Power and Independence

Where it surfaces

• II

  The chapter contrasts the power of the monarchy with the vulnerability of the Duchess and Victoria, and hints at Victoria's future independence through her truthful and spirited nature.

• IV

  King Leopold urges Victoria to rouse her spirit and not be kept a 'white little slavey,' while the King and Duchess vie for control over her future.

• Lord Melbourne

  Victoria asserts her royal authority against Peel and her mother, and rebuffs Leopold's political interference.

• I

  Victoria asserts her independence by moving her bed out of her mother's room and ending personal intercourse with Conroy.

• II

  Explores the different forms of power sought by Leopold (visible royalty) and Stockmar (invisible influence), and Lehzen's ascendancy over Victoria's private sphere.

• Lord Melbourne

  Explored through Lord Melbourne's political career and his relationship with the young Queen. He holds immense power as Prime Minister yet must navigate the delicate dynamics of advising a monarch, balancing authority with deference.

• IV

  Victoria relishes her new freedom and authority, delighting in her official duties and financial independence.

• V

  Victoria asserts her independence from King Leopold's political interference, demonstrating her growing authority as queen.

• VI

  Victoria asserts her independence from King Leopold's political interference, demonstrating an unyielding front and a determination to control foreign policy herself.

• The Bedchamber Crisis

  Victoria asserts her royal authority against Peel, refusing to be 'led and managed like a child,' and successfully dictates the terms of government formation.

• Happiness and Turmoil

  Victoria asserts her will in personal and political matters, from the Bedchamber Crisis to her decision to marry on her own terms.

• Marriage

  Albert's gradual assumption of supreme political influence over Victoria and the Crown is a central focus, illustrating the transfer of power from Melbourne and Lehzen to the Prince Consort.

• II

  Victoria's struggle to maintain her authority as Queen while preparing for marriage, resisting Tory opposition and asserting her will over household appointments.

• III

  Albert's struggle for political and domestic authority against Melbourne and Lehzen, and Victoria's assertion of her own will.

• V

  Albert's gradual assumption of effective power, becoming 'in effect, the King of England,' and his role in controlling the Crown's functions during ministerial crises.

• V: Lord Palmerston

  The struggle between Palmerston's bold, independent exercise of power and Albert's constitutional, behind-the-scenes influence, with Stockmar as a shadowy figure, highlights competing visions of authority.

• I

  Explored through Palmerston's bold, independent governance and his disregard for Albert's authority, as well as the struggle for influence between the Court and the Foreign Secretary.

• II

  The struggle between the Crown and the Foreign Secretary over control of foreign policy, exemplified by the Queen's constitutional memorandum and Palmerston's dismissal.

• III

  Explored through Albert's influence and the Crown's assertion of independence from the Prime Minister, as seen in the Palmerston conflict.

• III

  Victoria asserts her role as a national symbol and forms a diplomatic alliance with Napoleon III, demonstrating her independent influence in foreign affairs.

• IV

  The struggle between the Crown and ministers like Palmerston and Lord John Russell over foreign policy, especially Italian unification, illustrates the theme of power and constitutional influence.

• I

  Discusses Albert's potential to wield 'irresponsible administrative power' and the struggle between Crown and democratic forces.

• II

  Victoria asserts her independence from King Leopold and her Ministers, insisting that no one shall dictate to her.

• VIII: Gladstone and Lord Beaconsfield

  Victoria asserts her will against Gladstone's reforms and embraces Disraeli's vision of her personal power.

• I

  Victoria struggles to assert her influence against Gladstone's reforms, feeling her personal position and the Crown's connection to the Army are under attack.

• II

  Victoria's personal wealth and her resistance to public opinion reflect her struggle to maintain independence amid political and popular pressure.

• The Faery and the Prime Minister

  Victoria asserts her personal power by insisting on her travel plans and enthusiastically embracing the title of Empress of India, while Disraeli encourages her to exercise constitutional rights to dismiss a ministry.

• Old Age

  Victoria's desire to impose her will, her opposition to Ministers, and her eventual yielding to facts.

• I

  Victoria's submission to John Brown's authority is paradoxically a display of her own power and independence, as she refuses to yield to family or ministers.

• The Apotheosis of Victoria

  Highlights Victoria's vehement opposition to women's rights and her assertion of despotic power, balanced by her ultimate yielding to facts.