by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Princess Victoria with Dash by George Hayter, 1833: Credit – Wikipedia

Dash was a King Charles Spaniel with a white coat and patches of black and tan owned by Queen Victoria.  Born in 1830, Dash came into the household on January 14, 1833, as a gift from Sir John Conroy to Victoria’s mother The Duchess of Kent. Victoria was 13 years old when Dash came into her mother’s household and because she was largely isolated from other children, the princess soon became attached to Dash. At Christmas 1833, Victoria gave Dash a set of rubber balls and two pieces of gingerbread. Victoria often wrote about Dash in her diary calling him “dear sweet little Dash” and “dear Dashy”.

Dash remained with Victoria after her accession to the throne and along with the Queen, he moved to Buckingham Palace. Victoria was very worried about how Dash would feel in his new environment but the spaniel adjusted well and enjoyed romping in the palace gardens. Upon her return to Buckingham Palace after her coronation on June 28, 1838, Victoria ran to her rooms to give Dash his bath.

A pencil drawing by Princess Victoria showing her beloved King Charles Spaniel Dash. He is shown seated, facing forward. Inscribed below: Dash /our dog./ P.V.del from nature. Jan 11th 1836; Credit – https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/980016-em

Victoria’s love for Dash very quickly became public knowledge and she began to receive different dogs as presents. She accepted all the dogs and Lord Melbourne, her first Prime Minister, joked that Victoria would soon sink into a sea of dogs. Dash, however, remained Victoria’s favorite pet.

Dash died on December 24, 1840, which greatly upset Victoria. He was buried at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park. Over Dash’s grave, a marble effigy was erected with the inscription:

Here lies
DASH
The favourite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria
In his 10th year
His attachment was without selfishness
His playfulness without malice
His fidelity without deceit
READER
If you would be beloved and die regretted
Profit by the example of
DASH

Dash (left) with Lory (parrot), Nero (greyhound) and Hector (Scottish deerhound) by Edwin Henry Landseer, 1838; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Victoria and her family had many pets, including:

• Alma – a Shetland pony given by King Victor Emmanuel
• Dandie – a Skye terrier
• Dash – a King Charles spaniel
• Eos – a greyhound that Prince Albert brought from Germany
• Flora – a Shetland pony given by King Victor Emmanuel
• Goats –  Upon her accession to the throne, Queen Victoria was presented with a pair of Tibetan goats by the Shah of Iran. From these two goats, a royal goat herd was established at Windsor and then goats from this herd were then used as regimental mascots by the British Army.
• Nero – a greyhound
• Islay – a Skye terrier who died after losing a fight with a cat
• Jacquot – a donkey
• Unknown name – a lory, a medium-sized parrot
• Marco –  the first of Queen Victoria’s many Pomeranians.
• Hector – a deerhound
• Noble – Queen Victoria’s favorite collie.  Her daughter Princess Louise, who was a talented sculptor, created a statue of Noble which is in Osborne House.
• Picco – a Sardinian pony
• Sharp – a collie
• Turi – a Pomeranian who lay on Queen Victoria’s deathbed at her request
• Coco – an African grey parrot

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Baroness Louise Lehzen; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1824 – 1842, Baroness Louise Lehzen was the governess and then adviser and companion to Queen Victoria who called her Lehzen.

Johanna Clara Louise Lehzen was born on October 3, 1784, in Hanover (Germany), the youngest of the two sons and seven daughters of Joachim Friedrich Lehzen, a Lutheran pastor, and his wife Marie Catharina Melusine Palm, a pastor’s daughter. Joachim Lehzen had spent some time as a pastor at a German church in London and was fluent in English. While in London, he served as the tutor for the sons of several English families. When he returned to Hanover, Joachim ran a boys’ boarding school focusing on learning the English language. When he had his own children, Joachim taught them English.

