important; what is important is that this girl is Alexandra Victoria, the legal heir to the British throne.

Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, which means she will turn 18 next month.

In other words, only the final sprint remains before she is crowned queen.

In order to protect Victoria, the police force around Kensington Palace was changed from plainclothes officers who were "volunteer" to mounted police and the Ghost Team of the Police Intelligence Bureau.

Although Arthur was no longer working at Kensington Palace, he would still occasionally visit the Russian Café, which was not far from Kensington Palace, for a drink or two.

Those familiar with Arthur could tell that as this top gentleman of London's social circles appeared more and more frequently near Kensington Palace, something was brewing in the shadows.

After all, no one could have predicted that William IV's health would suddenly deteriorate so drastically in just one year.

This sailor king, who could deliver long speeches after balls just a year ago, now needs help even to walk.

Arthur still remembered the last time he met the king; it was the first time he had been invited to ride with the king.

As the golden royal carriage slowly crossed the Thames, William IV suddenly began to talk to him about the parliamentary reforms of a few years earlier.

William IV told Arthur that initially he supported the reforms and was pleased to be loved for them. He liked being a king who was popular with his subjects and wanted everyone to be happy. He hoped that future generations would say fairly that he was a good king, a good king who loved his people.

However, what happened next exceeded his basic expectations. The Whigs and the Radicals became increasingly greedy, wanting this and that. In addition to the Reform Act, they also wanted to send a bunch of nouveau riche who had accomplished nothing into the Upper House.

This infuriated William IV, so he refused to approve the Reform Act. He didn't want to be seen as a weak man, and he wasn't going to change his mind even when they threatened to rebel. Just days before the parliamentary vote on the reforms, he summoned the Duke of Wellington, the prime minister, to St. James's and told him that no matter how bad things got, he, as king, would defend London to the death. He would raise the royal standard at Wedden's barracks and fight to the bitter end.

Even if England were to experience a revolution, even if he were to be beheaded like Louis XVI, he would still die a dignified death as a legitimate king.

At this point, William IV even cracked a little joke with Arthur.

He said he never expected Arthur to almost snatch this glorious opportunity from his grasp. He also expressed his hope that Arthur wouldn't resent him for this, as he didn't want to lose a young man who had served his country so loyally.

Although William IV was speaking in jest, Arthur could tell from his words that the old king was indeed nearing the end of his life.

Because he had already begun asking for forgiveness, even though he hadn't actually wronged Arthur in that matter.

Then the king began to reminisce about his childhood. He said that when he was young, salmon could be caught swimming upstream in the Thames, and the river was a dark green, not blackened by filth. He didn't know when it started, but the Thames had become as black as the River Irwell in Manchester, where corpses were frequently found.

William IV habitually rubbed his bulbous nose with the back of his index finger, then gazed at the chaotic scene on the street. He saw street performers making noise, a "sandwich man" with a soap sign hanging on his body, several little boys selling matches by the roadside, street vendors hawking pies, and an Indian beggar whose nose was disfigured by syphilis playing a drum.

Horse hooves clattered on the cobblestones, and as they passed piles of dung, mud splattered onto the hems of women's skirts, soiling the entire street.

William IV watched all this, his lips moved, but in the end he said nothing, only sighed softly.

Perhaps it was because he truly had no strength left, or perhaps he was utterly fed up with it all. Although the king himself had not given any orders, the office of the Minister of the Palace had already tacitly begun preparations for his departure.

The most notable example is that they actually approached Arthur and offered the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company a lucrative contract.

Under the personal supervision of Sir Arthur Hastings, several unassuming telegraph lines were quickly completed within a few months, connecting St. James's Palace, the King's residence, with important locations such as Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, and the Household Cavalry barracks in Hyde Park.

On the codebook specially made by the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company for royal communications, there is a line of encrypted text that has never appeared in any other codebook—TOLIFD (The Tower of London has fallen).

Although Arthur didn't know whether William IV was aware of all these arrangements, he felt that even if William IV was fully aware of the actions below, he wouldn't find anything wrong with it, because he also knew very well that he was nearing his end.

In the final years of his life, William IV believed he had only one thing to accomplish.

That is, to place the crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland securely on the head of his niece, Victoria.

During such a sensitive period, he detected many unusual smells in the air.

