# Lord Melbourne — Queen Victoria character guide > Lord Melbourne in Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Melbourne, Lord M., M., William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne **First appearance:** 0013-iii-lord-melbourne ## Snapshot A charming, world-weary Whig Prime Minister who becomes the young Queen's mentor and confidant, his easy grace masking a life of private scandal and sorrow. ## Who they are At fifty-eight, Melbourne has inherited wealth, brilliance, and the premiership, and he moves through society as a captivating talker whose vaguenesses and oaths conceal a dubious, self-contradictory nature. His birth is shameful, his marriage to the impossible Lady Caroline a long, desperate failure, and he schemes distrustfully to do good. He rises suddenly on Victoria's horizon and dominates her early reign, so his influence over the inexperienced Queen becomes the central political and emotional relationship of the book's opening movement. ## Relationships ### [Queen Victoria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/queen_victoria) _friendship_ Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign. ### [Prince Albert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_albert) _rivalry_ Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust. ### [Prince Alexander of Battenberg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_alexander_of_battenberg) _social_ Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle. ### [Lord Palmerston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/lord_palmerston) _professional_ Fellow Whig politicians who worked together in government, though Palmerston's aggressive style sometimes strained their alliance. ### [Queen Victoria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/queen_victoria) _friendship_ Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign. ### [Queen Victoria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/queen_victoria) _friendship_ Victoria's first prime minister and trusted mentor, acting as a fatherly confidant during her early reign. ### [Prince Albert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_albert) _rivalry_ Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust. ### [Lord Palmerston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/lord_palmerston) _professional_ Fellow Whig politicians who worked together in government, though Palmerston's aggressive style sometimes strained their alliance. ### [Prince Alexander of Battenberg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_alexander_of_battenberg) _social_ Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle. ### [Prince Albert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_albert) _rivalry_ Melbourne viewed Albert as a rival for Victoria's affection and influence, leading to mutual distrust. ### [Prince Alexander of Battenberg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/prince_alexander_of_battenberg) _social_ Limited direct interaction, as Melbourne died long before Alexander's prominence, but their connection is through Victoria's circle. ## In the story ### [Queen Victoria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/queen-victoria) Victoria's first Prime Minister and trusted advisor during her early years as queen. ### [II: Childhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/v) Prime Minister who visits Victoria on the morning of her accession; she retains him in office. ### [Lord Melbourne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iii-lord-melbourne) Outgoing Prime Minister, offering advice to the Queen during the transition. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iii) 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iv) Prime Minister and constant companion, charming, instructive, and affectionate; Victoria's hero and confidant. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/v) Melbourne advises Victoria on how to respond to King Leopold's political letters, crafting noncommittal replies that help her maintain independence. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/vi) Fails to control the Lady Flora Hastings scandal due to his lazy and easygoing nature, allowing the situation to escalate. ### [The Bedchamber Crisis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/vii) The Queen's trusted Minister and confidant; advises caution but ultimately supports her stand, returning to power after the crisis. ### [Happiness and Turmoil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/viii) 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iv-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/ii) Remains constantly beside Victoria, advising on household appointments and political matters. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iv) Referenced as a phantom from Victoria's past, whose confidence she once held but now considers superficial. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/vi) Suffers a paralytic seizure, becomes moody and isolated, makes a scene at dinner over the Corn Laws, and dies after a long decline. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/vii) Not directly present, but referenced in the broader context of Victoria's reign. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/i) Referenced indirectly as part of the political landscape; not directly active in this chapter. ### [VIII: Gladstone and Lord Beaconsfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/viii-gladstone-and-lord-beaconsfield) Mentioned as a former favorite whose affection Disraeli rivals. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as a former recipient of Victoria's affection, now rivaled by Disraeli. ### [The Apotheosis of Victoria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/iv) Implied in the context of the Bedchamber crisis, though not directly named in the excerpt. ### [X: The End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/x-the-end) Remembered dreaming at Windsor with rooks cawing in the elm-trees. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/chapters/endnotes) Cited in memoirs and biographical works. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters/lord_melbourne - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/queen_victoria_se/characters