Lord Melbourne

Queen Victoria

Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign.

Prince Albert

Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust.

Prince Alexander of Battenberg

Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle.

Lord Palmerston

Fellow Whig politicians who worked together in government, though Palmerston's aggressive style sometimes strained their alliance.

Queen Victoria

Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign.

Queen Victoria

Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign.

Prince Albert

Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust.

Lord Palmerston

Fellow Whig politicians who worked together in government, though Palmerston's aggressive style sometimes strained their alliance.

Prince Alexander of Battenberg

Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle.

Prince Albert

Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust.

Prince Alexander of Battenberg

Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle.

Queen Victoria

Victoria's first Prime Minister and trusted advisor during her early years as queen.

II: Childhood

The Prime Minister who visited Victoria after the death of King William IV, kissed her hand, and was retained by her as head of the ministry.

V

Prime Minister who visits Victoria on the morning of her accession; she retains him in office.

Lord Melbourne

Outgoing Prime Minister, offering advice to the Queen during the transition.

II

Mentioned as one of the English statesmen who valued Stockmar's probity and intelligence, calling him 'one of the cleverest fellows I ever saw.'

Lord Melbourne

The central figure of the chapter, depicted as a fifty-eight-year-old Prime Minister with a complex personality: a sentimental cynic, a skeptical believer, and a child of the 18th century navigating a new age. His behavior towards the young Queen is described as impeccable, blending statesmanship with paternal solicitude.

IV

Prime Minister and constant companion, charming, instructive, and affectionate; Victoria's hero and confidant.

V

Melbourne advises Victoria on how to respond to King Leopold's political letters, crafting noncommittal replies that help her maintain independence.

VI

Fails to control the Lady Flora Hastings scandal due to his lazy and easygoing nature, allowing the situation to escalate.

The Bedchamber Crisis

The Queen's trusted Minister and confidant; advises caution but ultimately supports her stand, returning to power after the crisis.

Happiness and Turmoil

Returns as Prime Minister; his relationship with Victoria deepens, but he is haunted by his failures in the Hastings scandal and the Bedchamber Crisis.

Marriage

Resists giving up his influence over Victoria after losing office, eventually accepts the inevitable, suffers a paralytic seizure, and declines into a ghost-like existence, haunted by the loss of power.

II

Remains constantly beside Victoria, advising on household appointments and political matters.

III

Serves as Prime Minister and effectively controls the Queen's political existence; advises Albert but resists giving up his influence after leaving office.

IV

Referenced as a phantom from Victoria's past, whose confidence she once held but now considers superficial.

V

Mentioned in a flashback for his cynical remark about Albert's future fidelity, which Victoria scolds him for.

The Victorian Age in Full Swing

Suffers a paralytic seizure, becomes moody and isolated, makes a scene at dinner over the Corn Laws, and dies after a long decline.

VII

Not directly present, but referenced in the broader context of Victoria's reign.

I

Referenced indirectly as part of the political landscape; not directly active in this chapter.

VIII: Gladstone and Lord Beaconsfield

Mentioned as a former favorite whose affection Disraeli rivals.

I

Mentioned as a former recipient of Victoria's affection, now rivaled by Disraeli.

The Apotheosis of Victoria

Implied in the context of the Bedchamber crisis, though not directly named in the excerpt.

X: The End

Remembered dreaming at Windsor with rooks cawing in the elm-trees.

Endnotes

Cited in memoirs and biographical works.