Lord Stockham, the advisor sent by King Leopold of Belgium to Kensington Palace, cut short his vacation and has been stationed there since January. Victoria's other two uncles have also begun to travel frequently between Britain and continental Europe, hoping to introduce their wayward sons to the future Queen of England.

The aging and frail William IV was no longer able to resist the marriage offensive of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family. Victoria and the two grandsons of the Dutch royal family of Orange-Nassau just didn't click, and he didn't have a good solution.

However, William IV still believed that Victoria's dislike of the Dutch did not necessarily mean she liked her cousins.

Especially after the Ramsgate affair, William IV believed that many rumors about Victoria were not true. She was placed under the Kensington system, so many of her opinions did not actually come from her own will, but from the ideas of the Duchess of Kent and Conroy.

In order to help Victoria break free from the influence of Kensington Palace, William IV decided that the first step was to financially free Victoria from their control.

Despite his ailing health, he mustered his strength to write a personal letter to his niece.

William IV promised to help Victoria gain independence on her 18th birthday. First, he would request an annual grant of £1 from Parliament for her use. Second, he would allow his niece to freely appoint her own treasury manager and treasurer, who would answer only to her. Most importantly, if Victoria wished, William IV was also prepared to grant her the power to establish her own residence, allowing her to move out of Kensington Palace and live independently.

This handwritten letter from the King to Victoria will be delivered to Kensington Palace by his two messengers—Lord Chamberlain, the Chamberlain's Ladies-in-Waiting, and Sir Arthur Hastings, the former tutor to the Prince of Wales.

On the street outside Kensington Palace, Arthur and Chamberlain rode side by side on their tall horses, with eight guards behind them to protect them.

Lord Chamberlain reined in his horse, muttering to himself, "Sir Arthur, have you met with Baron Stockmay recently?"

“Me?” Arthur shook his head slightly. “Baron Stockmay has been practically inseparable from Kensington Palace lately, and he rarely even goes to the balls at the Olmarkt Club anymore. I asked him to play chess last month, but he politely declined.”

Chamberlain couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this: "Are the Belgians keeping such a close watch lately? Leopold sent Stockmay here, it seems he wants him to stay in London permanently. If the Crown Prince really does ascend the throne in the future, won't he be making decisions for the Queen of Britain?"

Arthur said calmly, “Although Her Highness is just a young girl, you should be able to see from the Ramsgate incident that she is a very upright person. Although having Baron Stockmay by her side will inevitably make her lean towards Belgium on some issues, I don’t think Leopold can force his niece on everything. Otherwise, he would become the second Conroy that Her Highness dislikes.”

Chamberlain pursed his lips slightly upon hearing this: "I hope so. But Leopold has always been a smart man, otherwise the Belgian throne wouldn't have fallen into his hands. As for Stockma, he is indeed an outstanding figure. Having him by Her Highness's side can save us a lot of trouble."

Arthur chimed in, "That's right. If Baron Stockma had been in Ramsgate last year, I wouldn't have needed to resort to unconventional methods."

Upon hearing this, Chamberlain turned to look at Arthur, but simply smiled and remained silent.

Arthur felt uneasy under his gaze and couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong with what I said?"

Chamberlain shook his head: "No, everything you said is correct. After all, not everyone can see an opportunity in a crisis. If I were in your position at the time, I might not have dared to do such a thing. Sir Arthur, I am not jealous of your success."

Arthur glanced at Chamberlain, pondered for a while, and still couldn't figure out what the other man meant by his words.

What do you mean by saying that I personally am not jealous?

Does this mean that many other people are jealous?
However, Arthur did not dwell on this issue any further.

His newly appointed Police Commissioner's Committee is indeed a very powerful department; it would be strange if no one was envious.

However, even in such departments, those truly nobles still disdain to work there.

Because police officers are, after all, police officers; it's a profession that only lower-class people would do.

If it were the War Department or the Naval Commission, those would be the professions that truly belong to people of status.

Otherwise, Arthur's appointment wouldn't have come so quickly, and his old acquaintance, Mr. Edwin Chadwick, wouldn't have been able to sit so securely in the position of Secretary General of the Poor Law Committee.

As long as it's not those genuine old British upper-class figures eyeing his position in the police commission, it poses virtually no threat to Arthur.

After all, given Arthur's current achievements and influence in Fleet Street, the music industry, and the natural philosophy circle, it would be quite difficult to remove him as a police expert without cause.

(End of this chapter)