Due to family circumstances, Lehzen had to work at an early age and she had excellent references from her employer, the aristocratic von Marenholtz family. Along with those references and the influence of Augustus Frederic Christopher Kollmanns, a composer, musical theorist, and organist from Hanover who lived in London and was the Organist, Clerk, and Chapel Keeper of His Majesty’s German Lutheran Chapel at St. James’s Palace, Lehzen obtained a position in the household of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, son of King George III.

In 1818, the Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the widow of Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen. The new Duchess of Kent had two children, 14-year-old Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen and 11-year-old Princess Feodora of Leinigen. The Duke of Kent thought that Feodora needed a governess and so Lehzen was hired. On May 24, 1819, the Duke and Duchess of Kent had their only child, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, the future Queen Victoria. The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s marriage was short as the Duke died on January 23, 1820.

The Duchess of Kent and her daughter Princess Victoria holding a miniature of her deceased father; Credit – Wikipedia

As Feodora grew older, she no longer needed a governess and in 1824, Lehzen became governess to the 5-year-old Victoria. Because of Victoria’s unique position – she was third in the line of succession after her childless uncles Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Prince William, Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV), Victoria needed to be well-educated. Lehzen gave Victoria a very solid early education. When Victoria turned eight, she began to receive lessons from tutors in French, German, writing, mathematics, drawing, dancing, music, and singing.

The Duchess of Kent developed a very close relationship with Sir John Conroy, her Comptroller and Private Secretary, who wanted to use his position with the mother of the future queen to obtain power and influence. Conroy and the Duchess tried to control and influence Victoria with their Kensington System, a strict and elaborate set of rules. Lehzen was strongly protective of Victoria and encouraged Victoria to become strong, informed, and independent from her mother’s and Conroy’s influence, causing friction between the two and Lehzen. The Duchess of Kent’s relationship with her daughter Victoria suffered greatly and did not normalize until Victoria herself had children.

Because of this conflict with her mother and Conroy, the young Victoria trusted only one person – Lehzen. Lehzen dedicated her life to ensuring that if Victoria became Queen, she would be intelligent and strong-minded. Lehzen was often criticized for her influence over Victoria but she was the only person who truly had only Victoria’s interests at heart. Victoria wrote in her diary about Lehzen, “the most affectionate, devoted, attached and disinterested friend I have.”

The Duke of York died in 1827 and now the Duke of Clarence was the heir presumptive and Victoria was second-in-line to the throne. Conroy complained that Victoria should not be surrounded by commoners and King George IV, also King of Hanover, created Lehzen a baroness of the Kingdom of Hanover. Shortly before, Victoria’s uncle the Duke of Clarence became king, Lehzen inserted a genealogical table in Victoria’s history book. Victoria carefully looked at it and said, “I see I am nearer to the throne than I thought,” and burst into tears. After she composed herself, Victoria said her famous remark, “I will be good.” When her uncle King George IV died in 1830 and the Duke of Clarence succeeded to the throne as King William IV, Victoria became the heir presumptive.

Victoria in 1833 with her dog Dash; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 24, 1837, Victoria turned 18 years old and it would not be necessary for the Duchess of Kent to serve as regent, much to the relief of Victoria’s uncle King William IV who intensely disliked the Duchess. Less than a month later, on June 20, 1837, King William IV died and Victoria acceded to the British throne. On the day Victoria became queen, she demonstrated her determination to free herself from her mother’s influence by ordering her bed to be removed from the room she and her mother had always shared. Victoria also immediately dismissed Conroy from her household but she could not dismiss him from her mother’s household. However, she sent both her mother and Conroy off to a distant wing of Buckingham Palace and cut off personal contact with them.

Lehzen continued to serve Victoria after she became Queen. She did not have an official position but was called, at her request, “lady attendant.” She had the Queen’s ear and her absolute confidence. Lehzen helped look after Victoria’s clothes and jewels, acted as an unofficial secretary, and was responsible for Victoria’s personal expenses. No bill for personal expenses was paid unless Lehzen had signed it. A door was installed between Queen Victoria’s bedroom and Lehzen’s bedroom.

