shadow of britain

Chapter 906 The Battle for the Queen

My dearest uncle, I must now formally invite you. I would be overjoyed if you, your dear Aunt Louise, and your son Leopold (whom I insist on visiting) could visit in mid-to-late August. I would kindly request that you stay longer than usual, at least two weeks. You may bring any gentlemen, ladies, maids, or other attendants you wish to have, and I would be immensely happy and proud to have you under my roof and attend a concert at Buckingham Palace.

—From *The Letters of Alexandra Victoria*

The morning in Buckingham Palace gardens was exceptionally quiet.

The air in London at the end of summer carried a slight chill, and the dewdrops on the grass shimmered with a delicate silver light in the sunlight.

In the distance, flocks of pigeons circled low between the stone paths, occasionally flapping their wings to take flight, and then slowly landing on the statues by the fountain.

Along the main flower path, a neatly trimmed yew hedge extends towards the greenhouse. A light mist hangs over the greenhouse windows, revealing the lush greenery inside.

Victoria was dressed in a light blue morning gown, her hair loosely tied back, and her satin shoes made almost no sound as they trod on the gravel path.

She walked slowly, her gaze sometimes sweeping over the blooming roses in the flowerbed, and sometimes lingering on the leisurely swans by the lake.

Not far away, a man dressed in a dark gray morning suit was already waiting by the bench.

That was her uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium.

He saw his niece approaching, lifted the brim of his hat slightly, stood up, and joked with a smile, "Delina, you've gained weight."

Victoria was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and then couldn't help but complain, "I'm already paying attention, my dear uncle."

She quickened her pace to her uncle and gave him a hug: "I sincerely thank you for all the letters you've written over the past few months. If it weren't for your guidance, I would hardly know how to face the situation after my ascension to the throne."

Leopold laughed and patted his niece's face. "I also sincerely thank you for listening to my ramblings. Delina, your new honor will neither diminish nor increase my long-standing love for you. May God bless you, and may I have the honor of serving you. Nothing could make me happier than seeing you succeed in your new endeavors."

Victoria gently released her uncle's embrace, her tone tinged with a girlish sincerity and unease: "I remember every word you've said to me. In your opinion, is there anything I should do but haven't done yet?"

Seeing his niece's earnest expression, Leopold couldn't help but nod slightly. "Deline, for you, maintaining confidence is the most important thing. I've already seen your coronation declaration in the Belgian newspapers; it's concise and appropriate. Especially that line, 'I was raised in England,' it's very well written! You should be proud of that, and given that none of your cousins ​​were born in England, I suggest you continue to promote this point vigorously—it will be to your advantage. There's never too much praise for your country and its people. You should know that there are two nations in Europe that often appear almost ridiculous because of their excessive self-praise: the English and the French. That's why it's extremely important for the monarch of England to demonstrate a strong sense of national identity. Since you happen to have been born in England and have never left for a moment, make good use of this advantage."

Victoria sat next to her uncle, carefully taking notes of his instructions in her small notebook.

Seeing Victoria's actions, Leopold couldn't help but pause and ask, half-jokingly, "When did you develop the habit of taking notes?"

“I learned this from Sir Arthur Hastings,” she said, glancing at her uncle with a hint of affection and pride. “He always carried a little book like this with him wherever he went. I asked him why he did it, and he said it was so he could jot down useful advice anytime, anywhere.”

At this point, Victoria seemed to remember something and smiled as she spoke to her uncle, "The coronation declaration you just mentioned was actually drafted for me by Sir Arthur on the spot."

Leopold's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

“Ah, I see,” he said slowly, as if casually mentioning a rumor. “Then it’s no wonder. No wonder your coronation address included a passage about religious liberation.”

“Religious emancipation?” Victoria looked up in surprise. “Are you referring to the statement, ‘I will uphold the religious institutions established by law, and at the same time guarantee religious freedom for all my subjects’?”

“That’s right. At first, I thought this was a statement imposed on you by the Whig Party.” Leopold nodded slightly. “That sentence has also caused quite a bit of discussion in Belgium, though of course, most of the opinions are positive.”

Victoria frowned slightly and lowered her voice: "But Sir Arthur later explained to me that it was just to express tolerance, to show that I did not want to harm any of my subjects because of differences in faith."

Leopold gave a soft hum, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before he sighed, “That certainly sounds like what he would say… However, Delina, there’s one thing you should know: Sir Arthur Hastings was originally a Catholic.”

