"
The political affairs which tried and troubled the Queen and the Prince
were not merely English. They were much disturbed and shocked by the
unworthy intrigues and the unkingly bad faith shown by Louis Philippe in
the affair of the "Spanish Marriages"--a complicated and rather delicate
matter, which I have neither space nor desire to dwell upon here. It had
a disastrous effect on the Orleans family, and perhaps on the history of
France. It has been mostly interesting to me now for the manner in which
the subject was, handled by the Queen, whose letters revealed a royal
high spirit and a keen sense of royal honor. She regretted the heartless
State marriage of the young Queen of Spain, not only from a political but
a domestic point of view. She saw poor Isabella forced or tricked into a
distasteful union, from which unhappiness must, and something far worse
than unhappiness might, come. Many and great misfortunes did come of it
and to the actors in it.
In the spring of 1847 the Prince-Consort was elected Chancellor of the
University of Cambridge--a great honor for so young a man. The Queen was
present at the installation, and there was a splendid time. Wordsworth
wrote an ode on the occasion.
Pages:
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199