myhistorypalace

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𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐚

On 17th June, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium accompanied her mother to Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway's birthday celebration gala in Oslo. Elisabeth was one of the three princesses who made their tiara debut. But Princess Elisabeth’s tiara had never been seen on a member of the Belgian royal family before.

The Royal Palace spoke to Belgian reporter Wim Dehandscutter and revealed that the tiara was a gift to the Duchess of Brabant for her 18th birthday from her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.

The diamond floral festoon tiara probably previously belonged to Evelyn Brodstone, the American second wife of the 1st Baron Vestey. Evelyn wore the tiara in 1925 and remained in the Vestey family for three more generations. The 3rd Baron Vestey’s daughter, the Hon. Saffron Vestey, wore the tiara for her first wedding in May 1997. as later Vestey brides did not wear the same tiara, it is speculated that the tiara was sold.

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𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐒 & 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀, part I

Pʀɪɴᴄᴇss Cʜᴀʀʟᴏᴛᴛᴇ Oғ Wᴀʟᴇs

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales was born at Carlton House on 7 January 1796. She was the only child of the ill-fated marriage between George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick. As the sole legitimate grandchild of George III, she became heir presumptive to the British throne at birth.

The Princess initially lived at Carlton House with her father (and mother who primarily resided there until 1798), but moved with her own modest household to Shrewsbury House, Shooter’s Hill, in 1799 and then in 1805 to Lower Lodge, Windsor, with the remainder of her time spent at Warwick House.

The Princess was not a natural scholar (with poor spelling and handwriting), but was a bright girl who showed an interest in law and politics (integral for her future as queen). She also admired poetry and compiled a book of extracts featuring the works of Thomas Milton and Alexander Pope, alongside the poetic letters of Lord Erskine.

The young Princess’s relationships with those within her household could be wrought with difficulty, particularly as she was known for her unusually informal manner and hot temper. She shared a lifelong bond with Priscilla Wellesley Pole (later styled Lady Burghursh). She also had a close confidante in Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, to whom she entrusted with her most private affairs.

Princess Charlotte evidently wished to please her father and often wrote to seek his approval and forgiveness. 

After the separation of her parents Princess Charlotte enjoyed regular visits with her mother, but due to the Princess of Wales’ indiscreet and scandalous behaviour contact became increasingly restricted. Princess Charlotte strove to obey her father’s wishes and often requested permission to write to or see her mother, and even informed him immediately after an accidental meeting with her mother in a park to avoid accusations of duplicity. 

From 1811 to 1813 she formed an attachment to Captain Charles Hesse of the 18th Light Dragoons. With Hesse’s departure for the continent the relationship came to an end. In addition to Captain Hesse the Princess was linked to several others such as Prince William Frederick of Gloucester and an unknown man, thought to be Prince Augustus or Frederick of Prussia. However, as future queen she was expected to marry high ranking foreign royalty and in 1813 her father (then Prince Regent) deemed William, Hereditary Prince of Orange a suitable match. A meeting between the couple was arranged for December 1814, but far from being enamoured by the Hereditary Prince, the Princess was pressured into accepting an engagement.

When she was sent to the remote Cranbourne Lodge in Windsor for the remainder of her engagement, fled to her mother's house in protest. Her stunt resulted in public sympathy and she decided to break off the engagement in a letter to the Hereditary Prince in June 1814.

At the close of 1815, the engagement to the Hereditary Prince of Orange at an end, Princess Charlotte presented another candidate for her hand to the Prince Regent, declaring her ‘favour of the Prince [Leopold of Saxe-] Coburg [-Staalfeld]’ whom she had met in 1814. The Prince Regent, after meeting Prince Leopold in February 1816, granted his daughter's wish and the Prince and Princess wed at Carlton House on 2 May 1816. The popular couple resided at Camelford House, moving the following August to Claremont in Surrey. Their union proved fruitful with Princess Charlotte becoming pregnant in early 1817.

When the Princess’s labour began, on 3 November 1817, she was significantly overdue and a long and difficult delivery resulted in the birth of a still-born son two days later. After the birth Princess Charlotte initially appeared to recover, but due to complications she died five hours later in the early hours of 6 November. Princess Charlotte’s untimely death deeply affected her family. Prince Leopold was distraught, and the Princess of Wales (who, living on the continent, had not seen her daughter since 1814) reportedly fainted upon hearing the news. 