"Catholic?"

“Yes.” Leopold’s tone was calm, as if he were merely stating a harmless fact: “As far as I know, he converted to the state religion a few years ago. And in his youth, he seemed to have close ties with certain people from the continent, in Paris, Hanover, and… I think it was Russia? Such a rich life experience would surely make a person think about the relationship between faith and order.”

At this point, Leopold paused for a moment: "However, in England, I still suggest that you do your best to maintain the leading position of the Church of America. As long as you don't promise them anything specific, you can praise the Church of America as much as you want on religious topics."

Victoria seemed somewhat resistant to her uncle's suggestion: "Praising Americanism? That sounds a bit like the Tories' stance."

“Praising Americanism is the Tories’ position, while not making any specific promises to the State Church is the Whigs’ position.”

Leopold continued to instruct his niece: “Delina, you must understand that for the Whigs, any member of the royal family other than you and the Duke of Sussex becoming rulers of this country would be devastating. And what your royal uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, did in Hanover this month was enough to terrify the Whigs and make them fanatically support your rule. If you recall, I told you before that your duty is to keep everyone satisfied for as long as possible. That’s why, on many issues now, you should strive to win the support of the moderate conservatives, and the Church of England is a good starting point. I know you abhor religious persecution, and that’s true. But remember not to miss any opportunity to show your support for the Church of England. As long as it doesn’t harm the expectations or future of others, you should persist in doing so.”

Victoria pondered her uncle's suggestion and finally wrote it down in her notebook: "Besides that, do you have any other suggestions?"

“That’s all I can think of for now,” Leopold said with a smile. “However, if you have any doubts before making any important decisions, I would be very happy for you to consult me. There’s another advantage to doing this: it will buy you time. In political affairs, most measures tend to have room for maneuver in a short period of time. Once you’ve made a decision, it becomes very difficult to withdraw or terminate a measure, and it will almost always damage your authority.”

Upon hearing this, Victoria pressed further, "Did you do the same thing when you were in Belgium?"

“Of course,” Leopold nodded. “Whenever there is an important matter, unless it is an emergency like the Dutch invasion, I will not make a hasty decision on the day it is presented. My rule for myself is: never force myself to express an opinion immediately. Because history has shown that hasty decisions are often unwise. Even if I am inclined to approve, I will always let it take some time to reflect before issuing a reply. As for a new monarch like you, the best way to handle this is to have each minister bring their document box to the audience and have them explain the documents to you in person. Afterwards, you can keep these documents for your own consideration or consult others, and return them to the ministers in person at the next meeting, or send them back by someone.”

Victoria lowered her head and solemnly wrote down her uncle's last words in her notebook.

After a moment, she gently closed the notebook: "I truly thank you for your guidance. No one in the world understands my situation as well as you do. I really hope that those in Parliament can believe, like you, that I am learning, not being controlled." Leopold raised an eyebrow slightly. This King of Belgium, like Sir Arthur, was a loyal reader of British newspapers. How could he not know that after Victoria's ascension to the throne, the Fleet Street newspaper was filled with attacks against him personally?

Mainstream newspapers like The Times and the Morning Chronicle were somewhat more restrained, only using innuendo-laden headlines such as "Our Young Queen and Her Advisors from the European Continent" and "Is There Foreign Influence in Buckingham Palace?"

Meanwhile, those tabloids that rely on sensationalism to gain attention don't bother to cover up their misdeeds at all.

Articles like "Drafted in Brussels, Signed by Victoria," "Uncle Co., Ltd., Professional Importer of Belgian Influence," and "Should Britain be governed by Brussels?"

In short, the reporters' words were increasingly harsh.

If it weren't for concerns about being misinterpreted by British newspapers, Leopold would probably have set off for Britain much earlier, instead of arriving late only after receiving a formal invitation from his niece.

Of course, after the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company won the contract to build the telegraph network in Belgium, at least all the magazines under Imperial Publishing stopped attacking Belgium. In fact, The Economist has even devoted several pages in recent days to praising the Belgian government's visionary investment in the telegraph industry.

However, The Economist cannot represent the entirety of Fleet Street. Even if we include other magazines and newspapers under Empire Publishing, they still cannot completely control the direction of public opinion on Fleet Street.

In a place like Fleet Street, where all sorts of people mingle, just because someone is in Imperial Publishing doesn't mean there aren't people in other newspapers.

Take Blackwood, the arch-rival of The Englishman, for example. Blackwood is backed by the conservative faction within the Conservative Party.

