The Shadow of Great Britain

To be honest, Arthur couldn’t help but feel a bit smug upon hearing this.

When he initially wrote this complex sentence, he was worried that Victoria might stumble halfway through, but the facts proved he was overthinking.

Perhaps because Victoria had been tested by Officer Robert Cali’s memorial ceremony, yesterday at Kensington Palace during her entire accession speech, she was incredibly smooth and natural. The gathered gentlemen were astounded by the new Queen’s performance. Many were deeply moved upon hearing her deliver the speech so calmly and clearly. Several ladies present were even brought to tears on the spot, and even the most critical Royalists recognized Victoria’s debut performance as Queen.

The perpetually sharp-tongued Secretariat Clerk of the Privy Council, Charles Greyville, bluntly stated, ”The first impression she leaves is unprecedented. The unanimous praise and acclaim for her demeanor and comportment are also unmatched, which, of course, is entirely appropriate. Her performance was extraordinary, surpassing our greatest expectations. And her youth, inexperience, and ignorance of the world around her have naturally piqued people’s strong interest in her.”

And Greyville’s praise seemed to meet with no disagreement from anyone.

The representative of the High Tories, former Naval Minister Crook, also admitted, ”She’s as interesting and dignified as all the young ladies I know.”

As for Britain’s war hero, the Duke of Wellington, who initially harbored doubts about Victoria, he immediately expressed his support for the young Queen after the speech, ”Her Majesty the Queen not only sits firmly on the throne, but her presence also fills the entire room, making everyone feel utterly satisfied with her.”

The Whig Party side was equally filled with praise.

Whig Party MP and famous writer Thomas Crewe spent nearly the entire afternoon after attending the speech discussing Victoria with his friends, ”Our beloved little Queen is flawless in every respect.”

And Home Secretary Lord John Russell was also generous in his praise for the new monarch, ”To the men present, she is just a child, even a ’young queen.’ But with the simplest and most unpretentious performance, she elicited everyone’s unreserved acclaim.”

Indeed, Victoria’s debut was close to perfect, but the reason she could stir up so much praise was largely due to Conroy’s persistent denigration of her in recent times.

After all, most of the gentlemen present yesterday had heard, to some extent, Conroy’s rumors about Victoria’s mental instability.

Although these rumors might not deceive the veteran politicians of British politics, they still inevitably lowered their psychological expectations of Victoria. Moreover, she was simply an eighteen-year-old girl, so before coming to Kensington Palace, almost everyone unanimously thought that as long as Victoria did not have an emotional breakdown on stage and cry loudly, she would be considered qualified.

Therefore, when they saw the Queen not only behave appropriately and deliver a fluent speech but also display a certain regal demeanor, they couldn’t help but feel pleased.

And this unanimous praise from the upper class quickly transmitted to the middle class and then influenced the lower class.

Almost overnight, the whole country seemed to have fallen in love with her.

Before heading to work at Scotland Yard today, Arthur specifically asked the driver to detour through Fleet Street, just as he had anticipated. Despite the dim morning light, Fleet Street was still a blaze of lights. Arthur stopped by the editorial office of the Observer weekly for a chat and found the editors brimming with energy, intending to name this infectious craze ”Reginamania.”

As for the London Figaro Newspaper, they were refining a cartoon about to be published. The comic was not complex; its protagonists were the newly ascended Victoria and the anthropomorphic version of Britain, the high-hatted, long-booted, umbrella-wielding John Bull, with a small caption below: If Little Queen asked, John Bull[8] would even be willing to cut off his ear.

However, what most earned public admiration for Victoria was her attitude toward Queen Adelaide and King William IV’s illegitimate offspring. Victoria not only allowed Adelaide to move into Buckingham Palace but also took extra care of her illegitimate cousins, the FitzClarence family, William IV’s illegitimate children. Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, had been prohibiting her from interacting with this family, but Victoria remained concerned about them upon her accession and promised to continue ensuring their well-being.

And this ”Reginamania” was not confined to British society; even Sally Stevenson, the American Minister’s Wife who witnessed the ceremony at Kensington Palace yesterday, wrote in her letter to her sisters in Virginia, ”Everyone is frantically pledging loyalty to the young Queen... In every social circle, people are discussing her beauty, intelligence, kindness, and composure. A thousand anecdotes speak of her kindness and that outstanding speech, which is how she conquered everyone and everything.”

Yet, not all discussions about Victoria’s accession were entirely positive.

Perhaps the point that bothered everyone most about this new Queen was her teeth.

Even the Whig Party MP Crewe, who praised Victoria highly, gently stated, ”Perhaps she indeed wolfs down her food when dining or fails to maintain decorum with a gaping grin, revealing her gums during hearty laughter, but I’m willing to overlook these flaws.”

And the American Minister’s Wife was relatively blunt in her expression, ”The Queen’s voice is very pleasant; she has a beautiful bosom, feet, and large blue eyes, but the Queen’s mouth is the worst part of her appearance. Overall, her mouth is slightly open, her teeth are small and short, and when she smiles, she reveals her gums, which looks somewhat unsightly.”

But in any case, for a monarch, as the reign extends, physical imperfections become increasingly irrelevant, so Arthur wasn’t particularly concerned about this aspect.

Furthermore, unattractive teeth didn’t stop members of the Privy Council from eagerly offering her their hand to kiss, nor did it distract nearly a thousand MPs from pledging allegiance to the new ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at eleven and twelve o’clock yesterday morning.

The continuous good news greatly uplifted Arthur’s mood, prompting him to indulge in a drink early in the morning.

He opened the liquor cabinet and poured Ledley a glass of sherry, ”What else is happening? Any new developments from the Privy Council meeting?”

Ledley chuckled, ”I heard that Viscount Melbourne seemed to cry at the Privy Council meeting.”

”Cry?” Arthur sipped the sherry; whether due to a taste issue, he felt today’s drink was a bit salty, ”Crocodiles don’t shed tears.”

Ledley pretended not to understand Arthur’s sarcasm and spoke, ”Yesterday, I saw Viscount Melbourne wiping his tears as he left Her Majesty’s initial Privy Council meeting, visibly moved.”

Arthur thought for a moment but didn’t deliberately speculate on Viscount Melbourne’s ulterior motives.

After all, he had previously heard that the Prime Minister often shed tears in private, and even if he had ulterior motives this time, it wouldn’t affect the big picture.

”Anything else?”

”Certainly, although I suspect Viscount Melbourne’s tears were tears of emotion.” Ledley paused, ”However, some people believe he might have been crying out of anger.”

”Crying out of anger?” Arthur pondered for a while, unable to think of anyone who would deliberately provoke the Prime Minister on such a day, ”What happened? Who upset him?”

Ledley awkwardly responded, ”It was Sir John Conroy. When Viscount Melbourne left, he was holding a letter written by Conroy. I heard from Your Excellency Henry Hobhouse that after the Privy Council meeting, Conroy blocked the Prime Minister to demand a reward, saying something like: ’Regarding the reward for my achievements over the years, I believe it should be: a reasonable noble position, the red ribbon of the Bath Medal, and an annual pension of 3,000 pounds from the Royal Treasury.’ You know, this standard pension even exceeds that of a Cabinet Minister. When Melbourne came out, he cried out to Hobhouse, ’Have you ever heard of someone so shameless?’”