have the spectacle of seven Royal princes, of whom two
succeeded to the Throne, all or nearly all avowed politicians of
decided convictions, throwing the weight of their influence and
social position for the most part on the side of the Tory party,
and believing it to be rather their duty to hold and express strong
political opinions than to adopt the moderating and conciliatory
attitude in matters of government that is now understood to be the
true function of the Royal House.

[Pageheading: INDEPENDENCE OF THE QUEEN]

The Queen, after her accession, always showed great respect and
affection for her uncles, but they were not able to exercise any
influence over her character or opinions.

This was partly due to the fact that from an early age she had imbibed
a respect for liberal views from her uncle Leopold, King of the
Belgians, to whom she was devoted from her earliest childhood, and for
whom she entertained feelings of the deepest admiration, affection,
and confidence; but still more was it due to the fact that, from the
very first, the Queen instinctively formed an independent judgment
on any question that concerned her; and though she was undoubtedly
influenced in her decisions by her affectionate reliance on her chosen
advisers, yet those advisers were always deliberately and shrewdly
selected, and their opinions were in no case allowed to do more than
modify her own penetrating and clear-sighted judgment.

CHAPTER II

MEMOIR OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S EARLY YEARS

ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress
of India, was born on Monday, 24th May 1819, at Kensington Palace.

Her father, Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767-1820), the
fourth son of George III., was a man of decided character, kindly,
pious, punctual, with a strict sense of duty and enlightened ideas. He
was a devoted soldier, and, as Queen Victoria once said, "was proud of
his profession, and I was always taught to consider myself a soldier's
child." He had a wide military experience, having served at
Gibraltar, in Canada, and in the West Indies. He had been mentioned in
despatches, but was said to be over-strict in matters of unimportant
detail. His active career was brought to an end in 1802, when he had
been sent to Gibraltar to restore order in a mutinous garrison. Order
had been restored, but the Duke was recalled under allegations of
having exercised undue severity, and the investigation which
he de