| Collection | Victorian Papers, Main Series |
| Description | Having received Lord John's letter, Queen Victoria immediately wrote to the Duke of Welllington. It must have been a very happy day for him [the quelling of the Chartist disturbance], and it is a pity he is not 59 instead of 79: such men are valuable in these days. The Prince has conveyed to Sir George Grey the Queen's appreciation of the manner in which everything had been arranged, and she repeats to Lord John her entire approbation of the conduct of the Government throughout this crisis. She hopes Ireland will become quieter on hearing of the failure of the Chartists. Queen Victoria's joy and pride in the loyalty of her people would be greater could it be unalloyed by the sorrow she feels at what has passed and is passing in other countries, particularly in Germany, to which she is bound by so many ties and in which she has so many dear to her. Russell will understand the Queen's sadness when she hears and sees so much ruin and misery, and violent convulsions on all sides, and when she sees her poor cousin the Duchess de Nemours [daughter-in-law of King Louis Philippe and formerly Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha] and thinks of her position, her poverty and resignation, and the destruction of the future of the [French] Royal Family. To see all this and feel one can help so little makes the heart bleed, and makes one grasp every comfort one has. The Queen feels she has grown many years older since the last six weeks. May England's bright and glorious example be a check to the wicked example set by France, and useful in bringing Germay and other troubled countries to reason. The Queen thinks that Lord John Russell's answer about the Prince of Prussia being asked to be a Godfather is most prudent, although she regrets not being able to pay this compliment to the Prince. The Queen lists who the sponsors will now be. |