| Collection | Victorian Papers, Main Series |
| Description | Queen Victoria will be pleased to see the Duke and Duchess of Bedford (Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Beford and Duchess Anna) at Osborne. She wishes to hear the Duke's opinion of the Foreign Office. The Queen appreciates Lord John Russell's difficulty, but it is her duty to the country not to allow Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, to remain in the Foreign Office, exposing her to insults from other nations and constant risk of alarming complications. Queen Victoria criticises the Government's shiftiness where Palmerston was concerned. There is no chance of Palmerston reforming himself in his 67th year. Queen Victoria is convinced that he is secretly planning an armed Russian intervention in Schleswig, which may produce a renewal of Revolutions in Germany and possibly a general war. |