Meanwhile, The Times’ rival, The Chronicle, has long served as Palmerston’s mouthpiece.

The Westminster Review was a long-standing stronghold of radical liberals, while the Quarterly Review and the Edinburgh Review were the official newspapers of the Conservative and Whig parties, respectively.

On the political issue of hostility towards Leopold, even if Imperial Publishing puts in all its efforts, it is indeed difficult to contend with multiple forces at the same time.

Leopold was still thinking about how to clarify this to his niece as much as possible when Victoria spoke first: "But you don't need to worry about it, because I've found that many people scoff at the reports, especially the Duke of Wellington."

“Oh?” Leopold and the Duke of Wellington had always been on good terms. They first met more than twenty years ago in Paris, when Leopold, as a special representative of Tsar Alexander I, met with the Duke of Wellington, who was then the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. “What did Your Excellency say?”

Victoria smiled and said, “At the Trooping the Colour ceremony last month, the Duke assured me that he had unwavering faith in your character and his care for me. He was also willing to defend you if necessary. Furthermore, he told me that although the Viscount Melbourne was somewhat careless, he was essentially an upright and respectable man. However, the Duke’s biggest concern was my riding a horse at the ceremony. He insisted that I attend in an open carriage because no one understands better than him just how difficult it is to tame a horse.”

Leopold laughed when he heard this: "He's still the same as ever. Although he's a bit more outspoken, the Duke of Wellington has always been a supporter of the royal family, and I believe his concerns are genuine."

At this point, Leopold asked, "His Excellency the Duke will also be attending tonight's concert, won't he? If possible, I would like to have my seat arranged next to him."

“Of course!” Victoria exclaimed excitedly, just thinking about what was going to happen tonight. “You’ll be sitting with him, and we’re going to give him a surprise tonight.”

"A surprise?" Leopold pondered for a moment. "What surprise? Are there any unexpected guests tonight?"

“It’s not a surprise guest, but a piece dedicated to the Duke, the Wellington March.” Victoria raised a finger to her lips. “You must remember to keep it a secret from him; this piece is not on tonight’s program.”

"The Wellington March?" Leopold was also hearing this for the first time. Albert hadn't mentioned it to him when he returned last night. "Is it your vocal teacher, Mr. Labraqay's, new work?"

Victoria smiled and said, "It's not Mr. Labraq's piece; it's a piece that Sir Arthur and Albert co-composed. Didn't he tell you?"

“Sir Arthur and Albert?” Although Leopold knew his nephew loved music, he didn’t know he was also a composer. However, with Leopold’s shrewdness, he immediately understood what was going on after a little thought.

Arthur Hastings' identity as a musician is often forgotten. Although he no longer performs on stage, the score for "La Campanella" has long been spread throughout Europe, and the popularity of "Turandot" in Germany and France is an undeniable fact.

In other words, this great musician's talent probably lies not only in playing the piano, but also in composing.

With his musical talent, composing a Wellington March as a gift wouldn't be a difficult task.

However, to Leopold's surprise, Arthur was willing to give Albert a helping hand as well.

It's important to understand that most musicians are very protective of their creative rights and attribution rights. Let alone asking them to add someone else's name to the score, many self-righteous musicians would refuse even if offered a large sum of money to write a celebratory song.

And Arthur Hastings actually...

Seeing that Arthur had gone to such lengths, Leopold couldn't help but press his advantage, saying, "You probably didn't expect Albert to have musical talent, did you? But to be honest, I didn't expect him to catch the eye of a great composer like Sir Arthur Hastings, who allowed Albert to study music under him. Isn't a young man who understands music and can compose very charming?"

Victoria couldn't help but feel pleased at the thought of the Duke of Wellington's possible reaction tonight.

But that doesn't mean the girl couldn't understand her uncle's subtext. Of course, she knew that her uncle had been trying to match her with Albert for several years.

However, compared to Albert, she still preferred more handsome young men and disliked having her life continue to be arranged by others.

Driven by a rebellious streak, she even had the idea of ​​deliberately provoking her uncle: "Knowing music certainly adds to one's charm, but that's a different matter from being handsome... Uncle, I still don't agree with your previous opinion that Alexander of Württemberg wasn't handsome enough. I admit that Alexander is a bit burly, but overall, he's well-proportioned and handsome. You know, when it comes to judging a man's appearance, women usually have a better eye."

(End of this chapter)