Queen Victoria’s marriage to her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840 caused significant changes in the household. Naturally, Albert began to influence Victoria, overshadowing Lehzen whose instincts were to protect Victoria. Albert and Lehzen soon developed a dislike for each other. In an effort to protect Victoria, Lehzen attempted to thwart Albert’s will. Albert found Lehzen repugnant and unworthy of befriending the Queen. To Albert, Lehzen was a servant who had risen above her place in life and he wanted Victoria to rely only on him, as her husband.

This conflict came to a head in January 1842 when Victoria, Princess Royal (Vicky), the 14-month-old eldest child of Victoria and Albert became ill. When Vicky was born on November 21, 1840, Queen Victoria trusted Lehzen to make the arrangements for the nursery staff. Lehzen put the nursery in the charge of two nursemaids, Mrs. Southey and Mrs. Roberts, and Sir James Clark who was Physician-in-Ordinary to the Queen. Albert had objected to Clark due to his terrible mishandling of the Lady Flora Hastings affair in 1839. Clark diagnosed Vicky’s illness as a minor ailment and, incorrectly as it turned out, prescribed calomel, a laxative and then, a common medicine. Unknown at that time, calomel, which contained mercury chloride, was toxic. Vicky did not become better but rather became seriously ill. Albert confronted Victoria on the incompetence of the staff selected by Lehzen. There was a very heated quarrel, after which Albert declared that he would leave the affair in her queenly hands, and it would be on her head if Vicky died.

Vicky recovered but Albert had enough of Lehzen and on July 25, 1842, without consulting Victoria, he dismissed Lehzen. Albert told Victoria that Lehzen wanted to go back to Hanover due to her ill health. Always protecting Victoria, Lehzen went along with Albert’s plan. In preparation for her departure from the household, Lehzen taught Victoria’s dresser Marianne Skerrett some of her duties. On the morning of September 30, 1842, Lehzen slipped away, leaving a letter for Queen Victoria rather than saying goodbye in person.

Lehzen was granted a generous annual pension of £800 and the gift of a carriage. She went to live with her sister in Bückeburg, then in the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany but her sister died a few months later. Queen Victoria and Lehzen kept in touch via letters and Victoria even visited her several times. When Lehzen became infirm, Victoria gave her a gift of a “wheeled chair.” On September 9, 1870, Baroness Louise Lehzen died in Bückeburg at the age of 85. She was buried in the Jetenburger Cemetery in Bückeburg where Queen Victoria had a memorial to her erected.

Grave of Baroness Louise Lehzen; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com by Dieter Birkenmaier

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Recommended Book – Serving Queen Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard

Works Cited

• Baird, Julia. Victoria The Queen. Random House, 2016.
• Hubbard, Kate. Serving Victoria: Life In The Royal Household. Harper Collins Publishers, 2012.
• “Louise Lehzen”. De.Wikipedia.Org, 2018, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Lehzen. Accessed 13 May 2018.
• “Louise Lehzen”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Lehzen. Accessed 13 May 2018.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

by Henry William Pickersgill, 1837; Credit – Wikipedia

Sir John Conroy, 1st Baronet was Equerry to Queen Victoria’s father The Duke of Kent from 1817 – 1820, and Comptroller and Private Secretary to Queen Victoria’s mother The Duchess of Kent from 1820 – 1839.

John Ponsonby Conroy was born on October 21, 1786, in Maes-y-Castell, Caerhun, Caernarvonshire, Wales, one of six children of John Ponsonby Conroy, a barrister, and Margaret Wilson. Both of Conroy’s parents came from Ireland. Conroy was privately educated by tutors.

