stitutional Sovereigns, was averted--the danger,
that is, of leaving the administration of State affairs in the hands
of specialists, and depriving it of the wise control and independent
criticism which only the Crown can adequately supply.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

TO CHAPTER IV

Queen Victoria, from the very first, took great pleasure in filing
the correspondence addressed to her. There are many volumes of letters
received from her various relations. We have thought it best to give
some of Queen Adelaide's early letters; they indicate in a remarkable
manner the growing estrangement between King William IV. and the
Duchess of Kent. In the earlier letters the King enquires very
affectionately after the Duchess, and constant mention is made of
presents sent to her; but the references made to her become less
frequent and colder, till at last the King contents himself with
sending messages only to the Princess. But the letters of Queen
Adelaide are always written in a strain of touching devotion and
affection, and reveal her as a woman of large heart and great
simplicity of character.

[Pageheading: KING LEOPOLD]

But the most interesting series of letters are the Queen's own
correspondence with King Leopold, of which several hundred are
preserved. The letters, too, received by her from the King of the
Belgians are preserved in their entirety.

The letters which the Queen wrote to King Leopold are of extraordinary
interest; she kept up an unbroken correspondence with him, and spoke
freely of all that was in her mind. Two points are worthy of special
mention: though she was early convinced of the necessity of holding an
independent constitutional position in politics she mentions the Tory
party with undisguised mistrust; and further, the name of King William
hardly ever occurs until his last illness.

King Leopold's early letters reveal his character in the most amiable
light. He familiarised the Queen with all the complicated details of
foreign politics; he gave her the most sensible and wise advice; he
warned and encouraged her; he answered her enquiries with the minutest
care: and the warm affection to which he gave frequent expression is a
very sacred and beautiful thing to contemplate.

We have selected several of the Princess Victoria's letters to the
King of the Belgians before her accession, because they throw a
remarkable light upon her temperament. In the first place, they reveal
the deep affectiona