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Queen Victoria celebrated her golden jubilee in 1887. Keen to flaunt its imperial splendour, the royal household transported subjects from across the globe to take part in the celebrations. One of those brought to England was 24-year-old Indian jail clerk Abdul Karim, who was chosen to wait on Victoria and present her with a ceremonial Mughal coin. His travelling companion would be Mohammed Buksh, who would be the Queen’s extra groom-in-waiting. She was delighted by their tunics and white turbans. Victoria described Karim in her diary for that day: "The other, much younger, is much lighter, tall, and with a fine serious countenance." 

Very quickly, she arranged for Abdul to have extra English lessons so that she could speak with him more. Soon after, she asked him to teach her Hindustani (Urdu). Victoria wrote in her Hindustani journal every day, no matter where she was. Even if Abdul was ill, Victoria would take the diary to his house so that she could still take her lessons. The rise of Abdul soon began to be noticed by the Royal Household, and they were reminded of John Brown – The Queen’s Highland servant – who had died in 1883. She had come to lean on John Brown after the death of Prince Albert, and now she was leaning on Abdul. The Royal Household was wary of him. Meanwhile, Abdul wanted to go home – the year was almost up. The Queen was petitioned, and she wrote back, “I am sorry you think you cannot remain permanently in my service, but I quite understand your motives and feel you are right.” Nevertheless, she asked him to remain another year, and he soon had an elevated position among the servants. In August of 1888, he was appointed a Munshi. 

Adbul was not only Victoria’s Munshi but also a close friend and confidant. He clearly meant a lot to her on a personal level: she even kept a photo of him in her dressing room. Victoria entered a new world with Abdul – he opened the door to an Indian wonderland. Because the queen was never able to visit his country, Abdul brought its colours and culture to her. 

Abdul told Victoria about Holi (the festival of colours) and Diwali (the festival of lights), and shared stories from Indian history. Victoria particularly loved hearing about Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his dead wife. She found this story incredibly romantic; it reminded her of the elaborate tomb she had built for Prince Albert. 

Suddenly, the queen had something to look forward to – discovering spicy food, speaking a new language and delving into an entirely alien culture. She even set about building an ornate Durbar Room in Osborne House, inspired by the courts of Indian rulers and decorated with both Hindu and Muslim artwork. All of this energised her; it gave her a new lease of life. 

Abdul was equally fascinated by England and Europe. He especially loved English hunts and the scenery of Scotland, which reminded him of the mountains around Kabul. There were some cultural differences, though – he was quite disapproving and moralistic about all of the drinking that went on. 

When Queen Victoria realised how the Royal Household felt about Abdul, she tried to make sure he would be comfortable. She began trying to get him a generous grant of land in India. In May 1892, after a visit to India, Abdul brought back his wife and his mother to England.

Victoria wrote excitedly to her eldest daughter, “I don’t think I told you of the two Indian ladies who are here now, and who are, I believe, the first Mohammedan purdah ladies who ever came over… and keep their custom of complete seclusion and of being entirely covered when they go out, except for the holes for their eyes.” Victoria soon became a regular visitor to Abdul’s wife in their new cottage. When she learned that they had not been able to conceive children, she got them medical advice. 

The Royal Household was still not happy with Abdul, and they began to discredit him, even though by now they knew that Victoria would continue to stand up for him. There were rumours that he was linked to radical Muslim groups and that he was a spy. Even members of the Royal Family disliked his position, but Victoria paid them no attention. Slowly but surely, a dossier was being compiled on Abdul. In 1897, the physician revealed that he had been treating Abdul for venereal disease and the Royal Household absolutely refused to dine with him. It was a full out revolt. Queen Victoria was outraged and dramatically swept off the contents of her desk. The Household was shocked but continued to threaten their resignation if he stayed on. Once again, Victoria won the battle. 

After Victoria’s death, the royal household came down very heavily on the Munshi. Bertie (by that time, crowned King Edward VII) ordered a raid on Abdul’s house, seizing his letters from Victoria and burning them on a bonfire. After 13 years of devoted service to the queen, Abdul was treated like a common criminal. He wasn’t the only one sent packing, though; Victoria had many Indian servants, all of whom were thrown out unceremoniously. Abdul died in April 1909.