When he was 17 years old, Conroy was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery and was soon promoted to First Lieutenant. In 1805, he enrolled in the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich which was a military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery. Conroy served in the British army during the Napoleonic Wars although he had a knack for avoiding battle which caused him to lose the respect of the other officers.

On December 26, 1808, Conroy married Elizabeth Fisher, the daughter of Major-General Benjamin Fisher. The couple had six children:

• Sir Edward Conroy, 2nd Baronet (1809 – 1869), married Lady Alice Parsons; their only child was the analytical chemist Sir John Conroy, 3rd Baronet
• Elizabeth Conroy (1811 – 1855)
• Arthur Conroy (1813 – 1817)
• Stephen Conroy (1815 – 1841)
• Henry Conroy (1817 – 1890)
• Victoria Conroy, known as Victoire (1819 – 1866), married Sir Wyndham Edward Hanmer, 4th Baronet

Conroy served under his father-in-law, performing various administrative duties, and was promoted to Captain in 1817. Through the influence of his wife’s uncle Dr. John Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury who had served as a tutor for King George III’s son Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Conroy was appointed the Duke of Kent’s Equerry in 1817. In 1818, the Duke of Kent, along with several of his brothers, married in an attempt to provide an heir to the throne after the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, King George III’s only legitimate grandchild. The Duke of Kent’s bride was Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the widow of Emich Karl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen.

After their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Kent moved to Germany, where the cost of living was cheaper. Victoria became pregnant and the Duke and Duchess were determined to have their child born in England. The very efficient John Conroy arranged for the Duke and Duchess’ speedy return to England in time for the birth of their first and only child, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, the future Queen Victoria, on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace in London.

In early January 1820, the Duke of Kent caught a cold but insisted on taking a walk out in the chilly weather. Within days, the cold worsened, and he became feverish and delirious and developed pneumonia. His condition was aggravated by the bleeding and cupping of his physician. The Duke became increasingly weaker and died on January 23, 1820, just six days before his father, King George III died. With the death of her father and her grandfather, little Drina, as she was called, was third in the line of succession after her uncles, Frederick, Duke of York (who would die in 1827) and William, Duke of Clarence (who would succeed his brother King George IV as King William IV. His niece Victoria would eventually succeed him.)

The Duke of Kent died deep in debt. Conroy had been named the executor of the Duke of Kent’s will. With the Duke of Kent’s death, Conroy would lose his position as Equerry. He needed to find another source of income so he offered his services as comptroller to the widowed Duchess of Kent and her daughter. The Duchess of Kent developed a very close relationship with Conroy who wanted to use his position with the mother of the future queen to obtain power and influence. Conroy and the Duchess tried to control and influence Victoria with their Kensington System, a strict and elaborate set of rules. The Duchess’ relationship with her daughter Victoria suffered greatly and did not normalize until Victoria herself had children.

Conroy’s children were among the few companions Princess Victoria was allowed. His youngest daughter Victoire, who was only a few months younger than the princess, saw Princess Victoria most often. Princess Victoria was aware of Victoire’s inferior social rank and disliked her. She suspected that Victoire reported her activities to her father. Victoria was also aware that Conroy intended her to reward Victoire and her sister Jane with positions once she became queen.

In 1827, Frederick, Duke of York died and making Princess Victoria the second in the line of succession after her uncle William, Duke of Clarence. Three years, later King George IV died and was succeeded by his brother as King William IV. Victoria was now the heir presumptive. King William IV intensely disliked the Duchess of Kent and Conroy and vowed to live until Victoria was 18 years old to avoid a regency.

In 1835, Victoria became seriously ill with typhoid fever. While she was ill, the Duchess of Kent and Conroy unsuccessfully tried to force her into signing a document that would have appointed Conroy her personal secretary upon her accession to the throne. This incident motivated Victoria to become even more self-reliant. On May 24, 1837, Victoria turned 18 years old and it would not be necessary for the Duchess of Kent to serve as regent, much to the relief of Victoria’s uncle King William IV. Less than a month later, on June 20, 1837, King William IV died and Victoria acceded to the British throne.

