Princess Victoria of Kent's letter to her uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians, dated June 19, 1837

Source:

The letters of Queen Victoria: a selection from Her Majesty's correspondence between the years 1831 and 1861: published by authority of His Majesty the King, edited by Arthur Christopher Benson and Viscount Reginald Baliol Brett Esher, 1907

https://archive.org/details/lettersofqueenvi01victuoft/page/n95/mode/2up

Above: Princess Victoria of Kent, painted later as queen by Sir David Wilkie.

Above: Leopold, King of the Belgians, painted by Nicaise de Keyser.

Above: King William IV of the United Kingdom and Ireland, painted by Martin Archer Shee.

Above: Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.

Above: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, painted by John Partridge.

The letter:

19th June 1837.

MY DEARLY BELOVED UNCLE — Your kind and dear letter containing most wholesome, prudent, sound and excellent advice, was given me by our good and invaluable honest friend, Stockmar, and I beg you to accept my best thanks for it. Before I say anything else, let me tell you how happy and thankful I am to have Stockmar here; he has been, and is, of the greatest possible use, and be assured, dearest Uncle, that he possesses my most entire confidence!

The King's state, I may fairly say, is hopeless: he may perhaps linger a few days, but he cannot recover ultimately. Yesterday the physicians declared he could not live till the morning, but to-day he is a little better; the great fear is his excessive weakness and no pulse at all. Poor old man! I feel sorry for him; he was always personally kind to me, and I should be ungrateful and devoid of feeling if I did not remember this.

I look forward to the event which it seems is likely to occur soon, with calmness and quietness; I am not alarmed at it, and yet I do not suppose myself quite equal to all; I trust, however, that with good-will, honesty, and courage I shall not, at all events, fail. Your advice is most excellent, and you may depend upon it I shall make use of it, and follow it, as well as what Stockmar says. I never showed myself, openly, to belong to any party, and I do not belong to any party. The Administration will undoubtedly be well received by me, the more so as I have real confidence in them, and in particular in Lord Melbourne, who is a straightforward, honest, clever and good man.

I need not add much more, dearest Uncle, but that I trust that the all-powerful Being who has so long watched over my destinies will guide and support me, in whatever situation and station it may please Him to place me! ...