Victoria, Duchess of Kent | Autograph letter signed, on the marriage of her daughter Victoria to Prince Albert, 1837

Victoria, Duchess of Kent

Autograph letter signed to Lord William Russell

discussing the proposed marriage between her daughter Princess Victoria and Prince Adelbert (Albert), explaining that it does not lie within her power to consent to the marriage and that the application should be made to the King, "...The unbounded confidence reposed in me by The Country, being the only Parent since the Restoration who has had uncontrolled power in bringing up the Heir to the Throne, imposes on me duties of no ordinary character; therefore, I could not, compatibly with those I owe my Child, the King and the Country, give your Lordship the answer you desire ...", she does, however, make it clear that she does not wish the Princess to marry until she is "much older", and that, concerning her daughter's future husband, "I have but one wish, that Her happiness and the interest of the Country, be realised", 2 pages, 4to, integral blank, Kensington Palace, 9 May 1837, slight browning at upper right-hand corner

In this letter written while Victoria, the Queen mother, was exercising considerable control over her daughter's life through the so-called "Kensington System", she describes the "uncontrolled power" bestowed on her by the Regency Act of 1830, which allowed her to be regent over the young Victoria while she was still a minor, if William IV died.

The young Victoria had been introduced to Prince Albert by her uncle Leopold in May 1936. She was enchanted with him immediately, but wished to postpone a marriage until she felt ready. Victoria turned 18 on 24 May 1837, and less than a month later, William IV died, making her Queen of the United Kingdom. Because she was unmarried, she was forced to live with her mother, with whom she had long had a strained relationship. She proposed to Prince Albert 15 October 1839. Followng their marriage, her mother was banished to Ingestre House in Belgrave Square.

PROVENANCE:

Sotheby's, London, 8 December 1983, lot 285