When Victoria became Queen, she immediately dismissed Conroy from her household but she could not dismiss him from her mother’s household. However, she sent both her mother and Conroy off to a distant wing of the palace and cut off personal contact with them. On July 7, 1837, Queen Victoria created Conroy the 1st Baronet of Llanbrynmair with the understanding that he would not show himself at court in return. The title became extinct on the death of Sir John Conroy, 3rd Baronet in 1900. Conroy was finally persuaded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington to leave the Duchess of Kent’s household in 1839.

Arborfield Hall; Credit – Wikipedia

After a stay in continental Europe, Conroy bought Arborfield Hall, near Reading, Berkshire, England in 1842. He became a gentleman farmer and won prizes for pig breeding. Sir John Conroy, 1st Baronet of Llanbrynmair died in substantial debt, on March 2, 1854, at the age of 67 at his home Arborfield Hall. After his death, the Duchess of Kent finally agreed to have her financial accounts audited and acknowledged that significant funds were missing. She admitted that Conroy had swindled her and at the same time hurt her relationship with her daughter for his own benefit.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Recommended Book – Serving Queen Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard

Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul Karim, known as The Munshi, in 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Starting September 27, 2018, and continuing through January 8, 2019, Unofficial Royalty will be publishing a new series of articles, Queen Victoria’s Inner Circle, about some of the people who served Queen Victoria during her long reign. Articles for some of her relatives who lived during her reign are already linked in the Queen Victoria’s Inner Circle Index. Many of the articles are about people who were seen in the television series Victoria but their true life story may be very different than the story depicted in the series. As the series Victoria progresses, we may add additional articles.

Victoria Season 3 will premiere in the United States on Public Broadcasting Stations (PBS) on January 13, 2019. In the United Kingdom, Victoria Season 3 will be shown on ITV but as of yet, there is no premiere date.

The articles may be accessed at Queen Victoria’s Inner Circle Index

Included in the Queen Victoria’s Inner Circle are articles about:

Royal Household: There were three departments in Queen Victoria’s Royalty Household:

• The Department of the Lord Steward included the below stairs staff such as servants working in the kitchen, wine and beer cellars, porters, lamplighters, etc.
• The Department of The Lord Chamberlain included all the ceremonial officers, those in personal attendance on the Queen, such as Ladies of the Bedchamber and Grooms in Waiting, housekeepers, and housemaids.
• The Department of the Master of the Horse was responsible for the Royal Mews and transportation arrangements for royal trips and visits.

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Mistresses of the Robes: The Mistress of the Robes was always a Duchess and attended Queen Victoria on every State occasion. She had precedence over every lady of the Court and when in residence, presided at the Household table. She looked over and passed on the Queen’s personal bills sent to her from the Robes Office. During Queen Victoria’s reign, the Mistress of the Robes was a political appointment and changed when the political party of the government changed.

Notable Ladies of the Bedchamber: Ladies of the Bedchamber were always wives of peers. Only one Lady of the Bedchamber was in waiting at a time. She was always ready to attend to the Queen. The Lady-in-Waiting attended all State occasions and presided over the Household table when the Mistress of the Robes was not in residence. A Lady of the Bedchamber had two to three waits a year from twelve to thirty days at a time.

Prime Ministers: The Prime Minister was, and still is, the head of the government of the United Kingdom. By long-established practice, the monarch must appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons. This person is usually the leader of the political party or coalition of political parties that holds the largest number of seats in the House of Commons.

Private Secretaries: Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister, informally served as Private Secretary while he was Prime Minister 1837 – 1840. Prince Albert then informally served as Private Secretary 1840 – 1861, until his death. The official position of Private Secretary came about because it was realized that the monarch was in need of support because the growth of the government had caused the government ministers to have insufficient time to provide daily advice and support.